Verizon is stretching the definition of "opt-out" here. My previous experience with opt-out has been mainly with financial organizations and on-line merchants where opting out means checking a box on the screen, or sending in a post card or letter with a box checked. For Verizon, it means reconfiguring your router. What percentage of verizon FIOS users do you think know how to check a box on a web page? What percentage do you think know how to reconfigure their routers? Compare and Contrast.

An opt-in requirement would require that Verizon actually lets consumers know about the option, something they don't do very well now. I could find nothing about the opt out option on the Verizon support page using various searches. The only way I could find get to the opt-out instructions was through the link in this article, or through similar links in several technical forums. How many Verizon FIOS users are going to be searching these forums for "opt-out" information? When you do go to the link, and select the current Actiontec router you get conflicting instructions. The directions on the web page don't match those on the PDF file they provide for you to print for ease of reading. Click on the opt-out link and check it out.

What Verizon provides is not an opt-out. It's a work-around.