South Africa`s mobile operators - Cell C, MTN and Vodacom - have signed a Code of Good Practice which will monitor mobile content.
The operators say they are taking the step mainly to protect children from accessing unsuitable mobile content.
The code commits all three to putting "reasonable measures in place" to protect children from age-restricted content and adults against spam. It also requires them to adopt reasonable measures to ensure no illegal content is transmitted through their networks.
In signing the code in Johannesburg this morning, Mthobi Tyamzashe, Vodacom executive director of corporate affairs, expressed the hope that the move would inspire confidence in the sector.
However, he noted: "There is a limit to what operators can do." They can merely provide the tools to empower parents to protect children from unsuitable content, he said, but it is up to parents to make use of these tools.
In an interview with ITWeb, Leon Perlman, chairman of the Wireless Applications Service Providers` Association (WASPA), said the code will work in tandem with the WASPA Code of Conduct and would be enforced by WASPA.
Perlman said networks would establish an adult verification system and a set of advertising guidelines for mobile content is being put in place in collaboration with the Advertising Standards Authority.
Ashraf Paruk, MTN GM for products and innovation, noted that MTN requires all content providers providing content via its network to belong to WASPA and adhere to its Code of Conduct, thus ensuring suitable content is offered to consumers.
Jim Courtney, Cell C`s chief commercial officer, said greater focus would also be placed on the efficiency of handling customer complaints about content.
Pornography, especially where minors have easy access to it, has become a big issue, with members of Parliament discussing it during the public hearings into the Electronic Communications Bill.
The use of cellphones for the sale and distribution of adult content has spawned a multimillion-rand industry with an unknown number of content providers. Its growth has had a knock-on impact on TV advertising, boosting the revenues of some commercial stations.
Recently, Iyavar Chetty, Film and Publications Board (FPB) head of legal services, said the FPB was setting up meetings with relevant organisations, including the Internet Service Providers` Association and WASPA, to discuss the problem.
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