European Framework for Safer Mobile Use by Younger Teenagers and Children

The European Framework for Safer Mobile Use by Younger Teenagers and Children is a self-regulatory initiative of the mobile industry, which puts forward recommendations to ensure that younger teenagers and children can safely access content on their mobile phones. The recommendations are as follows:

• Classification of commercial content - mobile operators' own and third-party commercial content should be classified in line with existing national standards of decency and appropriateness so as to identify content unsuitable for viewing by children and younger teenagers;
• Access control mechanisms - appropriate means for parents for controlling children's access to this content should be provided;
• Education and awareness-raising - mobile operators should work to raise awareness and provide advice to parents on safer use of mobile services, and ensure customers have ready access to mechanisms for reporting safety concerns;
• Fighting illegal content on mobile community products and the Internet - mobile operators should work with law enforcement agencies, national authorities and INHOPE or equivalent bodies to combat illegal content on the Internet.

Background

The Framework agreement was finalised following a number of meetings of the High Level Group on Child Protection, which was set up by Commissioner Viviane Reding in November 2006 and brought together GSMA Europe, mobile operators, content providers, children’s charities and the European Commission. Signature by mobile operators and content providers took place on Safer Internet Day on 6 February 2007 in Brussels.

GSM Europe press release
European Commission press pack

Monitoring and Implementation

GSMA Europe had committed to cooperate with the European Commission in monitoring the implementation of the Framework- this commitment was expressed in a letter sent to the Commission in January 2007. Since February 2007, GSMA Europe and participating mobile operators have been working on ensuring timely implementation. Related activities have focused on:

• Broadening the initiative by encouraging the participation of more industry stakeholders;
• Ensuring the roll-out of national self-regulatory codes of conduct on safer mobile use in the EU Member States;
• Facilitating faster and qualitatively better implementation of self-regulatory codes of conduct by organising an internal workshop for signatory mobile operators in Brussels on 10 July 2008 with the objective to share good practice;
• Raising awareness about the project by launching a dedicated microsite and by organising a breakfast debate with Members of the European Parliament in June 2007 and a seminar with EU policy-makers in April 2008.

At the beginning of March 2008, GSMA Europe had submitted an implementation report to the European Commission, which highlighted the key achievements one year on from signature:

• Nine additional companies have signed the Framework, making a total of 24 industry signatories covering all 27 Member States of the EU;
• At the time of signature, there were no codes of conduct in place in Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia or Spain- at present, self-regulatory codes of conduct cover 21 EU Member States;
• The industry signatories in these Member States serve around 550 million customers, which represents 96% of all EU mobile customers.
  
  

Download the report now (PDF).

In April 2009, Pricewaterhouse Coopers issued a second implementation report. The report shows that the Framework has been transposed into codes of conduct in 22 EU Member States and that mobile operator signatories have taken substantial action to implement these codes alongside other voluntary activities. Consequently around 580 million mobile customers, representing 96% of all EU mobile subscriptions, currently benefit from the self-regulatory initiative. 

• The areas showing the highest level of compliance- both in terms of transposition into codes of conduct and practical implementation by operators- are those related to the introduction of access control mechanisms for mobile operators' own and third-party commercial content and the classification of such content. 

• Areas of lower compliance- in the codes and on the ground- include some of the Framework recommendations linked to raising awareness about safer mobile use and fighting illegal child abuse content on mobile community products and the internet. Going forward, GSMA Europe and participating mobile operators will put a special focus on these two areas with a view to ensuring 100% compliance.

Download the report now.