Vodafone, Go Mobile join EU initiative on child safety

Go Mobile and Vodafone, the two local mobile networks, have signed an agreement in Brussels on the protection of minors who use mobile phones.

The initiative, undertaken by the European Commission, covers areas such as adult and illegal content.

The agreement obliges mobile phone companies, which include big players such as Deutsche Telekom Group, Orange and Telecom Italia, to develop self-regulatory codes by February 2008.

The codes will cover access control for adult content, awareness-raising campaigns for parents and children and the fight against illegal content on mobile phones.

EU Commissioner Viviane Reding, responsible for telecommunications and media, said the Commission will monitor very closely the effective implementation of the agreement.

The Commission yesterday also published the results of a public consultation on safer mobile use conducted last year.

The consultation showed that mobile phones do pose risks to children, such as bullying, sexual grooming for abuse, access to illegal/harmful pornographic material and content privacy risks, in particular due to the inappropriate use of camera phones and location services.

The Commission said that the consultation also made it clear that responsibility for safe use of mobile phones should be shared between parents and carers, mobile operators and service providers as well as the public authorities.