I recently got a new cell phone under the auspices of the vast and ever-expanding Verizon empire, and have been very pleased with the service thus far. So you can only imagine my disappointment this evening when I saw this headline in the NY Times: Verizon Rejects Text Messages From Abortion Rights Group. What, exactly, did this mean? In my naivete, I pictured Planned Parenthood obsessively sending text messages to Verizon CEOs or something, but no. Apparently while I wasn't looking, texting has become an increasingly popular way for people to sign up to get regularl updates and reminders and such about various and sundry topics, ranging from the weather, to sports, to politics. And NARAL Pro-Choice America is one of the many groups that use this particular medium, and among the many mobile networks, Verizon alone apparently finds abortion so offensive that they refused to carry NARAL's text messaging program.
Now, I may be relatively new to the world of cell phones, so please correct me if I'm wrong. My understanding is that individuals subscribe to these text messaging programs, that they sign up for them, and are thus choosing to receive the information being sent out. It's not like NARAL would be sending inappropriate messages to young children, or attempting to solicit donations from Concerned Women for America members, right? So what's the problem? And if Verizon can randomly decide to prohibit sending out topic-specific messages en masse to people who asked to receive them, can they also start keeping tabs on the rest of us, picking out individual text messages to crack down on? It just seems so blatantly wrong, not to mention economically stupid. And here I just started a 2-year commitment with these people. Damn.
Now, I may be relatively new to the world of cell phones, so please correct me if I'm wrong. My understanding is that individuals subscribe to these text messaging programs, that they sign up for them, and are thus choosing to receive the information being sent out. It's not like NARAL would be sending inappropriate messages to young children, or attempting to solicit donations from Concerned Women for America members, right? So what's the problem? And if Verizon can randomly decide to prohibit sending out topic-specific messages en masse to people who asked to receive them, can they also start keeping tabs on the rest of us, picking out individual text messages to crack down on? It just seems so blatantly wrong, not to mention economically stupid. And here I just started a 2-year commitment with these people. Damn.
No comments:
Post a Comment