One possible problem with either (a) encoding flags or (b) encouraging the display of Regional Indicator Symbols as flags is that some authors would want to use them to indicate the language of the text that follows. I'm not talking about inline, plain-text "language tagging" in the sense that UTC frowns upon, but literally a visual display of a flag.
It's common, particularly in Europe, to see English-language text marked with a Union Jack, French-language text marked with the flag of France, and so forth. Of course, we all know the problems with using national flags to indicate languages, but it's common practice nevertheless. Having Unicode characters for flags, especially well-supported ones, might encourage this practice. Of course, the Japanese phone users might have been doing this all along with the existing 10 emoji flags. -- Doug Ewell | Thornton, Colorado, USA http://www.ewellic.org | @DougEwell
