A method and apparatus tracks and blocks content requested by a first
remote device for forwarding over a network to a second remote device.
For a given content item, one or more usage identities are tracked. Usage
identities may include any combination of one or more of a source
identity, a content identity, and/or a destination identity. One or more
thresholds associated with the tracked usage identities are applied to
determine whether a request to forward content should be blocked; a
threshold is a limit on the number of times a content item having a
particular usage identity may be forwarded within a time period. Misuse
of content-forwarding messaging services by spammers and the like may
thereby be discouraged. In one embodiment, the invention may be employed
as part of a content clipping service for forwarding content to mobile
devices by way of SMS or another mobile messaging technology.