Text Message Petition

Public Knowledge, along with a coalition of concerned non-profits, has filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission asking that they clarify that text messaging is a service which is subject to nondiscrimination rules, and that blocking text messaging services to quell speech or to stifle competition is unjust and unreasonable discrimination which violates the law.

PDF versions of the document(s) are available here:

Original Filing - Dec 11, 2007
Addendum adding Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky as a party - Dec 21, 2007
Addendum adding CREDO Mobile, Inc. as a party - Jan 31, 2008
Comments of Public Knowledge et al.: Petition for Declaratory Ruling Stating that Text Messaging and Short Codes are Title II Services or are Title I Services Subject to Section 202 Nondiscrimination Rules
Reply Comments of Public Knowledge et al.: Petition for Declaratory Ruling Stating that Text Messaging and Short Codes are Title II Services or are Title I Services Subject to Section 202 Nondiscrimination Rules
Letter: Petition of Public Knowledge et al. for Declaratory Ruling Stating that Text Messaging and Short Codes are Title II Services or are Title I Services Subject to Section 202 Nondiscrimination Rules — Dec 15, 2008

Concise overviews of the facts, issues and recommendations of the petition is available here:

Recent Developments

Feb 1, 2008 - The FCC grants CTIA’s motion for extension. The deadline for comments is Mar 14, 2008 and the deadline for replies is Apr 14, 2008.
Jan 25, 2008 - CTIA files a motion for extension of time to file comments and replies.
Jan 14, 2008 - The FCC issues a public notice seeking comment on the petition.
March 14, 2008 - Public Knowledge and public interest groups file comments telling the FCC that text message discrimination problems need to be solved.
April 14, 2008 - Public Knowledge and public interest groups file replies denying carrier’s claims that there is no longer a problem, that the public is best served when carriers exert editorial control over content, that the FCC lacks authority to regulate text messages, and that First Amendment rights will be harmed if text messaging services must be provided in a nondiscriminatory way. Listen to the press conference held for this filing below:
December 15, 2008 - Public Knowledge files a letter urging the Commission to clarify that text messaging, including the offering of short codes to the public, is a Title II common carrier service subject to all of the protections of Title II, including §202’s nondiscrimination protections and §255’s accessibility requirements.

Background

Short codes are five- and six-digit phone numbers that are used in text messaging campaigns in both the political and commercial arenas. Citizens can send text messages to these short codes to receive time-sensitive information about political issues and campaigns, local health services, and commercial products. However, mobile carriers currently can and do discriminate in who they allow to send messages two and receive messages from their customers.

In one recent incident, Verizon refused to provision a short code to NARAL Pro-Choice America for an opt-in political action campaign, reversing that decision only after public outcry. In a later incident, several carriers refused to allow Rebtel, a company that offers low-cost domestic and international VoIP services, to communicate with the carriers’ customers.

Public Knowledge believes that text messaging is an important and rapidly growing medium for free speech in the United States today. Mobile carriers should not be the gatekeepers who decide what speech is allowed and what speech is not, and should not be permitted to leverage their control over this medium to stifle competition.