EU calls on operators to strengthen child safety policies

The European Commission called on mobile operators to bolster their efforts to block explicit content from minors following a new survey indicating growing concerns from parents. According to the commission, half of 10-year-olds, 87 percent of 13-year-olds and 95 percent of 16-year-olds in the EU now own mobile phones, and 51 percent of European parents worry mobile use may expose their children to sexually and violently explicit images--another 49 percent express concerns mobile services may open their children to bullying by other kids. As a result, the European Commission is petitioning operators to institute all the measures of a voluntary code of conduct signed by 26 carriers in 2007.

A new report issued by wireless trade industry group the GSM Association indicates that national self-regulatory codes based on the 2007 framework agreement now exist in 22 EU member states. Ninety percent of the codes of conduct are in line with the 2007 agreement, and 80 percent of operators have instituted safeguards specifically to control child access to adult content.

"The new report of the mobile phone industry association shows that mobile operators have started to take seriously their responsibilities to keep children safe when using phones," said EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding in a prepared statement. "Protection of minors is not a luxury, but indispensable if new communication technologies want to be accepted in our European societies. Mobile operators still need to be more determined, making measures for the purpose of protecting minors more effective in all European countries, and also to make content classification more transparent."

For more on the child safety push:
- read this Portugal News Online article

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