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Text censorship plan has Pakistanis talking
Authorities consider banning hundreds of words deemed obscene by regulators, including "trots" and "uterus".
Last Modified: 22 Nov 2011 05:03

In an effort to clamp down on "harmful, fraudulent, illegal, and unsolicited," mobile phone messages, Pakistan's telecommunications authority has proposed banning 1,695 words from text messages.

In a nation with 100 million mobile phone users, where 109 billion texts were sent in 2009, the clampdown on words deemed obscene by regulators - including "uterus", "trots" and "athletes' foot" - could mean a financial and logistical nightmare for mobile phone companies.

While some find the proposed ban amusing, others say it threatens on citizens' digital privacy and freedom of expression.

Al Jazeera's Imtiaz Tyab reports from Islamabad.
Source:
Al Jazeera
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