Verizon censoring internet. How do I get the block removed?

Today Verizon starting censoring certain websites.

One such website: REMOVED FOR BEING INAPPROPRIATE. SORRY!

Google 'Verizon blocks 4chan' for more info.

It is blocked on both my cell phone and my FIOS internet. I pay good money every month to Verizon, and did not agree to be censored.

Customer service has denied any knowledge of the censorship, although it has been confirmed by higher-ups at Verizon. So, is it possible to removed the blocks from my account? If so, how do I do it?

If I can't get this resolved soon, I will be sending a complaint to the FCC, and I will notify the Better Business Bureau.

Thanks for your help,

Brad

Accepted answers

bradcromwell

I just read a press release saying that the block is temporary.

Thanks everyone!

All comments

jumpin68ny

I'm not sure why you think this is being blocked. I can access it without issue. Do you still continue have a problem accessing?

tsauter1

As can I. And I am going on the record as saying the content on the site IS Not appropriate for this forum! and sould not have been linked to.

jumpin68ny

Hopefully the site admin will catch it and remove it.

bradcromwell

You're right. The content in that link is not appropriate for the forums. I appologize for not marking it accordingly. EDIT: I REMOVED THE LINK 🙂

However, it is still blocked for me on my cell phone and FIOS connection. I can access it through a proxy and through my internet connection at work.

More information on the block can be found here: http://status.4chan.org

tsauter1

Just in case they haven't, I have notified them.

bradcromwell

I just read a press release saying that the block is temporary.

Thanks everyone!

spacedebris

Quote:
"Our network security system found traffic from some 4Chan Web sites that had strong potential to disrupt the Verizon Wireless network, affecting our customers' use of their services," Verizon spokesman Jeffrey Nelson wrote in an e-mail to CNET. "With continuing investigation, and ensuring no current risk of harm, we are giving the green-light to all 4Chan traffic. We will continue to monitor for any possibility of network harm."

http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-10449167-245.html

exsquid

It may be "temporary" still doesn't mean that it is right. If I wanted someone I pay money to, to censor what I can and can't see, hear, read I would move to Iran, North Korea or China. BTW, VZW is still blocking this site.

somegirl

@exsquid wrote:
It may be "temporary" still doesn't mean that it is right. If I wanted someone I pay money to, to censor what I can and can't see, hear, read I would move to Iran, North Korea or China. BTW, VZW is still blocking this site.

They weren't censoring based on content, they were blocking based on the network attacks coming from some 4chan sites. Verizon has every right to block sites that are going to cause network disruption.

exsquid

In my limited 19 years of systems and network support I believe firewalls were designed to block such attacks.

jtown

@somegirl wrote:

@exsquid wrote:
It may be "temporary" still doesn't mean that it is right. If I wanted someone I pay money to, to censor what I can and can't see, hear, read I would move to Iran, North Korea or China. BTW, VZW is still blocking this site.

They weren't censoring based on content, they were blocking based on the network attacks coming from some 4chan sites. Verizon has every right to block sites that are going to cause network disruption.

That's the claim but Verizon obviously didn't communciate that to Customer Care. I called yesterday afternoon to see if I could get a more detailed explanation. What I got was pure **bleep** and lies. "I'm so sorry that you perceive that we are blocking access to that site. This simply isn't the case. This is clearly a problem with your device." The {please keep your posts courteous} actually expected me to do a hard reset on my phone before he'd escalate. (The kind of reset that wipes all of your data.)

What makes it so aggravating is the fact that Verizon had already publicly disclosed the fact that they were blocking the site yet that technician kept lying to my face like I'm some sort of **bleep** who would be dumb enough to believe that a glitch on my phone would cause it to block a single type of traffic to a single address while every other port and destination work just fine.

spacedebris

Well, the tech support wasn't lying to you. At least not intentionally. Verizon does not censor web pages, under normal circumstances. This is a case of the High ups at Verizon making a decision and not telling the people that answer the phone. They saw that there was a site that was either causing problems on their systems or was potentially going to cause problems, they temporarily shut it down so that the other company could correct the problem then they will turn it back on. Problem is that even though this is a "exception to the rule" occasion, the front line people were not informed.

I talked to my friend at FIOS tech support, and even though this is mostly a wireless issue, it does have some bearing on FIOS and DSL, and he says that he was unaware of this issue until it was mentioned here. He has contacted his supervisor and they are still trying to find out where this block came from. They were not informed of this and since Verizon policy is that they do not block web sites, that is what the front line people say. Its the info they have, its what they are told to tell the customers, and they have not been told differently. So what they are telling you while incorrect is the proper info, as far they have been told anyway.

JSmith23465

That's part of this country's problem, people wasting company time they are being paid for looking at porn using company resources