BoingBoing Gadgets is one of my favorite non-political blogs. Joel Johnson, the primary author of BoingBoing Gadgets, did an appearance on an AT&T owned and distributed talk show in which he spoke out and tried to get the somewhat flummoxed host to address the merits of AT&T’s recently announced plans to filter the content of all internet traffic for copyrighted or illegal or immoral material. Johnson’s full post is here.

This is a great example of someone taking the opportunity to speak when they find themselves in front of a microphone. That’s exactly what Johnson did:

The staff circled me just off-stage after the first shoot. “You realize Hugh doesn’t actually work for AT&T, right? He can’t speak for AT&T.” I told them I understood, but reminded them the entire production is underwritten and broadcast exclusively by AT&T.

That’s the point—I wasn’t being a twerp just for the sake of being one. This is a critically important issue, one that deserves as much attention as can be drawn to it, especially in a venue where AT&T and its customers are sure to listen. And as the reaction of the crowd to my questions showed, no one wants AT&T rifling around in their communications. The only way to stop them from doing so is to speak up whenever we have the chance.

I hope you’re paying attention, Senators Obama and Clinton.

For more info on AT&T’s plans to filter the internet, read Brad Reed’s piece at Network World and Thomas Mennecke’s interview of AT&T exec James Cicconi for Slyck News.