Los Angeles - Despite launching what it calls a "platform agnostic" bandwidth management system this week, broadband and cable TV provider Comcast (NASD: CMCSA) was served with class-action lawsuits this week in three states over its practice of throttling the BitTorrent file transfers of some of its users, Ars Technica reported.

Comcast, which counts 14 million broadband subscribers, was found to have been interfering with file-sharing traffic late last year, and soon after became the subject of an FCC investigation and several public hearings.

The lawsuits, filed in California, Illinois and New Jersey, allege the company misled consumers when it promised to offer "unfettered access to all the content, services, and applications that the Internet has to offer."

"Comcast's clandestine techniques are similar to those used by totalitarian governments to censor the use of the Internet," reads the complaint filed in Illinois.

"No doubt Comcast would characterize the behavior as illegal and malicious hacking if perpetrated by others on Comcast and its customers."

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/2ecbd (Ars Technica)

http://snipurl.com/2ece8 (DMW previous coverage)

http://www.comcast.com