The Bellevue, Washington-based wireless service is being sued by a texting service claiming T-Mobile stopped servicing its “short code” clients after it signed up a California medical marijuana dispensary. In a court filing, T-Mobile said it had the right to pre-approve EZ Texting’s clientele, which it said the New York-based texting service failed to submit for approval.
EZ Texting offers a short code service, which works like this: A church could send its schedule to a cell phone user who texted “CHURCH” to 313131. Mobile phone users only receive text messages from EZ Texting’s customers upon request. Each of its clients gets their own special word.
T-Mobile, the company wrote in a filing (.pdf) in New York federal court, “has discretion to require pre-approval for any short-code marketing campaigns run on its network, and to enforce its guidelines by terminating programs for which a content provider failed to obtain the necessary approval.”
Such approval is necessary, T-Mobile added, “to protect the carrier and its customers from potentially illegal, fraudulent, or offensive marketing campaigns conducted on its network.”
It’s the first federal case testing whether wireless providers may block text messages they don’t like.
This would mean I would have to actually use a cellphone, no?
And own one?
Dear me…
And, of course, AJ:
Good DAMNED point, sir!
If you wish to be hacked, you have to ENABLE hacking!
I suspect I may have summarized your thought.
BZ
The phone company may have been broken up, but Ernestine still lives.
If one wishes to expand their threat environment, they are free to do so.
Liberty has its costs, after all, and if you enjoy the benefits realize that there are costs, as well, that go far beyond the monthly service charge. Ask Iran about that during the Green Uprisings and cellphone video. Or KSA about teenage dating and pornography. Or China being unable to stop internal reports leaking out.
Censorship is treated as damage to the network and is routed around.
Just understand the nature of the network, the nature of the threat, and prepare for it in new venues of comms.
You want the benefits?
Prepare for the problems as well.
Yep, wish I could dump mine… sigh…
this is bad but I’m hearing, more and more from this administration, that they’re going to have to guard the internet closer because of ‘terrorists’…i keep wondering if we fall under that heading since we don’t love the leader?
Can T-Mobile customers then choose whether or not to pay their monthly bills.