Comcast to Settle Class Action Lawsuit Over P2P File Sharing

If you have or had a high-speed Internet service account with Comcast and used it for peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, you may be eligible to receive a credit or refund from a class action lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims Comcast promised and advertised specific speeds and unlimited Internet access, yet restricted use of some P2P file-sharing traffic on its network. If you’re not sure what P2P is, it refers to the act of sharing and transferring content such as audio files and HD movies between groups of users over the Internet. The specific P2P protocols included in this class action lawsuit are FastTrack, BitTorrent, eDonkey, Gnutella and The Ares. If you attempted to use your Comcast High Speed Internet account to use any of these P2P protocols between April 1, 2006 and December 31, 2008, you may be eligible to receive up to $16 in the proposed $16 million settlement. The class action suit also includes people who used Lotus Notes to send emails between March 26, 2007 and October 3, 2007.

To see if you’re eligible and/or to submit a claim form, visit p2pcongestionsettlement.com. The deadline to submit a valid claim is August 14, 2010. The deadline to exclude yourself or to object to the settlement is May 13, 2010. A fairness hearing will be held June 15, 2010.