Carriers Safeguard Kiddies

BRUSSELS -- Mobile providers and content providers have today signed the European Framework for Safer Mobile Use by Younger Teenagers and Children.

Fifteen signatories have signed the EU-wide Framework, which puts forward recommendations to ensure that younger teenagers and children can safely access content on their mobile phones. The Framework will facilitate the roll-out of national voluntary agreements by highlighting approaches that have already been implemented successfully by the mobile provider and content communities in a number of EU Member States.

Specific approaches addressed by this EU-wide Framework include:

The content of the Framework was deliberated at a series of high-level group meetings co-ordinated by GSM Europe under the auspices of the European Commission. The signing took place on the Safer Internet Day in the presence of Commissioner Reding.

“The timing could not have been more pertinent as this fourth edition of Safer Internet Day mainly focuses on child safety and mobile phones. The coming together, on such a significant day, of so many representatives from the mobile industry shows that child protection is indeed a top priority for the sector” said Kaisu Karvala, Chairman of GSM Europe. “Mobile and content providers, in collaboration with NGOs and other stakeholders, have already developed national codes of conduct in a number of EU Member States. The aim of this initiative is to support the development of frameworks in the rest of the EU”, she continued.

GSM Association (GSMA)