Verizon Communications recently settled a court case for deploying an over-zealous spam filtering system and is now proposing an interesting way to make it up to its customers: a refund. For those who
found legitimate e-mail from friends and businesses blocked by the company's spam filters, Verizon is willing to dole out $3.50 per month, or up to $28 for the period in which the filtering system was
active: Oct. 1, 2004 to May 31, 2005. Verizon has refined its junk e-mail blockers since then. During that time period, the prosecuting attorney said Verizon blocked e-mail altogether from certain
overseas Internet service providers--mostly Europe and Asia--and failed to properly handle complaints; he added that the company lazily did this because its servers couldn't handle an increase in
e-mail volume before the 2004 holiday season. A Verizon spokesperson denied these claims. One e-mail expert noted that "Verizon's always had very peculiar spam filters," adding that the company most
likely edged too close to the "losing real mail" side. No mention was made of the impact Verizon's over-zealousness had on commercial e-mailers, or whether they would be eligible for compensation
based on the settlement.
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