While the wireless application service provider (WASP) market continues to grow, from R1 billion in 2005 to R1.5 billion in 2006, new laws pose a potential threat to the 170 WASPs in the local market, and could lead to the demise of some.
This is according to Leon Perlman, chairman of the Wireless Applications Service Providers Association (WASPA), speaking at the Mobility 2006 conference, in Rosebank, yesterday.
One of the proposed laws, he said, is the Publications Amendment Bill, which is expected to be debated in Parliament soon.
"WASPs will not be able to survive its implementation," he warned. Perlman noted that the Bill is severe with regard to the requirement it lays down for WASPs to filter mobile content if they suspect that minors may access it. The Bill also imposes sanctions should this provision be transgressed, he said.
WASPs handle thousands of units of content, and it is impossible for them to go through every piece of content to classify it, Perlman commented. "This is legislation that is problematic."
The second piece of legislation that could adversely impact the mobile content industry is the Consumer Protection Bill, which Perlman said will keep lawyers very busy.
The Consumer Protection Bill stipulates that a company that wishes to run an SMS competition must submit an abstract of the competition to the National Consumer Commission for approval, he said.
The commission has to sign off before the competition is launched, "if they ever get back to you", he stated.
Perlman also noted that the Consumer Protection Bill, which provides that potential marketers seek prior consent from prospective customers before sending marketing material, might curtail customer relationship management activities, especially premium-rated SMSes.
WASPA has made submissions to the Film and Publications Board to lobby for the softening of the legislation, he noted.
The worst-case scenario is that WASPs will have to classify their content, and WASPA is planning to establish a classification committee to assist companies, Perlman said.
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