Wireless operators in Europe and elsewhere have begun gearing up for potential problems associated with wireless porn, as U.K. telecom regulators field complaints from concerned parents-but the issue has not yet reached U.S. shores. And some analysts believe U.S. carriers will likely adopt an Internet service provider stance and remain above the fray.
“It depends on if the carriers here are going to be in the media business,” said Seamus McAteer, senior analyst with research firm Zelos Group. “Does the carrier want to put themselves in the middle and open themselves up to potential litigation?”
Wireless operators in the United Kingdom appear to be addressing the issue, according to media reports. A group of carriers and other parties are working to draft a code of practice to allow users to block adult content services. Parents would be able to block children from accessing wireless adult Internet sites and from receiving adult-oriented multimedia messages.
The issue has lately come to the fore as carriers across the world are introducing advanced mobile phones with color screens and multimedia messaging services. Indeed, some of the first MMS services available in Europe featured porn.
Further, U.K.-based Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services recently issued an updated code of practice to address wireless adult content. The ICSTIS’ guidelines state carriers need to verify users’ ages before supplying adult content. The agency suggests carriers send out a text message asking for the users’ date of birth as a way to verify their age.
And it seems the time is ripe for such controls. The ICSTIS fined wireless entertainment company Cellus Ltd. $1,600 for what the agency said was inappropriate marketing and billing practices. Specifically, the ICSTIS said one of Cellus’ advertisements gave incorrect pricing information and also promoted an adult chat line through a children’s ring tone service. Cellus blamed the issue on a technical error, the agency said.
Europe is not alone in dealing with wireless pornography. China’s Internet Information Service Regulation, part of the country’s Ministry of Information Industry, recently ordered wireless operators to discontinue sending adult content through text messages.
Driving concerns over the issue is new research showing the fastest-growing group of mobile-phone users in the United Kingdom is children between the ages of five and nine. Research and marketing firm MobileYouth found one out of every nine children five to nine years old today owns a mobile phone. That will rise to one in five by 2006.
It seems few are planning to take steps to block adult content in the United States, however.
“The American wireless industry will watch what’s happening in Europe and Asia very closely,” said Jeremy Pemble, an AT&T Wireless Services Inc. spokesman.
Indeed, wireless porn is available through AT&T Wireless’ data service, although it is not located on the carrier’s mMode platform. Much like the wired Internet, U.S. wireless surfers must seek out wireless adult content by searching for specific terms or entering a Web address. However, U.S. wireless carriers watch over messaging subscription services, unlike carriers in Europe, and do not offer premium messaging from third-parties. This eliminates the need for age verification systems as set out in the United Kingdom.
AT&T Wireless’ Pemble said the carrier does not block access to adult content, but also said AT&T Wireless has no plans to add such content to its mMode platform. The carrier is “looking into” selectively blocking access to adult content.
“It’s typically left up to the individual” in the United States, said McAteer. “Will the pipe itself get involved in verifying age? Only if it itself is a media aggregator.” McAteer said U.S. carriers have largely stepped back from the content provider game, and therefore will likely remain outside of the adult-content issue.
