In recent weeks, I’ve noticed a rise in censorship regarding SMS communication that’s not being discussed. At all. I’m concerned that it may become a slippery slope that eventually effects us all. I don’t have any dramatic, prose-ridden introduction this week. Just some news, facts, and observations I wanted to share. So this week, follow me down the rabbit hole as I explore an existing but rising threat to our free speech and what we can do about it.

  • TCB13@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    if you’re sending or trying to receive a text message with swear words in the U.S., chances are the carrier will block it.

    So much for the land of the free. Not even the EU with their chat control bullshit is pushing it so far.

    Thanks for sharing the article.

    • Possibly linux@lemmy.zip
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      4 months ago

      Are you surprised by this? It is SMS after all. I think you could do this with a basic man in the middle.

      • TCB13@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Yeah, no security there, but I wasn’t expecting to see providers doing that. What’s the point.

      • Zak@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        I’m not surprised they could. I’ve worked on things that send SMS messages and I’m aware that carriers filter for spam and scams (perhaps not as effectively as one might hope).

        I’m surprised to hear of messages being blocked for mere profanity.

        Anyway, SMS sucks, default to something else and fall back to SMS as a last resort. Gently encourage your contacts to use Signal.

    • octopus_ink@lemmy.ml
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      4 months ago

      I swear in SMS on the daily, and have shared videos of pro-Palestine protests via sms also. I’m a bit dubious. I did read the article, and it sounds like one carrier-specific issue, and (unsurprisingly) MS allowing enterprise customers to control what is said on Teams.

      So two examples that are each either platform or carrier specific.

    • refalo@programming.dev
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      4 months ago

      Freedom of speech is the right to express opinions without government restraint, not without corporate restraint.