Because with taxes we can discourage consumption of certain products. For instance taxes were used to discourage the production of white phorsus matches, because they melted the worker's faces.
But this isn't a case where we want to discourage people from having texting.
Maybe something about a surveillance state. Might be easier to Snoop on a messager app rather than good old sms.
I'm sure it's easier to snoop on SMS because we're talking about telcos, which definitely have rich histories working with the government. (Remember snowden leaks/verizon?)
Messaging apps on the other hand are what the govt generally CAN'T break into.
Doesn't white phosphorus spontaneously combust around 90 ℉?
I agree. In other cases it’s just a money grab - like this one.