President Orders Texting Ban

Week of October 19, 2009

In a recent executive order, President Barack Obama banned federal employees from text messaging while driving on government business. Text messaging, or "texting," encompasses more than simply sending a text message via a handheld communication device. It also includes reading the text for the purpose of SMS texting, e-mailing, instant messaging, obtaining navigational information, or"engaging in any other form of electronic data retrieval or electronic data communication," according to the order. The executive order is available on the White House website.