U Say U Want A Revolution

Chinese users sent 220 billion text messages from their mobile phones in 2003, more than the rest of the world combined. Apparently, that's too many for the Chinese government, which has demanded providers install software to filter the content. Authorities say they are targeting pornography and graft, but advocacy groups say it's a crackdown on political dissidents who use the system to circulate their views. Beijing, which has long policed websites and chat rooms for subversive elements, may be right to be nervous. In recent years, text messages, or SMS (short-message services), have become a powerful tool for political...