Mobile operators apply content controls
19-01-2004
by Matthew Clark

Following in the footsteps of their UK peers, mobile phone operators in Ireland are expected to put together a code of practice to keep children from accessing adult content.

Some of the UK's biggest mobile players -- including 3, O2, Orange, T-Mobile, Vodafone and Virgin Mobile -- said on Monday that they were signing up to a new code of practice designed to help keep children away from on-line pornography, gambling, chat rooms and other adult content.

Since many phones now come with cameras, colour screens, faster Internet access and even video capabilities, the notion of a child using a mobile to access inappropriate content is no longer preposterous. Even more frightening is the prospect of a paedophile using a phone to "groom" a young victim in an on-line chatroom.

To help prevent such occurrences, the UK mobile operators laid down the new code, which includes many technical measures to help keep the danger of the wireless Web away from children. At its core, the new system involves measures to force those who wish to view adult material or enter a chat room to prove they are 18 years of age or older.

Other aspects of the code include commitments to work with UK law enforcement agencies to deal with any content that may break the criminal law. Measures against mobile spam and nuisance communications are also included.

Hamish MacLeod, an industry consultant who co-ordinated the process on behalf of the operators, said it took a year to create and implement the code. "The industry is aware of parental concerns and, through this code, addresses those concerns in a responsible and timely manner," he added. MP Stephen Timms, the United Kingdom's communications minister, also praised the code, calling it "an excellent example of responsible self-regulation."

In Ireland, moves to put in place similar measures are now afoot, according to Joan Keating, head of communications for Vodafone Ireland and the chairperson of the Irish Cellular Industry Association (ICIA). Keating said it could take a year to establish a similar code here but said it would be a central aim for the ICIA this year.

"There are technical aspects to be worked out and this is an inter-operator initiative, which means it will take a little more time," she told ElectricNews.Net. "But I do envision that the code established [in Ireland] will be similar to what the UK operators have done -- rather than try to filter content, we try to verify the age of users."

Keating noted the success of the recently implemented Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) in Ireland, which can be used to track stolen mobiles to have them shut off or possibly returned. That scheme also took over 12 months to implement and was handled through the ICIA.

In related news, but announced separately on Monday, Labour Party spokesperson on communications, Deputy Tommy Broughan, lashed out at Communications Minister Dermot Ahern, calling on him to force operators to put a system in place so that prepaid phones would have to registered.

"Over 70 percent of Vodafone and O2's customer base is through the sale of prepaid phones, yet there is no requirement for the companies to know who owns each phone," Broughan said. "The consequences of this are that the public and the Gardai have no means of tracing calls from the small number of people who make crank calls or use their phones to harass others."