Arriving only a matter of days after the European Union announced its intention to compel mobile phone operators into lowering roaming charges related to SMS use, the European Commission has said that it will also be taking action against companies found to be operating ringtone and wallpaper image scams.
EU Commission to crack down on ringtone services that violate EU consumer law. Image: Kaibara87/Flickr.
The commission’s proactive decision initially emerged after it revealed that a widespread investigation across 500 Web sites selling mobile-based content determined that around 80 percent of those checked needed to be more closely scrutinised regarding the potential breaching of EU consumer laws.
The commission also noted that, of the 400 services deemed worthy of further probing, around 200 of them targeted their content at audiences mainly populated by children and teenagers, reports the Washington Post.
Possible EU consumer law violations that the commission sought to clarify in its ongoing investigation included the likes of unclear pricing, hidden charges, and failing to make consumers fully aware of signing up for a subscription-based service and not a simple one-time purchase.
The more vigorous checks, which were reportedly conducted in conjunction with authorities from each applicable European region, looked to root out mobile phone ringtone and wallpaper scam offers, at which point th EU Commission directed them to correct any service violations under threat of being fined or removed from the Internet.
With regard to its findings on the grounds of EU consumer law violation, the commission has now posted the names of 111 flagged online services to its official Web site. Interestingly, while many of the ringtone and wallpaper providers listed are small, obscure outfits, the likes of Jamba, Zed and Vodafone are all likely to prick consumer ears.
Each flagged service is expected to receive official contact from the commission’s enforcement team, which will outline the specific irregularities associated with their offered content and how to promptly correct its delivery.
According to related sales results connected to the EU study, ringtone purchases account for some 29 percent of the overall mobile phone content market across Europe, which equated to some 671 million euros in 2007.
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