“It`s impossible to ask our clients to choose their words carefully. We can`t stop people from using so many abbreviations, short hand words, and numerous spellings.
“And the concern is over certain words that are so commonly used but the regulators have asked us to filter them in outgoing text messages,” an official of a cellular company said on condition of anonymity.
The feelings are the same in Ufone and Mobilink companies.
Next time when you text someone asking to “do me” a favour or “deposit” a cheque or even seeking a bottle of Johnson`s Baby “Lotion” from the market, it might not get through.
That is because the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority have directed the four cellular operators to block these words (in quotes) as well as another 1, 100 words that they believed were obscene and vulgar.
Following the directions, the cellular operators were bound to block 1,100 words if detected in a Short Messaging Service (SMS) from one sender to another or several receivers.
And this is exactly why the operators have been taken aback and are going into a huddle to figure out a way forward, especially when companies were using terms like “Breast” in their campaign against breast cancer, etc., and spreading the message of mass awareness through SMS services.
However, spokesperson for Mobilink, Omar Mazoor, said the PTA had taken the decision in the best interest of the industry after taking all stakeholders on board.
Moazzam Ali Khan speaking on behalf of Ufone said, “Companies were bound to follow directions handed down by the regulators.”
Surprisingly, the PTA is not willing to own the list of 1,100 words. “it was prepared in consultation with all stakeholders,” said the Director Public Relations PTA Mohammad Younis.
It seems the list has been more likely copy-pasted from the internet and passed down to the operators. It includes words such as “KKK” for Ku Klux Klan, “Gook” a term used by the American soldiers for the Vietnami soldiers and “Yellowman” for Chinese.
“There is a definite possibility that the list was copied from the internet,” said Muhammad Younis conceding that it was not prepared by the PTA alone.
The words in the list are not an issue, he said adding the problem at hand is larger than these terms being used in text messages as PTA as well as all the cellular operators receive numerous complaints from subscribers about derogatory text in SMSs.
He said the list was not final. Most words will be blocked, some would be removed, and more will be added because there is no end to slang and expletives.
The idea is to block most words that are vulgar and obscene,” explained the Director PR adding the PTA under the Telecom Act 1996 could block material that was farce, fabricated and obscene and transmitted through a telecom system.