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posted by chromas on Saturday November 24 2018, @01:13PM   Printer-friendly

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1984

FCC’s proposed robotext crackdown could block legal messages, critics say

The Federal Communications Commission says it is giving cellular carriers added authority to block text messages, saying the action is needed to protect consumers from spam or robotexts. But critics of the plan note that carriers are already allowed to block robotexts and worry that the change will make it easy for carriers to censor political texts or block certain kinds of messages in order to extract more revenue from senders.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's announcement acknowledges that carriers are already allowed to block illegal robotexts. Pai did not promise new consumer-friendly blocking services; instead, he said his plan "allow[s] carriers to continue using robotext-blocking and anti-spoofing measures to protect consumers from unwanted text messages" (emphasis ours).

Despite that, Pai is proposing to classify text messaging as an information service, rather than a telecommunications service. That's the same legal classification that Pai gave to home and mobile broadband services as part of a December 2017 vote to deregulate the industry and eliminate net neutrality rules. The FCC has not previously ruled on whether text messaging is an information service or a telecommunications service.

An FCC vote on Pai's plan is scheduled for December 12.

[...] Public Knowledge yesterday called Pai's plan "a great big gift basket to corporate special interests at the expense of American consumers."

[...] Pai argued in a blog post that changing text messaging from its current un-classified status to a Title II telecommunication service "would dramatically curb the ability of wireless providers to use robotext-blocking, anti-spoofing, and other anti-spam features." Rejecting Title II and settling on the information service classification for text messaging would "remove regulatory uncertainty, and empower providers to continue finding innovative ways to protect consumers from unwanted text messages," Pai wrote.

[...] Pai's information service proposal was accompanied by another measure designed to reduce robocalls. Pai is proposing a "reassigned number database... [that] would help legitimate callers know whether telephone numbers have been reassigned to somebody else before calling those numbers," he wrote.


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  • (Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Saturday November 24 2018, @02:04PM (4 children)

    by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us (6553) on Saturday November 24 2018, @02:04PM (#765874) Journal

    Pai is once again screwing the consumer. There is no such thing as a modern vital telecommunication service that deserves government protection, an idea that the Republican Party feels is as outmoded as consumer copper connections. Got it. But already knew it.

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  • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Saturday November 24 2018, @05:41PM (3 children)

    by fustakrakich (6150) on Saturday November 24 2018, @05:41PM (#765930) Journal

    The man is doing what he was hired to do. We all knew this before the election.

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    La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
    • (Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Monday November 26 2018, @03:24PM (2 children)

      by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us (6553) on Monday November 26 2018, @03:24PM (#766455) Journal

      Well, Mr. Pai was not hired before the election for starters. But I won't be obtuse and just assume you were referring to Mr. Trump. If you mean that Mr. Trump was hired to screw over everybody and make them feel empowered as it was being shoved in... I seriously doubt the MAGA voters were aware of that. It's not likely the vast majority are still aware of it now.

      If you mean you and I knew that... OK. Hopefully getting the word out, though, will allow others to see through the BS. I think that if either party was elected we'd be seeing the same sort of behavior, and I like to believe I would be pointing it out if it were Wheeler as well. This transcends party ideology and is simply about, "screw you if you're poor," which both parties engage in.

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      • (Score: 2, Insightful) by fustakrakich on Monday November 26 2018, @07:32PM (1 child)

        by fustakrakich (6150) on Monday November 26 2018, @07:32PM (#766563) Journal

        Yeah, ok, he wasn't hired as chief before the election, Obama got him in the door, so this is nothing about Trump except that he promoted him. It is a non partisan issue. He got his job as a representative of the industry. Both sides are pleased with the results, and both sides keep their power in congress. There is no "moral" mumbo-jumbo in this business. That's for the clowns who have to stand in front of the camera to sell the snake oil.

        The *Word* is already out. Nobody gives a shit. *Give me convenience, or give me death*Everything you said still points to the voters. They are the ones that *play along to get along* out of fear, anger, tribalism, whatever rationalization and psycho-babble that can be dreamed up. With so little effort to change it, all the complaints are shallow and hollow, and misdirected. Trump, Clinton, et al, are symptoms. The voters put them there whether they "know it" or not. The focus should be on what they do, regardless of stated motivation. The fact remains, over 96% of the voters vote for business as usual. And each individual has to address it for him/her self.

        --
        La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..