Need advice: My company's IT company is blocking what is assuredly conservative content

5/22/24

[spacejunkie2001]

I need guidance. I have a company in Orlando and the IT company we use just notified us Monday that they've engaged a company out of DC that will now block all these sites (see list) which I'm certain will be patriotic, conservative and/or Christian. I need help to find a company that loves our nation allowing me to switch this service. Anecdotally, one of my co workers sends a devotional email every single morning (and has for 10 years). Since the implementation of this screening software it's taking 12 hours + to arrive in anyone's inbox.

Here's an excerpt of the IT co's email:

The following website categories will be blocked by default: (you have to "love" the word "hate" as we know that's code for conservative/Christian)

Blogs and Personal Sites Dating and Personals Gambling Media Sharing P2P and Illegal Weapons Adult Content Drugs Entertainment Games Hacking and Cracking Streaming Media Webmail and Chat Alcohol and Tobacco Contentious and Misinformation Social Networking Terrorism and Hate File Sharing Sites VPN/Proxy Sites

[spacejunkie2001]

I KNOW. I’m trying to find a patriotic company.

[Reno89519]

And is this Internet service to your company physically? You'll have to see what service options you have locally. I don't know of any national ones that are doing any filtering like this.

I do know that some web hosts, email hosts, and so forth are doing some. I've had to change my service because of that, but that is not physical to my company.

For email, I use Google business, it uses my company domain. Big advantage is that no one blocks Gmail sourced email. I do have hassles with what it puts into my spam folder but I deal with that. At least they are not like AOL that blocked/blocks like a nazi without notification. (I still can't believe AOL is around and people still use it.)

If the issue is your Internet host for your company's website, again typically not a physical site issue, there are many that host pretty much anything. I use InMotion, which seems good. We could go off-tangent on this discussion, I've paid for hosting services since before 2000.

[Tell It Right]

Have you asked your IT service provider about this blocking feature? Is it configurable? Perhaps it’s on by default but they can quickly turn it off for your company.

[Reno89519]

A patriotic company? There have been a number over the years that claim that--email hosts, web hosts, Internet service providers, credit card processors, etc. Too often they don't sustain it or turn out to be passing through bigger companies that usually catch up to them. Watch around, while barely any fly the American flag on their websites, some are noted veteran-owned companies.

My company, I post that it is a veteran-owned small business, that we support Buy American, Hire American, and that we use E-Verify. Don't know the balance of hurt or help, but it is a statement I clearly make on the website and in contract proposals, etc.

[spacejunkie2001]

yes and he sent me a waiver for service that basically exonerates them from ANY issues. When I followed up and asked him to define ‘hate’ he didn’t respond.

another thing of note is that I get Trump Media emails. Every single one goes into my junk folder no matter how many times I’ve marked it NOT JUNK.

[Reno89519]

Have you asked your IT service provider about this blocking feature? Is it configurable? Perhaps it’s on by default but they can quickly turn it off for your company.

Great point! Check if it can be turned off. Reminds me that my previous email host had turned things on by default, we turned it off, they still had other filtering, they had to make fix to that, a supposed one-off, but I eventually left them anyway because their email servers kept getting blacklisted.

[Openurmind]

“My ops manager handles the bulk of all this but I really got my hackles up when I got that list and the delayed emails now happening.”

Ok, I got it. You have probably at least four geniuses right here on the FR who would love to make an extra buck even if it is temporary to get it all set up and simplified for you. It all boils down to eliminating access to the servers/server hosting from that IT company. This depends on your contract with them of course. Hopefully you have an out on your contract because they are not delivering services they agreed to deliver.

Ops manager can take a hike with this department. Getting your servers right is an extreme top priority as you know. Up front and honest, I personally do not have the knowledge to do this for you or I would offer. But there are several here who are absolute geniuses who might. Hopefully they will read this and PM you about how best to rid you of that anchor.

[spacejunkie2001]

it was a red flag when I asked him to define what some of these things refer to and he ghosted me. For instance ‘social media’....what is that? Truth Social? What’s ‘hate’? We know from being here long enough that hate has nothing to do with REAL hate, it only has to do with not agreeing to liberal policy and garbage stances like trannies or killing babies.

[Openurmind]

“Side note, but don’t conservatives like freedom anymore?”

No... Unfortunately it is always about that ONE extra penny... :(

[Openurmind]

“it was a red flag when I asked him to define what some of these things refer to and he ghosted me. For instance ‘social media’

Go over his head, does his company have a parent company? Go straight to the top and work down. He won’t be there long...

[Tell It Right]

By law it's probably good to keep some filtering services on (i.e. so you can't be sued or jailed if an employee or hacker uses your systems for sending and receiving child porn, or modern day Napster/BitTorrent type file sharing of copyright media).

But "hate speech" blocking should be turned off.

[Lizavetta]

Whatever. I'm not going to fight you.

But saying your server belongs to your boss or saying religious statements are personal and not company related does not make me a Nazi.

And you know it, my friend.

[spacejunkie2001]

good advice

[Tell It Right]

Do you know if your current IT service depends on another service provider? You might get better/more configurable service if you went directly to the underlying service provider. It may be that the people you deal with are just a front company using someone else's service and the front company doesn't know the ins and outs for how the real company providing their service does their thing.

As an analogy, imagine if your Uber app did nothing more than hire a taxi to come pick you up. If you got tired of dealing with Uber you could get around that by calling the local taxi company directly.

[fruser1]

Sounds like you need someone who either doesn’t do site blocking for you, or you need the ability to configure a white list.

Include that as a spec in your RFP.

[spacejunkie2001]

I have NO ISSUE being protected. What I do take issue with is an entity that deems itself the keeper of all that’s true, most of which could be completely arbitrary. Like hate, social media, weapons, etc. I also mentioned earlier that ALL of my Trump emails go into junk no matter how many times I mark them as NOT JUNK.

I just need a company I can trust that isn’t in the DOJs back pocket waiting to throw me jail because I don’t advocate killing babies.

[spacejunkie2001]

I OWN THE COMPANY FOR GOD’S SAKE. WAKE UP LADY

[Ken Regis]

Update your CV and/or resume
Get a better job
Give two weeks notice.
Scream at leadership.
Leave.

[John Robinson]

Given the language "will be blocked by default", it sounds like you should have the ability to disable some (or all) blacklist categories.

[spacejunkie2001]

Good point, I’ll drill down more on the who’s who and see if I can get this addressed