Comcast may have agreed to end its practice of using forged TCP reset packets to hinder the P2P traffic of its customers, but the cable provider isn't out of the woods yet. Three class-action lawsuits were filed against Comcast this week in California, Illinois, and New Jersey, alleging that the company deceived and misled consumers by advertising that it offered "unfettered access to all the content, services, and applications that the Internet has to offer."

For those just catching up, complaints from suspicious customers began surfacing last fall about Comcast using questionable methods to block BitTorrent traffic on its network. In October, the Associated Press decided to perform its own independent tests to see if the allegations were true, and found further evidence that Comcast had been sending "fake" TCP reset packets claiming to be from its customers attempting to use BitTorrent, therefore timing out their downloads and seeds. In November, the Electronic Frontier Foundation released a report detailing its own investigation, confirming that BitTorrent performance was being selectively degraded by unexpected TCP reset packets.

Comcast, of course, repeatedly denied the allegations. Finally, the Federal Communications Commission opened up proceedings over Comcast's network management practices in January, and in March, the cable giant announced a pact with BitTorrent to ensure that traffic runs more smoothly over the network. One of the first tangible results will be the end of Comcast's current practices. Instead, the company will use a platform-agnostic technique that may ultimately slow down P2P traffic from its heaviest users, which it will begin testing very soon. But Comcast's change of heart has come too late for some irate customers.

According to copies of the complaints seen by Ars, Comcast did not tell customers that it would engage in this type of traffic shaping when the company promised "unfettered access," and was not authorized to do so by its customers. As a result, the plaintiffs and other Comcast customers believe they paid for a service that they didn't receive, resulting in deceptive business practices and deceptive advertising on Comcast's part. Additionally, they say that Comcast misrepresented its "merchandise," and Comcast's denials of the practice represented fraud and false pretense.

"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." The lawsuits, which join a previous suit filed in November against Comcast, ask that Comcast be barred from continuing to violate various state laws, in addition to unspecified damages.

Trouble for Time Warner, too

Comcast isn't the only cable provider getting into hot legal water this week. The city of Los Angeles has also announced that it is suing Time Warner Cable for deceptive business practices and false advertising. Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo said that city residents were forced to suffer "months of cable television and Internet outages, substandard technical and customer service and improper price increases" after Time Warner's takeover of nearly all cable services in L.A. Delgadillo is asking the court to prohibit the company from continuing its allegedly unlawful practices, and wants $2,500 in civil penalties for each violation of the Unfair Competition law. He also demands an additional $2,500 civil penalty for each violation perpetrated against one or more senior citizens or disabled persons.

"We're bringing this civil law enforcement action against Time Warner Cable because the company has broken multiple laws, and harmed countless Los Angeles consumers,” said Delgadillo in a statement. “Time Warner Cable must be held accountable for illegally deceiving and ripping off its subscribers." In response, a spokesperson for Time Warner denied to the New York Times that it had misled customers.