So Verizon cuts off Net access to ISP that hosts gay chat sites...
 

mind you, these were "legal chat sites" with a seeming pedo slant.

what is the future of our internet when a major internet backbone (whom is supposed to be neutral) is allowed to censor internet access?

quote:
Certainly a chill has descended on a small Montreal ISP, Epifora, whose home page promises "respect for client privacy" and tolerance of "controversial speech." The company's clients host a number of websites and chatboards-- such as Boychat.org and Freespirits.org-- with a pederastic slant. On October 4th Epifora was notified by MCI-Canada that their connection to the internet backbone would be cut off in 30 days for violating the "acceptable use policy" of Verizon-- the giant US telecom that swallowed MCI in 2005. Epifora had paid for a high-speed link to the internet's "backbone" through MCI-Canada for five years, without incident. Neither Verizon, nor MCI-Canada, nor any law-enforcement agency had ever served Epifora with a "take-down notice"-- the established procedure in Canada to get an ISP to remove, pending a court hearing, a client's possibly offending material. So what was the alleged violation?

source: http://www.guidemag.com

They can censor whatever they want. It's their private network. The US Constitution's Free Speech guarantees only applies to GOVERNMENT ACTION (ie., government networks, government entities, etc).

I am not saying I agree with censorship but private censorship has always been the law if I'm not mistaken.

Wasnt it Canada?

Verizon hate gay subscribers!

verizons network is not a private network. verizon is a common carrier and thus regulated under the FCC.

the ISP is based in canada, while the network providing the ISP internet access is located in the USA

indeed.. this could be interesting if they choose to fight it.

they're in canada, though.. so who knows

Interesting stuff.. Verizon has never made it a secret.. they advertise themselves as a "clean" network. They censor all kinds of websites. Doesnt matter if the content is sexual, just has to have a few swear words.

Interesting. No big surprise as previously mentioned though. Private censhorship goes on every day, everywhere around.

so if major trunks choose to route around sites showing explicit content, will these sites be able to survive?