Senators Urge FCC to Spike Text Message Plan

A group of 10 senators is calling on Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to stand down on his proposal to classify text messaging as an information service. “We urge you to right this wrong and classify text messaging as a telecommunications service, affording this vital means of communications protections that promote innovation and support freedom of speech,” the lawmakers write in a letter led by Sen. Ed Markey(D-MA) and co-signed by eight Senate Democrats as well as Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Critics of the plan argue that reclassifying texts would give carriers the power to block messages as they see fit. The FCC proposal has already drawn the opposition of FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who said, “the claim that the FCC needs to classify text messages to protect consumers from unwanted texts is bogus doublespeak.”