As wireless consumers begin to wholeheartedly embrace data applications, be they ringtones, wallpapers, video apps or games, industry needs to step up its plans to implement parental controls to ensure that end users have the proper experiences. And it’s better to come up with a solution sooner rather than later.
The success of family plans further underscores the need for industry to act quickly. No mother wants her child (unwittingly or not) to download a wireless porn app. Nor does a father want to pay $2 a pop for premium text messages his teen daughter thought were free. Just ask Jamster, which is being sued by a San Diego man who doesn’t like the way the company advertises its ringtones.
Meanwhile, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) is asking the Federal Trade Commission to look into allegations that the console game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas can be modified easily to include pornographic images, and whether, in light of those alterations, the game carries the proper M for mature rating, or needs a stronger one.
No matter how you feel about it, wireless porn is going to be big business. Informa Telecoms and Media predicts that erotic mobile content will explode into a $2.3 billion market by 2010 if carriers, content providers and regulators can figure out how to manage it.
The report commends Vodafone U.K. and other U.K. operators for introducing controls that protect minors from pornography and other adult content while not restricting users who want access to such content. Operators that don’t establish such controls may face stiff governmental regulations and could lose out on the lucrative market.
“The key to turning erotic mobile content into a sustainable revenue stream is to adopt a responsible approach, making sure subscribers who wish to view such content are age-verified and that those providers who are looking to make a quick buck are squeezed out of the equation,” said Daniel Winterbottom, who authored the report. “Without controls, operators will find themselves being used to distribute adult content whether they like it or not.”
I suspect part of Disney Corp.’s MVNO strategy is to assure parents that their children will have a safe experience.
The U.S. wireless industry needs to get a comprehensive plan in place now, before more apps are introduced, if only to avoid the public-relations chaos that could ensue from mishandled content. Savvy underage users could spread the word quickly if a popular porn app is available, and likely it would be the carrier that would bear the brunt of the bad publicity.
CTIA and the rest of the industry are working to implement adult content guidelines as soon as possible.
The clock is ticking.
