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Mobile porn regulator gets operator approved
If you're not over 18, you can't look

By Jo Best

Published: Friday 22 October 2004

With the advent of 3G services and all the opportunities it affords for pornographers, the UK's leading mobile operators and premium rate watchdog Icstsis have joined forces to create a new regulator for mobile adult content.

The six operators, 3, O2, Orange, T-Mobile, Virgin Mobile and Vodafone have appointed the body, to be known as Independent Mobile Classification Body (IMCB) will be charge of regulating and classifying all adult content - porn, gambling, chat and the like.

The IMCB will operate as a subsidiary of Icstis (Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services) but will be funded separately to Icstis.

As well as classifying what content should be saved for those who are 18 and above, the body will also have the power to tackle any abuses of the system by companies who don't abide by the classification rules.

According to the body, the classification system will work much in the same as age ratings on computer games and films.

The move towards further safeguards against children seeing content destined for adult eyes follows an agreement by the main mobile operators to agree a code of practice for over-18 content.

The operators are also in the process of installing filters to stop the underage accessing adult services. Vodafone was the first operator to roll out the filtering system to its customers, with the other mobile companies planning to go live before the end of the year.