Verizon's E-mail Blockade Leads To Lawsuits Verizon began blocking e-mails coming from IP addresses in Europe, Asia and elsewhere late last year because of increases in spam from those regions.

John Gartner

Messaging Pipeline (05/11/2005 11:08 PM ET)

Verizon Communications' effort to limit the flood of spam by blocking foreign e-mails has resulted in multiple class-action lawsuits. Unhappy customers who initiated litigation say the company is being overzealous in protecting its network, while Verizon says it is acting on their behalf.

Verizon began blocking e-mails coming from IP addresses in Europe, Asia and elsewhere late last year because of increases in spam from those regions, according to the company. E-mails messages are sometimes returned to the sender as undeliverable, but the intended recipient is not notified. Verizon did publicly announce the e-mail embargo or otherwise alert customers.

Attorney Michael Boni said his client, the law firm of Kleeman, Abloeser, and DiGiovanni, had been receiving several referrals per week from the United Kingdom and Ireland, but received none after Verizon's e-mail policy took effect.

"The company knows that it is blocking legitimate e-mail with no notification (to subscribers) a violation of Internet protocol for those facilitating traffic," Bondi said. He said his client changed Internet providers after learning of the e-mail blocking, and he filed suit on their behalf in January to receive compensation for the business that was lost.

Boni said Verizon's terms of services agreement provided to most of its business customers requires that all disputes be settled through the American Arbitration Association. Boni filed a second class action suit on February 3 on behalf of Verizon's residential customers whose agreements do not include an arbitration provision.

The complaints ask that Verizon cease the e-mail blocking that is still occurring and compensate customers for their losses.

3,000,000 Represented In Class Action

Boni said the class actions represent up to three million Verizon customers. Settlement talks encompassing both cases are ongoing according to Boni, who said if the case goes to trial it could set a precedent. "I am unaware of any case with this fact pattern," he said. Bondi's firm, Kohn, Swift, and Graf, created an online form for Verizon customers to receive updates on the class-action litigation.

"It strikes me as completely untenable for Verizon to block e-mails from outside of the US indiscriminately," said Dave Ferris, president of messaging research firm Ferris Research.

Ferrris said that while ISPs are expected to block spammers "If an e-mail service provider tries to do it with too crude a filter it is no wonder people are upset." Ferris said he is not aware of any other instances where customers sued an ISP for blocking e-mails.

Despite the lawsuits, Verizon's e-mail blocking policies are still the same, according to spokeswoman Bobbi Henson. "We monitor our networks constantly, and if there are any patterns (of e-mail abuse) then we take action," she said.

Henson said that customers who are not receiving e-mails can try to have the sender taken off of their blocked list by filling out a whitelist form. People who are being blocked by Verizon may need to contact their ISPs to see if they are hosting spammers, according to Henson.

A Spammer Unknown, Even To Himself

Matthew Carmel has been unable to e-mail customers with Verizon e-mail addresses, and after months of conflicting responses from the company, he filed suit in Small Claims Court in Essex, NJ. Carmel said e-mails from his company OshaData began being blocked by Verizon in January. Carmel said he had six phone calls with company representatives in an effort to determine why his U.S.-based company was being blocked.

"I wouldn't even know how to spam," said Carmel, who wants Verizon to reimburse him for the $500 in computer consultant fees. He said his consultant believes Verizon may be blocking him because of the way his firewall is configured.

Carmel said Verizon told him to e-mail the company to get his name put on a whitelist, which frustrated him even further since the company is blocking all of his e-mails.

According to John Levine, the chair of the Anti-Spam Research Group, "this is the case of the bad guys versus the worst guys." Levine said that Verizon has a checkered record of fighting spam. "Any promises that Verizon is providing reliable e-mail service is a non-starter," he said.

Levine said customers would be better served by taking their business elsewhere instead of trying to fight Verizon in court. "Verizon may have a quasi-monopoly by being the only DSL provider in some areas," but cable Internet access is an option in many places, he said.

Levine said that in most cases companies find it cheaper to settle than to go to trial, and he expects Verizon to do the same.

Internet users should not assume that all of their e-mails are being delivered and should periodically test their ISP, according to Levine. "We all want the Internet to be as reliable as the electric grid but it's not," he said.