Why is Verizon censoring us? Pt. 4

Ok, let's cut to the chase.

Verizon deliberately and aggressively seeks to curtail free speech and public debate in the following ways:

1) Exploiting it's lobbying power and control of local land lines to minimize and, where possible, eliminate, competition for broadband services.

2) Exploiting it's lobbying power to restrict the right of every Internet user to access any Internet site with equal ease, speed, and quality.

3) Propagating price policies and terms that prohibit residential accounts from attaching servers to the FIOS lines, effectively blocking ordinary citizens from using the full power of the Internet to express their views in the public forum.

The result is de facto control over Internet content generated within Verizon's service area.

In other words, Verizon's policies impose, at minimum, a costly toll on citizen access to the publicly developed Internet and, arguably, curtails it outright for many. The net result is a shameful assault on our democratic system and most fundamental democratic values.

For more on the first policy, see:

Broadband Front Lines: Broadband wars taking toll on smaller competitors - http://telephoneonline.com/broadband/finance/wts_transcom_verizon_032805/

Or...

Verizon Is Hit with Lawsuit by Richmond, Va., Telephone Company - http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-7829482_ITM

For more on the second policy see:

Why should you care about network neutrality? - http://www.slate.com/id/2140850/

The third policy may seem like a geeky sideshow. But it's not.

Stay tuned...