The European Commission has gotten European mobile phone companies to agree voluntarily on the European Framework on Safer Mobile Use by Younger Teenagers and Children.
The voluntary agreement is a result of Decision No. 854/2005/EC and the Safer Internet Plus Program, which concerns protecting children in Europe from bullying, sexual grooming for abuse, access to illegal/harmful pornographic and violent content, and privacy risks due to the inappropriate use of camera phones and other mobile technological devices.
The Decision sets the groundwork for European countries to set up laws to deal with fighting against "illegal content, tackling unwanted and harmful content, promoting a safer environment and raising awareness" when it comes to the protection of children.
While the Decision, the Safer Internet Plus Program, and the voluntary agreement provide no specific remedies requiring mobile companies to adopt a mandatory basis to protect children, it does make suggestions.
In "Tackling Unwanted And Harmful Content," the Decision suggests that companies use "[rating] systems and quality labels, in combination with filtering technologies…" It also states that "[it] would be desirable to try to take account of safe use by children when developing new technologies, instead of trying to deal with any consequences of the new technologies after they have been devised."
The signatories of the voluntary agreement are Bouygues Telecom, Cosmote Mobile Telecommunications, Debitel, Deutsche Telekom, Go Mobile, Hutchinson Whampoa's 3 in Europe, Jamba, Mobile Entertainment Forum, Orange Group, Royal KPN, SFR, Telecom Italia, Telefonica Moviles, Telenor, TeliaSonera, and Vodafone Group.
The Decision's and the program's advisements extend beyond the EU to the Canada, the U.S., and other countries.
