Child protection

As our high-speed multimedia network rolls out, we face social challenges as well as opportunities to demonstrate the benefits of mobile communications.

The protection of minors and vulnerable customers from inappropriate content or images is an area we take very seriously. And in keeping with our focus on youth, we help young people to use their mobile phones responsibly and to give parents the ability to monitor their child's mobile phone usage.

In Ireland, unlike the UK and the rest of Europe, no mobile operator currently offers adult content or chat services such as SMS or WAP chat.

The Irish mobile operators developed a Code of Practice in 2004 in conjunction with the Irish Cellular Industry Association (ICIA) for the responsible and secure use of mobile services. This establishes standards on issues such as parental controls, inappropriate or offensive communications, premium-rate services, internet access and user education.

Parental controls for peace of mind

O2 Ireland does not engage in direct marketing activity to under 16 year olds, however, we are aware that there are children and teenagers in this market who have been given phones by a parent or older sibling. We have put in place safeguards to protect young and/or vulnerable customers from accessing inappropriate materials on their mobile phones.

O2 offers Dual Access services where parents can monitor their child's mobile phone usage and we also produced 'The Knowledge', a Parent's Guide to Mobile Phones in conjunction with the ICIA. This booklet is now being updated to reflect new innovative mobile services and to give more helpful tips and advice. It is distributed through our retail outlets and online.

We are members of the Internet Service Providers Association of Ireland (ISPAI) and are affiliated to their 'Hotline' service. Through the Hotline, members of the public can report instances of child pornography confidentially and securely. We have also introduced a barring service, allowing parents to turn off camera and internet browsing capabilities on their children's phones.

www.hotline.ie
Telephone: 1890 610 710

Our commitment to child protection includes sponsorship of a Parents' Association initiative to provide expert and independent advice on mobile phones and how to protect the young and vulnerable. We also produced a leaflet with information and advice and on how to deal with bullying on mobile phones.

Industry commitment

We are participating in a test on filtering software to prevent the transfer of inappropriate camera phone images and access to offensive websites - the first industry trial of its kind in the world.

While we agree with our peers that the protection of minors is paramount, we believe that technical filtering and educational solutions provide the best protection to children and the vulnerable from inappropriate content. We have expressed our reservations to Government on the proposed introduction of a national 3G handset registration scheme.

Bullying on mobile phones - leaflet

Mobile phones can be a great communications and safety tool for everyone. Unfortunately however, some people do use them to bully others by text. It is a traumatic and intimidating experience for children and adults. O2 Ireland produced and distributed this leaflet which gives advice and information on what to do and where to go for support and how to report these kinds of text messages.