Verizon has spent a fortune on advertising recently – trying to tell all of us that they rank “highest-in-the-nation,” where certain telephone/internet/streaming services are concerned.

What Verizon didn’t tell everyone, however, is that they were named to the National Center on Sexual Exploitation’s 2016 Dirty Dozen List, as a mainstream business that PUSHES PORNOGRAPHY.

They are literally putting profits before people.

These days, many distributors of porn are “respectable” telecommunications companies, who push porn in order to improve quarterly profits, or to promote an agenda.

And, they must also be blind to the fact that they are massively facilitating a serious public health crisis in the US.

Yes, Verizon is enabling a massive public health crisis in the US!

And, that’s why the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) and CitizenGO are joining forces on this critical petition.

In fact, this petition coincides with the release of NCOSE’s Annual “Dirty Dozen” list, which names and shames 12 public/corporate contributors to sexual exploitation in the US.

This year, Verizon is at the top of the list because the company profits from sexual exploitation by pushing porn into homes through: pay-per-view movies on their FIOS TV; as an Internet Service Provider; and, as a wireless carrier. They have even defended child-themed, incest-themed, and trafficking-themed pornography as a “benefit” to their consumers.

As a result, our society, and, especially our children and relationships, are suffering the effects of a "pornified" mentality and culture. And, as Verizon is a leading distributor of pornography, Verizon is responsible for much of that harm.

This must now change…Verizon’s corporate policy must change.

To that end, this petition demands that Verizon implement three common-sense policy reforms: 1) Stop offering porn on pay-per-view; 2) Be a leader in the US, by enabling child-protecting porn filters as the standard default setting for internet browsing; and, 3) Better inform and educate their customers, on how to use parental filters with their cellular phone/tablet services.

With a change of heart, Verizon could retake some of the moral high-ground with these three policy reforms, placing people, rather than profit, back at the center of their business model.

Please sign this critical petition, urging Verizon to implement three policy reforms on the sale, promotion, and distribution of pornography. And, if you wish, please see more detailed information about our suggested policy reforms under the "Related Links" below.

Once this petition has been completed, ranking members of Congress will be informed, so that they can review and assess the situation related to pornography as a major public health crisis, and Verizon's role in propagating the crisis.

Thank you for signing!

RELATED LINKS - FOR MORE INFORMATION:

• http://endsexualexploitation.org/starwood/
• http://endsexualexploitation.org/
• http://dirtydozenlist.com
• http://pornharmsresearch.com/
• http://www.kcsg.com/view/full_story/27078359/article-Utah-resolution-declares-pornography-as-a-public-health-crisis-?instance=eeo_report1
• http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/02/02/utah-senator-calls-for-recognition-of-pornography-as-public-health-hazard/
• http://pornharmsresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/Layden-Symposium-Speech.pdf
• http://pornharmsresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/Allen-Symposium-Speech.pdf

_____________________________________

MORE SPECIFIC INFORMATION ON THE THREE SUGGESTED POLICY REFORMS

The first ask – stopping porn on pay-per-view – is a no-brainer!

In 2014, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation wrote letters to Verizon’s board of directors asking each member of the board if they believe Verizon should profit from pornographic films that promote child sex abuse and incest.

NCOSE received a response from Verizon’s Director of Global Corporate Citizenship stating that the company believes its “explosion of choice” in programming is a “tremendous benefit” to consumers.

However, soon thereafter, Verizon quietly removed all child-themed porn from their FIOS video-on-demand service.

But, even today, anyone (including children) with access to Verizon’s FIOS video-on-demand service, can download offensive videos touting the sexual benefits of sex trafficking, incest, racism and violent physical abuse.

This means that, even today, Verizon is storing disgusting titles on their servers – and profiting from them!

To remedy this situation, Verizon needs to act immediately to stop the sale of porn on pay-per-view.

The second ask – to offer child-protecting porn filters as the standard default setting for internet browsing – is also a no-brainer!

The damage that viewing pornography does to children is well known, not to mention the harm it does to adult viewers and those who are involved in this exploitative industry.

And so, it is important that we take practical steps to ensure that children are unable to view it.

If we look at an international example, we can see how one big carrier has had great success implementing strong porn filters, as standard, for internet browsing.

Sky, one of the biggest Internet Service Providers in the UK, has offered, as standard, strong porn filters for parents concerned about what their children may be able to access online.

And, 30-40% of Sky customers enable the filters, compared with 14%, 12% and 6% of their major competitors, who don’t offer such filters as standard.

So, the evidence is clear: offering strong porn filters as standard means that far more customers will actually use them!

And, it also means that far less porn is being viewed by impressionable audiences.

With a change of heart, Verizon could be the leader of protecting children in the US, by insuring that anyone who wants to view porn must “opt-out” of such porn filters.

The third ask – to better educate their customers, on how to use parental filters with their cellular phone/tablet services  – is another no-brainer!

Nowadays, adults and children are not tethered to a home PC for internet access. As everyone knows, a smartphone or a tablet is like taking your home PC with you, with internet access and all.

At the moment, these parental controls are very difficult to find and use. Verizon needs to better facilitate parents as they seek to block pornographic content from their own, and their children's, wireless devices.

This is a major opportunity in the protection of children, which needs to be taken as soon as possible.

If necessary, Verizon must insure that the makers of such devices, along with the designers of their operating systems, be made aware of this issue and demand that these controls be made easily operable.

Again, were Verizon to seek the protection of children first, they could also be leaders in this area as well.

Of course, we have a common interest in seeing the elimination of porn from our society. But, until that day comes, we must demand that distributors of porn, such as Verizon, face up to the dreadful role they are playing in the coarsening of our nation’s culture, and, indeed, in contributing to a public health crisis.

Internet Service Providers, like Verizon, bear some responsibility in protecting the innocence, morals and good state of mind of their customers, especially, as they have the technical capacity to do so.

Therefore, we expect that Verizon – by reflecting on the damage done to individuals and society with their distribution and sale of pornography – will have a change of heart, and enact the three proposed policy reforms.