Censored by Verizon
"The company's recent decision to deny a pro-choice group access to its cell phone text messaging network raised concerns about whether freedom of speech is adequately protected in electronic communications." - Gotham Gazette lead-in to this article
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October 29, 2007 | Joshua Breitbart | Gotham Gazette
When NARAL Pro-Choice America applied to Verizon Wireless for a code so it could send text messages to Verizon subscribers who wanted to receive them, the organization never expected that the wireless provider would deny its request. AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint, which share almost the entire U.S. market with Verizon, had shown no hesitation signing NARAL up for the five-digit "short code."
Unexpectedly, though, Verizon rejected NARAL's application. In its response, the company said its decision was in accordance with its policy to refuse messages it deemed "controversial or unsavory to any of our users."
Following a New York Times article and a public outcry, Verizon rescinded its rejection. But the fact that Verizon can reject or block politically controversial messages, whether or not it does, left many people feeling outraged.
On October 17, New York State Assemblymember Richard Brodsky convened a hearing to get the facts from NARAL and Verizon and to consider the issue of net neutrality, which would prevent Verizon and other service providers from withholding service based on the content of messages.
Net neutrality is the principle of non-discrimination on communications networks, especially the Internet, but also phone or mobile wireless networks. Proponents of net neutrality say the networks, no matter who owns them, should carry our messages regardless of their content or who is providing that content. Current law permits Internet and mobile wireless service providers to decide what content they carry, the way a cable television provider chooses which channels it can offer. This applies not only to the kind of short message code for which NARAL applied, but also to Web sites and even e-mails.
Continued at: gothamgazette.com
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