Zoleo Censoring Messages

I haven’t looked into it much but came up when I was in Alaska and thought it might be a fluke but it must have just gone into play. It’s never happened to me in the past but pretty consistent now.
 
That’s unacceptable. Censoring of communication has no place in backcountry communication and could even be a safety issue. I’d cancel immediately.

They’ve made their service especially useless for hunters.

“I’m screwed! My gun is f***ed!”
Becomes
“I’m screwed! My *** is ******!”
 
I'm so confused. Why are they censoring? The article says the following :

Starting April 2, 2025, profanity filtering will be enforced on SMS messages for North American subscribers. This is enforced by the SMS provider used by ZOLEO to ensure compliance with mobile network operator (MNO) regulations and industry standards set by the Cellular Telephone Industries Association (CTIA), helping to maintain reliable message delivery.

Why Is This Happening?

Mobile network operators enforce strict content policies, including the SHAFT (Sex, Hate, Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco) guidelines. Messages containing inappropriate language risk being blocked entirely, which could impact service for all ZOLEO users. Profanity filtering helps prevent this while keeping messages deliverable.


Are they actually saying there is regulation restricting a text talking about guns and sex? Or do they have a quaker for a leader?
 
This is absolutely wild. After reading up a little bit, it almost seems like somebody at Zoleo completely misinterpreted some rules and went mega-risk-avoidant. The regulation they're saying this is to comply with literally applies to all mobile carriers. None of whom censor text messages.
 
This is absolutely wild. After reading up a little bit, it almost seems like somebody at Zoleo completely misinterpreted some rules and went mega-risk-avoidant. The regulation they're saying this is to comply with literally applies to all mobile carriers. None of whom censor text messages.
The regulation has to do specifically with SMS marketing. I don't understand how they interpreted it to include private person to person messages. We are all familiar with companies who ask you to opt-in to SMS marketing and then inundate you with messages (looking at you, Ollin). This does seem to be a misinterpretation of the regulation.
 
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