Idaho Internet Provider Blocks Facebook, Twitter After Customers Complain About Censorship
A North Idaho internet provider will be blocking Twitter and Facebook for customers who — irked at the social media sites’ treatment of President Donald Trump — want it to do so.
Your T1 WIFI provides internet services to North Idaho and the Spokane, Washington, area, according to KREM-TV.
The company told its customers about the move, which will take effect Wednesday, in an email posted Sunday by customer Krista Yep.
“It has come to our attention that Twitter and Facebook are engaged in censorship of our customers and information,” the email reads.
“We have the past couple days been fielding calls from customers voicing the concern that they do not want these sites allowed to be displayed on the internet feed to them and they do not want their children to go to these sites.”
Noting that blocking the two social media giants one by one as customers requested might be labor-intensive and costly, the company said it decided to simply block them outright.
The email gave customers the option of signing up for a list that would allow the sites.
“Our company does not believe a website or social networking site has the authority to censor what you see and post and hide information from you, stop you from seeing what your friends and family are posting,” the email said. “This is why with the amount of concerns, we have made this decision to block these two websites from being accessed from our network.”
Umm from my North Idaho internet provider…. this is INSANE. pic.twitter.com/vzy9tSDRAp
— krista yep (@yes4yep) January 10, 2021
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Yep was among those not pleased with the idea.
“Just because you don’t like what Twitter and Facebook have done, then you decide to block it for everyone else, so in your opposition to censorship, you’re going with censorship,” Yep told KREM.
The company did amend its initial policy, and said that instead of blocking Facebook and Twitter for everyone, it would only block the sites for customers who asked the company to do so.
Company owner Brett Fink emphasized that while the sites will be blocked, they will only be blocked for those who want his company to do so.
“We don’t want them to feel disenfranchised, so we are letting them know that if they don’t reply back, they will not be added to the block list. They will just continue as normal,” Fink said told the Washington Examiner.
Here is my “amotion” getting the best of me pic.twitter.com/hheYYENF39
— krista yep (@yes4yep) January 11, 2021
It was too late for Yep, however, who said she will cancel her service.
“Their original email was pretty alarming and I don’t trust them anymore,” she said.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
