[qi:050] Ma Bell seems to be acting like the big brother. Apparently, AT&T censored parts of Pearl Jam’s performance over the weekend. Rock band was performing as part of Lollapalooza. On their website, Pearl Jam writes:
During the performance of “Daughter” the following lyrics were sung to the tune of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” but were cut from the webcast:
– “George Bush, leave this world alone.” (the second time it was sung); and
– “George Bush find yourself another home.”
They go on and say that this is more than just the censorship of a rock band. “What happened to us this weekend was a wake up call,” they write. AT&T blamed the censorship on an overaggressive content monitor.
Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge, dismissed that defense, and said it was “nothing short of appalling.”
An AT&T spokesperson sent us this statement:
“The editing of the Pearl Jam performance on Sunday night was not intended, but rather a mistake by one of the webcast editors. We have policies in place with respect to editing excessive profanity, but AT&T does not edit or censor performances. We have that policy in place because the blue room is not age-restricted.
We regret the mistake and are trying to work with the band to post the song in its entirety.”
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