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Submitted: October 13, 2010 - 2:15pm
Originally published: October 13, 2010
Last updated: October 13, 2010 - 2:16pm
Originally published: October 13, 2010
Last updated: October 13, 2010 - 2:16pm
Source:
GigaOm
Author:
Darrell Etherington
Location:
Apple, 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA, 95014, United States
A new patent the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office just approved was filed in 2008 by Apple and prevents users from sending and receiving "objectionable" text messages.
The patent, officially called "Text-based communication control for personal communication device," essentially prevents what's known as "sexting." If this tech ever makes it way to your smartphone, it could theoretically alert a user, administer, or other designated individual whenever objectionable content appears in a text message. In practice, that could mean a parent gets a text when their teenage son writes something racy, or that your boss gets a notice whenever you swear in an outbound communication.
According to the patent, the iPhone could also offer suggestions with which to replace the offending text, or just delete it outright as soon as you're done typing so that it never gets sent in the first place. In effect, that means it could actually change what you're going to say.
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Comments
John Dvorak thinks I'm wrong; he may be right.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2370709,00.asp
This is a classic example of something looking like one thing and being something else altogether. And the entire tech world is stupidly missing the point.
This patent is not about sexting it's about political speech. Apple wants its phone in Iran, China, Saudi Arabia, and other parts of the world where political dissent is a crime. Over the years, it has become apparent that the mobile phone is a tool for revolutionaries. This was proven with the Iranian "Green" riots of 2009, but began with a series of riots all over the world through the last decade.
No one loves the use of exaggeration to grab headlines (or Headlines), but this isn't censorship. It's using one application of technology to reduce the mis-use of another. The technology enables the person who pays for the phone (be it parent or corporate emplyer) to minimalize inappropriate use.
Censorship, like racism, is closely aligned with the power to restrict behavior. If Apple or the government were enabling this technology across the board, that would be censorship (and in Apple's case, what they've done with their App Store). This is the close cousin to web filtering software, and I think we all see the wisdom in that (and the occasional pitfalls that need to be corrected, like the Chinese).
The proper analogy here isn't "1984;" it's the governor that prevents a go kart from going too fast and dangerous.