Phonepayplus/Aime: The mass-debaters

[El Gringo]

http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/32444...ulatory-debate
AIME adds weight to UK regulatory debate
28 Jan 2009

Trade body seeks ongoing dialogue with PhonepayPlus and Ofcom in bid to avoid 'prescriptive' regulation.

The Association for Interactive Media & Entertainment (AIME) has welcomed the adoption of several of its recommendations within the new PhonepayPlus (PPP) rules governing the sale of mobile content in the UK
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/32383...tent-providers

However, the trade body says it's 'concerned' that the current trend of PPP is to continue down the road of prescriptive regulation.

In a statement AIME chairperson Sally Weatherall, said: "[We] consulted closely with [our] members and PPP in respect of the mobile review and made several recommendations which we note have been adopted.

"[However] many of the causes of the apparent consumer harm being evidenced by PPP could have been resolved through the enforcement of its broad compliance principals, namely, transparency of pricing and fairness.

"It is not necessary or appropriate for a regulatory body to introduce technically specific requirements that focus on specific service formats.

The risk is that the technology simply evolves to leave the consumer at risk again and entrepreneurialism and investment is stifled.

"AIME looks forward to the broader consultation on the PPP 12th Code and hopes very much that both PPP and OFCOM will take this opportunity to adopt a generic principals based code that will both facilitate the growth of new services and adequately protect the consumer."

Yesterday PhonepayPlus moved to reassure the market about its new rules.
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/32439...k-at-criticism

It has also encouraged industry stakeholders to submit comments or suggestions directly to compliance@phonepayplus.org.uk.

Phonepayplus said the major cause that lay behind the 108% rise in complaints against Sally's 'industry' this year was that her industry were using 'third party' data lists of peoples phone numbers that had not requested any crap from her industry and had not agreed to pay for any crap from her industry.

The real answer to the problem would be for Phonepayplus to start reporting Sally and her friends to the police when they suspect that criminal theft may have been committed.

a case in point.
http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk/consu...udications.asp

The following case was heard at a meeting of the PhonepayPlus Tribunal on 22 January 2009

information Provider........................Antiphony Limited

Service Provider............................Wireless Information Network Limited

PhonepayPlus received 106 consumer complaints in respect of the receipt of unsolicited chargeable text messages, reportedly sent from short codes and 076 mobile long numbers, which cost £1.50 per message received.

http://www.aimelink.org/execomte.aspx
Executive Board

AIME Chair
Sally Weatherall, MD New Media, Wireless Information Network

Three years later Sally joined WIN as Head of Legal