Mobile Phone Reviews
 
 
Loophole gives children access to porn on mobile phones

Thu, 02 Feb 2006

A worrying loophole was exposed by a consumer group who say that children can access porn via their mobile phones.

The loophole in mobile phone safety allows youngsters to access codes for adult websites by using premium rate text messages to pay for them.

Which? magazine researchers were able to obtain codes for eight porn sites using an O2 phone belonging to a 15 year old girl.

The consumer group said that O2’s filter stopped adult material being sent to the handset directly. However it worryingly allowed access codes to pass through that gives access to websites showing hardcore sex films.

The cost for getting the access codes was £1.50.

Which? warned that although O2’s filter blocked the adult sites, all youngsters had to do was enter the codes into a computer and the sites would be viewable.

The loophole is causing Which? concern as people under 18 years will have access to pay-per-view porn sites by using their text facilities rather than a credit card.

Malcolm Coles, editor Which? magazine said, "At the moment there's nothing to stop children getting hold of hardcore pornography through their mobile phone. It's easy to access and costs less than a couple of quid.

"There are supposed to be safeguards to stop this sort of thing, but they're obviously ineffective. This loophole needs to be closed as soon as possible."

The adult sites accessed by Which? researchers were promoting the fact that users would be anonymous because the payment was by text not credit card.

A spokesman for O2 confirmed that some adult sites accepted mobile phone payments. He said, "While it's the responsibility of those websites to prevent under 18s from viewing the content on a computer, we do not want our mobiles to be used as a payment mechanism without age verification.

"We are in the process of updating the agreements in place with companies that provide mobile content over our network.

"This update will include a requirement for third parties who provide 'computer viewable' adult content, to age verify any customers who choose to pay for it using their mobile phone."

The spokesman said O2 took the risk to children "very seriously". He added, "We have an age verification process for any commercial content that can be viewed on a mobile phone. We also offer a parental control on all of our mobiles that can be activated from the phone."

Icstis, the premium rate phone and text message regulator said that it was the responsibility of mobile phone companies and internet content providers to carry out age verification checks.

Rob Dwight, spokesman said, "Obviously this is a loophole. Kids can access adult content on their PC screens and be billed via their mobile phones. The situation shouldn't be allowed to continue.

"We are working with the mobile phone networks to look at how this loophole can be blocked."
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