Implications of the Emerging Mobile Internet for the Protection of Minors in the UK

1
Implications of the Emerging Mobile Internet for
the Protection of Minors in the UK

• Presentation to the Safer Internet Forum Meeting
  on Child Safety and Mobile Phones
• Dr Victoria Nash, Oxford Internet Institute
• 14th June 2005

2
Background

• Launch of 3G across Europe
• Growing media profile of child protection issues
• Establishment of UK Mobile operators code of
  practice

3
Changing Technology

• Mobile Internet around since 1990s
• 2.5G (GPRS) offered much faster connectivity and
  colour screens MMS, games and WAP
• 3G phones benefit from higher bandwidth, bigger
  better quality screens video, audio and graphic
  content, streaming as well as downloads.
• Post-3G? WiFi, WiMax, seamless roaming

4
The Internet Mobiles vs PCs

• Essentially the same risks as posed by Internet
  access via PCs but
• Mobile use is usually private and unsupervised.
• Mobiles are largely ubiquitous.
• Mobile operators are currently the primary
  gatekeepers to the Internet for phones.
• Convergence of capture and distribution.
• Mobile Internet easier for network operators to
  control.
• Filtering defaults opt-in to adult content, but
  are many stages at which opt-in/opt-out decisions
  can be taken.

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What are the risks to children?

• Inappropriate or harmful content
• Pornography
• Some interactive services e.g. chatrooms
• Music videos with adult content
• Spam
• Games with violent or sexual content
• Gambling
• Some premium rate services
• Other issues privacy, financial pressure

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How big a problem?

• Technical limitations quality of streamed and
  downloaded video still not great.
• Financial limitations costs of data download
  and multimedia services still relatively high.
• Network operators as gate-keepers
• Many children accessing inappropriate material on
  fixed Internet no reliable data yet on mobiles.
• Many parents unaware of childrens online
  experiences.

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Possible responses - tools

• Age verification
• Content rating
• Walled garden approach
• Hotlines
• Filtering
• Education and awareness

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Possible responses - regulatory approaches

• Regulation
• - appropriate if industry unwilling or unable
  to regulate own behaviour
• Self-regulation
• - appropriate if problem not severe, and
  industry willing and able to act unilaterally.
• Co-regulation
• - appropriate if want to ensure government/user
  involvement and if want to establish sanctions.

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The UKs response

• Code of practice launched by six network
  operators in 2004.
• All commercial content unsuitable for under-18s
  only available to customers when networks
  satisfied they are 18.
• Independent Mobile Classification Body
  established.
• Chatrooms for under-18s to be moderated.
• Content classification framework to be created by
  body independent of operators.
• Parents and carers will be able to apply filters.

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Conclusions

• Important to balance benefits and risks.
• Not clear that mobile Internet content is yet
  causing significant problems for minors.
• UK approach seemingly successful but remains to
  be seen how the Code will work in practice
  especially as technology moves on.
• Mobile Internet industries generally well-suited
  to co-regulatory or self-regulatory response and
  industry need not suffer from their adoption.
• Codes of practice will only work if they are
  consensual, and applied rigorously and
  transparently.
• Media literacy training still key.

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Remaining challenges?

• Improve the efficacy and accuracy of age
  verification and filtering technologies.
• Address the issues raised by international
  roaming.
• Learn more about how children use their phones.
• Develop a more sophisticated understanding of
  harmful content.
• Maintain a balance between information rights and
  concerns for child protection.

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Please send comments to Victoria.nash_at_oii.ox.ac.u
k

• www.oii.ox.ac.uk