Imagine that your telephone operator (Bouygues, SFR, Free, or Orange) prevents you from accessing video games, sexuality-related websites, or even LGBT content. In the United States, this is a reality. The operator is called Radiant Mobile. The filtering is mandatory and cannot be disabled for certain categories. Its founder, Paul Fisher, fully embraces his ideological stance in a video on Instagram: “There is an illness in America called the Internet. Our children are not safe there. Every time I give my 5-year-old my phone, I am afraid. You know what? It is time to take back control of the Internet.” He claims to want to create an environment “without porn, without LGBT, and without trans.”
Blocking content related to sexual orientation or gender identity is seen by many as discriminatory. For example, with this operator, subscribers can access Yale University’s main site without issue but not the page dedicated to LGBTQIA+ students.
This story also reflects a larger trend: the rise of religious conservatism in American tech. In recent years, an alternative ecosystem has emerged, including conservative social networks (like Truth Social), Christian video platforms, family-friendly services, and now ideological telephone operators.
In theory, an operator is supposed to adhere to neutrality. It should transport data without discriminating against content, opinions, or usage. In other words, it should not decide which ideas are appropriate or which sites should be blocked.
The debate is sensitive in the United States, as net neutrality protections were largely removed under Donald Trump. As a result, some experts fear a gradual shift towards a “à la carte” Internet, filtered based on the political, religious, or ideological values of access providers.
(Context: Radiant Mobile is an American telephone operator that censors content deemed inappropriate based on conservative Christian values.)
(Fact Check: The article discusses the potential implications of a telephone operator imposing content restrictions based on ideological beliefs, highlighting concerns about discrimination and the erosion of net neutrality principles in the United States.)
