Considering the proliferation of phones among teen-agers and tweens and their propensity to text over talk, parents might be looking for assurance their kids aren't getting exposed to inappropriate content. That's where Air2Web comes in, offering new technology services to strengthen what mobile carriers already do to prevent indecent content from being distributed through standard-rate and premium text messaging.
Air2Web announced today that is rolling out enhanced SMS profanity filters, a URL filtering program and a more robust message auditing process to make sure content complies with Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) guidelines. The services, focused on messages originating from third-party content providers, will be free for users of Air2Web's AirCare Mobile Gateway when available starting Aug. 1.
Air2Web Chief Technology Officer Harvey Scholl points out that while an estimated 1.56 trillion text messages were sent last year, just one transmission of unsolicited indecent content can have a long-lasting negative impact on a consumer's mobile experience – with Air2Web's carrier partners paying the ultimate price.
Air2Web's automated profanity filtering service will scan and analyze content contained within the text of a mobile-terminated message and block transmission of offensive messages over the carrier network.
Both carriers and content providers benefit because it helps keep airwaves clean. While content providers are supposed to abide by the MMA guidelines, inappropriate content can get into the pipeline, whether by mistake or from "bad actors" that inevitably pop up. "The value is it keeps everybody in compliance," Scholl says.
Air2Web will even look at URLs to filter out non-compliant ones and will re-check the URLs because the content behind them can change. Its system will look at the text in the URL string and also can check the metadata to see if it's out of compliance with MMA guidelines. If something is flagged as questionable, it will do a human review of the content.
If content does not comply with MMA and carrier guidelines, senders of content will be notified that their messages have been blocked from the carrier network.
While the major carriers all subscribe to MMA guidelines, a big issue for content providers and aggregators in the past was the subtle differences from carrier to carrier when they added their own rules to the core guidelines. But Air2Web President and CEO Tom Cotney says the individual carrier guidelines have come much closer together. While they're not identical, it's a much more efficient system than three years ago.
Air2Web also says it is enhancing its auditing process of message content to ensure compliance with MMA standards for mobile-terminated SMS messages. That service is in addition to audits conducted at the carrier level.