Integrat has appealed the Wireless Application Service Providers Association (WASPA) ruling that holds it responsible for a subscription service advert by information provider Peach Mobile, says Integrat CEO Norman Parkin.
The ruling was made last week as a result of a complaint lodged by Exactmobile`s portal and entertainment director Gavin Penkin, who alleges that Peach Mobile was knowingly misleading consumers with an advert that offered information for sale, but resulted in the unwitting purchase of a subscription service.
Integrat will appeal the ruling, Parkin says, due to procedural and ruling errors, which he alleges WASPA made. He says the ruling also fails to recognise that Integrat is simply a means of carrying data (much like the Internet), not the generator of it. It is therefore not fair to hold the means of carrying data responsible for the quality of the data, he says.
"To fine us for something we can`t control is not fair. We did not have any option to take action, or to investigate it in detail," he says. If aggregators are held responsible for carrying the data, then the ISPs and mobile networks should also be held responsible, he says.
Amendment required
Should WASPA uphold Integrat`s appeal, an amendment would be needed to clause 3.9, which provides that WASPA members must bind any information provider that they contract for provision of services to ensure none of the services contravene the code of conduct.
Parkin`s counter proposal is for WASPA to hold information providers directly responsible by creating a new type membership for them, which he calls sub-WASP.
Essentially, once a ruling is made regarding the activities of a sub-WASP, WASPA could request an aggregator, like Integrat, to terminate the service of the sanctioned company. If the aggregator defaults on the ruling, WASPA would then make a further ruling against the aggregator itself.
Parkin fears that if the information provider is not held directly responsible, it can jump around from aggregator to aggregator and never take direct responsibility. He also notes that there are now more than 26 complaints lodged against various WASPs and that WASPA will have its hands full responding to all of them.
"Information providers and traditional WASPs could get away with 'misleading advertising` for months without the issue been addressed," he says.
Exactmobile director Davin Mole says he is delighted with the WASPA ruling, as it sets a precedent for future rulings.
Initially, Exactmobile attempted to lay a general complaint against misleading advertising through the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). "The ASA said we were unable to lay a general complaint and had to pick a specific advert," he says.
'Media slander`
Peach Mobile CEO David Troppe, on the other hand, does not believe the Exactmobile executives are attempting to protect consumers with regard to the purchase of cellular subscription services.
"In my opinion, this article [published on ITWeb yesterday] is no more than media slander by Exactmobile against their competition, Peach Mobile," he says.
Exactmobile only recently started to offer subscription services, he says, and is clearly lagging Peach Mobile in this segment of the market.
This is the same argument that was presented to WASPA adjudicators.
Advertising by Peach Mobile clearly states it is a subscription service, Troppe says, and gives instructions on how to unsubscribe from the service at anytime. He also alleges that none of Exactmobile`s old advertising is compliant to the new WASPA advertising standards and according to Mole`s logic, Exactmobile should also refund all revenues generated from previous advertising.
"Peach Mobile believes the purpose of WASPA is to protect the consumer, not competitors that fall behind and wake up with a fright," he says.
Related story:
WASPs keep information providers in line
Share
