New UK Mobile Content Rules
The BBC has an interesting article on it's news website, Tough rules for ringtone sellers.
It turns out that new rules regarding the selling of mobile content in the UK have been in place for the past month, but I for one wasn't aware of this.
The main changes seem to be designed to counter the rapid rise in subscription sites. This is where you think you are signing up to get a free or very cheap ringtone, but in addition you are also signing up for a subscription to receive a certain amount of charge for content. This is rather like the Apanachi spam I mentioned a few weeks ago.
The new rules in brief are...
- The ability to switch off the service with a "stop" command.
- Monthly reminders about the cost of the subscription.
- Reminders every £20 spent about the cost of the subscription and how to cancel.
- Adverts must detail the all costs and the time period of the subscription/
- Consumers told of all costs and time periods of the subscription when they sign up.
The rules are being enforced by the regulatory body MEF.
This is undoubtedly a good thing. Many people are put off by how easy it is to buy mobile content without knowing the exact price of it. This would certainly seem to be a step in the right direction to help grow the sector even further.