"it makes me feel uneasy to suggest that everyone should use
WhatsApp and make one Big Tech company the gateway to all of
our digital communications"
Bingo. The author seems to be circling around something that is very important to me; open protocols. If there was a modern drop-in replacement for SMS that addressed the known security concerns while also being open and cross platform, I'd be all over it. Messaging used to have the hope of XMPP, but walled-garden interests and consumer desire for the new-shiny-thing effectively killed that.
The way I put it to friends to drive home the importance of open protocols: Imagine you want to send a package... you put your friend's address on it, right? You can use UPS, FedEx, DHL, or the USPO. And if it goes to another country, it transfers to that countries Post Office ~ because only an address is needed. Imagine how ridiculous it would be if you could only send FedEx packages to recipients with "FedEx Addresses"? Same with UPS, etc... Obviously sounds lame, right? We've done the same thing with messaging.
The way I put it to friends to drive home the importance of open protocols: Imagine you want to send a package... you put your friend's address on it, right? You can use UPS, FedEx, DHL, or the USPO. And if it goes to another country, it transfers to that countries Post Office ~ because only an address is needed. Imagine how ridiculous it would be if you could only send FedEx packages to recipients with "FedEx Addresses"? Same with UPS, etc... Obviously sounds lame, right? We've done the same thing with messaging.