21 January 2008
Ofcom is to review the growing problem of children using their 3G mobile phones to access adult services, including pornography and gambling websites.
The watchdog will investigate the classification code launched at the request of the Home Office in 2004 in a bid to tackle the issue, the Times reports.
Under the current system, a classification system similar to cinema's '18' certificates is used for grading websites.
A special online filter can also be activated on phones - through which parents can shut off access to the adult sites on their children's handsets.
However, charities including Barnardos and The Children's Society say that, since the mobile phone firms signed up to these guidelines in 2004, application of the scheme has been "lax".
A spokesman for Ofcom said: "To ensure that children continue to receive appropriate protection, Ofcom is working with…the mobile operators to review the voluntary code of conduct for mobile content."
The telecoms watchdog is expected to report on the issue in the summer.
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