Call to help protect consumers as 3G market takes off
June 16, 2005
Action is needed to close loopholes in UK and EU mobile telecommunications law to help protect consumers, and particularly vulnerable groups such as children, from unsolicited messages and promotions ("spam") or access to unsuitable content, says commercial law firm Wedlake Bell.
This is especially important now that 3G phones, which provide new forms of mobile content such as web browsers, email and video and picture messaging, are becoming far more widely available, says Jonathan Cornthwaite, Head of the Media, IP and Commercial team at Wedlake Bell.
Jonathan Cornthwaite says that take up of 3G could be slow if consumers fear that they will be plagued by the same problems, such as spam, that have now become endemic on the internet.
"As phones become increasingly sophisticated, there is a danger that the mobile telecoms industry could experience the same bad press as the internet," comments Cornthwaite. "Even if we do not see the same scale of problems in the mobile arena, for instance in terms of the sheer volume of spam that PCs receive, the risks to vulnerable groups and the threat to privacy for the public in general could even be greater as consumers will be more easily accessible."
"Although the mobile operators have taken the bull by the horns to tackle potential problems, there is only so much they can do to police those that don't want to abide by their voluntary code."
"With the law powerless to prevent unsolicited text (SMS) or email spam emanating from outside the EU, it is crucial both to the mobile telecoms industry and their customers that the safeguards we do have in place are adequate so that consumers continue to feel that they can use their mobiles in safety and privacy."
According to Jonathan Cornthwaite, loopholes include:
- Lack of legislation to block pornographic and other potentially unsuitable content, such as spam promotions for on-line gambling and chat rooms, being sent to or accessed by under-age children. Instead, in the UKthe onus is on the mobile phone operators to regulate how new forms of content are promoted and accessed through a Code of Practice. Since it was implemented only last year, its effectiveness is not yet clear; however, this method of regulation could prove problematic because:
-Although the Code's measures include classifying commercial content as unsuitable for under 18s and placing such content behind access controls and requiring age verification, content providers will classify their content themselves. Unclassified content will be unrestricted by default
-Since mobile operators cannot control content offered over the internet, parents have to be pro-active about applying to have internet access filtered.
- Not all unsolicited promotions are considered spam because an exemption to the rules allows marketers to send communications without explicit consent (known as the "soft opt-in") in certain circumstances. Therefore for example, a child who downloads a ringtone once could be targeted with promotions for other related products from the same company in the future.
- Even within the EU, marketers can still send spam to corporate subscribers, including named employees, although privacy laws prohibit sending spam to individual service subscribers.
Comments Jonathan Cornthwaite, "After a slow start the law has been running to catch up with the rapid advance of mobile technology and to attempt to deal with its downsides. However, despite the network of overlapping primary and secondary legislation, regulation, self-regulation and guidelines designed to tackle these problems, the picture is still far from ideal."
Wedlake Bell contributes to major new book on European mobile telecoms
The comments come from Cornthwaite's contribution to a major new book published by the European Commission-sponsored MOST Foundation, in which he examines the ways in which UK and EU laws are dealing with the downside of the explosion in the growth of mobile telecoms.
The new 150-page book, entitled "Mobile Technology for European Integration and Growth", contains chapters written by international experts on legal, technical and commercial issues surrounding mobile communications.
Says Jonathan Cornthwaite, "As the mobile telecoms revolution enables communications with an ever-wider audience, it is assuming an increasingly important role within a growing number of European countries and across Europeas a whole."
"MOST is playing an invaluable part in helping both EU member states, including those who have recently joined, and those outside it, get to grips with the implications, in order to help develop mobile telecoms as a force for good in fostering collaboration and co-operation throughout Europe. I am delighted to support its work and contribute to the debate."
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