Ever the kid-friendly outfit, Apple filed a patent in 2008 that aims to make text messaging safer for the children. TechCrunch reports that today, the US Patent and Trademark office awarded Apple a patent which puts a ban on sending obscene text messages sometimes called "sexting."
The technology will prevent an "administered device" -- such as an iPhone, maybe? -- from sending or receiving objectionable messages. The overall strictness of the filter is determined by the administrator of the device and would include settings by age or grade level.
In addition to offensive language filtering, the tec