Telstra has revealed the addition of almost one million new mobile services in the six months to December 2011, but Sensis revenues plummeted 24 percent in 12 months.
Samuel also noted that "Many of the mobile premium services content providers are signatories to the Mobile Premium Services Industry Scheme ...put in place in October 2006 to provide guidance in advertising practices and a complaints handling process." I also questioned the adequacy of this scheme saying tht the code "lacks any precise or measurable definitions of compliance." Samuel says the code is currently under review so I hope these issues get addressed.
However it may be that many of these advertisers are already on the wrong site of the law. According to the ACCC, "Attempts to distract and confuse so that consumers cannot make informed choices are not acceptable. Such advertising practices may also potentially be in breach of the Trade Practices Act 1974."
The ACCC is already going after one company, TMG Asia Pacific which advertised its 'Text and Win' mobile premium services on television earlier this year. The advertisements offered viewers a chance at winning a prize by texting in a response to TMG's 194060 number.
The ACCC alleges that TMG failed to disclose that, to be eligible for the prize, participants were required to pay a $5 joining fee and respond to a maximum of 10 quiz questions at $5 each and that participating in the quiz also resulted in the consumer signing up to a subscription quiz consisting of six SMS messages per month at the cost of $5 each! If that was not bad enough, it, allegedly, neglected to mention that prizes could not be awarded to residents of the ACT, Victoria and Queensland even though they would be charged for the service!
TMG is probably an extreme example, but judging from the ACCC's comments many of these companies offering ringtones on subscription via premium mobile numbers are less than forthcoming in the disclosures. Do we really need instant access to one from a mobile browser? (Just Google 'Jamster' and 'complaints') Oh and by the way, Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has a 51 percent controlling stake in Jamba/Jamster.
David Bass
| For the fourth year in a row, IDC has placed content security provider Websense (NASDAQ: WBSN) at the top of the IDC Worldwide Web Security 2011 –…
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