Verizon is blaming a technical glitch for its servers blocking non-spam e-mail from some of the larger Internet service providers over the weekend.
People began complaining Sunday in a Google discussion group that messages from Google’s Gmail accounts were being blocked from reaching Verizon subscribers as a result of over-aggressive spam filtering.
However, Verizon spokeswoman Bobbi Henson said the mistakenly blocked e-mail was the result of a technical glitch during a spam-filter upgrade Verizon performed over the weekend.
“It resulted in some servers from some major ISPs getting blocked at different times over the weekend,” she said, adding that mail from Yahoo! was mistakenly blocked, as well.
The problem was fixed Sunday night, she said.
“All the mail is working like it is supposed to. Anybody who got mail bounced back does need to resend it, however,” Henson said.
The development comes on the heels of Verizon offering to settle two class action lawsuits brought by seven people who claimed that in its attempts to block spam, Verizon blocked legitimate e-mail from reaching them.
The suit alleged that for several months in 2005, Verizon blocked legitimate e-mails from Europe and Asia.
Verizon offered in the proposed settlement to change the way it blocks spam in order to make sure more legitimate e-mail gets through.
If the settlement is approved, the seven class representatives will receive $1,000 each, and the lawyers will get $1.4 million.
Verizon proposed the settlement without admitting wrongdoing.
