Little red books, little red phones

SF Chronicle A-2 -- China puts limits on text mail -- Joseph Kahn, 3 July 2004

The dispatch said the purpose was to stop the spread of pornographic messages and false or deceptive advertising, as well as to block the dissemination of illicit news and information.

All such companies are being required to install filtering equipment that can monitor and delete messages that contain key words, phrases or numbers that authorities consider suspicious before they reach customers.

Although text messaging is in its infancy in the United States, it is a primary means of communication in China. Chinese mobile phone users sent 220 billion text messages in 2003, or an average of 7,000 per second, more than the rest of the world combined, China Telecom data show. ...