Bell Canada sued for throttling internet speeds

A class action lawsuit has been filed in Quebec Superior Court alleging that Bell Canada deliberately slowed customer's internet speeds and misrepresented its service. The lawsuit, filed by Quebec's consumer watchdog, L'Union des consommateurs, seeks the return of 80 per cent of the internet subscription price, which it says is equal to the reduction in speed, as well as $600 per subscriber to compensate for false advertising and $1,500 for privacy rights violation. Montreal-based Bell has admitted that it limits connection speeds to slow down certain uses of the internet, primarily peer-to-peer applications, to alleviate congestion on its network, which could slow overall speeds for a large number of customers. In addition to throttling internet connection speeds and misrepresenting service, the complaint also raises some concerns over privacy.