keep TEXTING free and fair!
sign and pass along, please. thanks, jude
Back in December, the FCC quietly gave cell phone companies new powers to control our text messages.1 Companies like Verizon can now legally block or delay text messages from users they don’t like or want to charge more money.2
But right now we have an opportunity to stop cell phone companies from censoring text messages.
The timeline is super tight, but the FCC is taking public input on whether to restore protections against text message blocking until Tuesday night, so we urgently need your help to flood the docket with the voices of concerned Internet users.3
Tell the FCC to stop cell phone companies from blocking our text messages before Tuesday’s deadline.
TAKE ACTION
Verizon is already abusing their new powers. In January, the telecom nearly shut down a free texting app used by schools and community groups after threatening the app with new fees nearly 11 times higher than what they were already paying.4,5 And in 2007, action alert texts from NARAL were blocked because Verizon deemed their messages “controversial.”6
This is a gross violation of our rights. Just imagine how this could be used to silence or shakedown anybody who relies on text messages to communicate.
Cell phone users should not have their messages blocked because a telecom company disagrees with their point of view or wants to shake them down for more money.
Click here and tell the FCC to reverse their bad decision before Tuesday’s deadline.
We’re counting on you,
–Josh, on behalf of FFTF
Footnotes:
1. Public Knowledge: https://www.publicknowledge.org/press-release/fcc-approves-flawed-robotext-order-enabling-wireless-carriers-to-block-your-text-messages
2. Public Knowledge: https://www.publicknowledge.org/news-blog/blogs/chairman-pai-isnt-stopping-robocalls-hes-empowering-carriers-to-block-your-text-messages
3. Government Publishing Office: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-03-08/pdf/2019-04256.pdf
4, Remind: https://www.remind.com/blog/verizon-fee
5. Ars Technica: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/01/verizon-caves-wont-charge-spam-fee-for-texts-from-teachers-to-students/
6. The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/27/us/27verizon.html
Fight for the Future works to protect your rights in the digital age.
