The Download Patrol
The European Ringtone Industry is worth around £400 million, at least it was in 2007, this year it’s mushroomed even more.
All that success, however, is somewhat ill-gotten.
In July this year the European Commission along with the Office of Fair Trading and the UK premium-rate content regulator Phone Pay Plus, investigated websites across Europe that were offering mobile services such as ringtone subscriptions, downloads and wallpapers.
Of the 588 sites they checked, 466 were potentially breaking the law and out of these 50% were directly targeted to children.
The commission proposed that cover advertising and promotion of any form relating to mobile content had to make it clear to consumers what they were paying for and what type of contract, if any, they were signing up for.
The “sweep” focussed on 3 different practises in the mobile services sector that compromised rights. In other words, they tackled unclear offer prices, trader information and misleading advertising.
Sites falling fawl of the law were required to make corrections to their advertising and promotions.
One way Phone Pay Plus are trying to tackle the problem is with their latest site, Phone Brain. The website aims to help stop the confusion over downloading ring tones, data and wallpapers by offering advice to consumers on how they can avoid finding themselves tied into an expensive, drawn-out ringtone contract.
A recent Nielson Online survey found that 21 percent of teenagers regularly download onto their mobiles so they’re obviously driving the market. When the crazy frog ringtone came out it outsold Coldplay by 4 to 1. I wonder how many of those crazy frog fans were paying the bills?
