Code of Conduct of Mobile Phone Service Providers in Germany for the Protection of Minors Using Mobile Phones
June 2005
Preamble
In Germany, using mobile phones has become more and more popular and has seen wide distribution especially among children and teenagers over the last years. At the same time, technical possibilities providing access to a wide range of mobile information and communication services (mobile media) have been growing. These services can impair or endanger the development and education of minors. Therefore, it is a significant challenge to protect children and teenagers from such offers of mobile media.
At the same time, legitimate interests of minors and the general public, first and foremost the human dignity, are due to be protected.
Against that background, the signing mobile phone service providers have enjoined this code of conduct. The code of conduct defines the rules mobile phone service providers will observe from now. The service providers can implement additional protection measures unless these measures would contradict this code of conduct.
Furthermore, the aim is to raise the awareness of parents and other legal guardians for a responsible use of mobile media and to show them the opportunities of efficient youth protection.
The code of conduct describes the common standards of youth protection, referring to the Protection of Young Persons Act (Jugendschutzgesetz, JuSchG) and the Interstate Treaty on the protection of minors (Jugendmedienschutz-Staatsvertrag, JMStV) in following areas:
- impermissible or pornographic contents or other youth endangering contents or contents which can interfere the development of minors in any form
- advertisement for such contents
- chat rooms
- games and videos on mobile phones
§ 1 Observation of youth protection
a) Responsibility
The signing mobile phone service providers confess their responsibility for mobile content within the Tele Media Act (Telemediengesetz, TMG) in case that they are providers of own mobile contents.
In many cases, mobile content is merchandised by independent content providers. Mobile phone service companies only provide access to this content. Therefore, the mobile phone service provider is not responsible for these offers. However, the mobile phone service provider will oblige the content providers in their contracts to observe the according statutory duties. Thus mobile phone service providers contribute more to the aim of youth protection than they are legally obligated to.
b) Absolutely impermissible contents
The signing mobile phone service companies provide within their legal responsibility or oblige the content providers that absolutely impermissible contents (§ 4 para. 1 JMStV) are not available
These contents are in particular:
- propaganda instruments and signs of unconstitutional organisations
- sedition and Holocaust denial ("Auschwitzlüge”)
- incitement to and instructions for crime
- depiction of violence
- pornography which has as its objects the sexual abuse of children, bestiality or sexual acts of violence, or
- media depicting children and adolescents in unnatural poses
- contents glorifying war
- violation of human dignity
- media which is included in the List of media harmful to young persons pursuant to Article 18 of the Protection of Young Persons Act or is fully or largely identical in content with any media already listed
The mobile phone service providers proscribe such contents and will support their prosecution.
c) Pornography and other contents able to seriously impair the development of children and adolescents
Mobile phone service providers may offer material that contains pornographic content or content which is evidently able to impair the development of children and adolescents only to adults within closed user groups. Third party content providers will be obliged respectively.
The signing mobile phone service providers commit to meet the legal requisitions to an age verification system as follows:
- Identification: mandatory is a reliable check of the customer’s majority once, e.g. when signing a mobile phone contract in an authorized shop
- Authentication: An authentication before using the service assures that the risk of copying, transferring or other misuse of access codes towards or by children and adolescents is minimized. Authentication is assured e.g. through the combination of a PIN, that has been transmitted exclusively to the identified customer, and a customer-related SIM card. Content can be accessed after entering the PIN while using the respective SIM card.
d) Content impairing development
If the signing mobile phone service providers offer mobile content which is able to impair the development of children or adolescents into self-responsible and socially competent personalities, they will within their means make sure that minors of the according age will generally not notice these offers. They will oblige their contractually linked content providers accordingly.
aa) Therefore, mobile phone service providers will offer parents and other guardians to block mobile access for minors to content which is impairing the development of their particular age. Besides, they will actively contribute relevant educational information to parents and other legal guardians.
The technical and operational procedure may be realised as shown in the following example:
- The customer advises the mobile phone service provider that a particular mobile connection must not be used for receiving an according content
- The mobile phone service provider notes the concerning number, which is assigned to an individual SIM card, in a data base (blacklist)
- The mobile phone service provider which offers its own mobile content and the contractually linked content providers respectively will check if the customer’s number is registered in the blacklist of the mobile phone service provider when content (e.g. SMS, MMS, mobile portals) impairing the development is ordered, delivered or otherwise supplied
- If the number of the inquiring user is noted in the blacklist, the contents will not be accessible and an according information or error message will be sent.
- Removing a number from the blacklist is only possible through a written application or by telephone when the customer has previously completed an ID check. Thereby it is assured that minors cannot remove the access protection themselves.
bb) Mobile phone service providers can meet their obligations by advertising and providing their services only at times when minors usually do not notice these offers, or by implementing equally appropriate or advanced technical instruments or other systems.
§ 2 Advertisement
Mobile phone service providers will not advertise in a way that would violate legal rules of youth protection, particularly the provisions of JuSchG and JMStV. Contractually linked content providers will be obliged appropriately.
Mobile phone service providers will not advertise in a way that would harm children or teenagers in a physical or psychological way. Additionally, they:
- will not advertise direct consumption appeals that would abuse the inexperience or greenness of minors,
- will not ask minors directly to persuade their parents or other legal guardians to the purchase of the advertised goods or services,
- will not abuse a minor’s confidence in her parents, teachers or other confidants and
- will not show children and teenagers in dangerous situations without legitimate reason.
Advertisement which is able to impair the development of children or adolescents into self-responsible and socially competent personalities, may only be provided separated from offers which focus on minors.
Advertisement which focuses on children and teenagers or in which children or teenagers are actors must be designed in a form that it does not violate minors’ interests or abuse their greenness.
§ 3 Chat rooms
The legal youth protection obligations of the JMStV visibly fit only offers of own content. Generally, the author of his chat contribution is responsible for the respective content in a chat room. Therefore, the signing mobile phone service providers are not obliged by youth protection law to monitor the content of a chat room.
Mobile phone service providers are, however, aware of the threats minors are exposed to in open chat rooms. Therefore, they aim at the implementation of monitoring systems for these chat rooms on a voluntary basis. Contractually linked content providers shall be obliged accordingly.
Contracts between mobile phone service providers and chat room providers must be designed in a way that chat room providers will react promptly to problems and user inquiries and remove illegal articles as soon as they are noticed.
Mobile phone service providers support the prosecution of illegal articles by appropriate authorities.
§ 4 Games and videos
Regarding the legal estimation of mobile games and videos, signing mobile phone service providers share the following opinion:
- Download offer of games and videos in mobile phone services
In case that certain content is offered both for download and offline as a data medium and both are completely or generally equal, an existing age identification of the data medium referring to § 12 JuSchG is indicated. If games or videos are classified to endanger youth or impair their development, the protection mechanisms of § 1 of this code of conduct are to be executed.
- Mobile phones with implemented games
Mobiles with integrated games are strictly subject to the German youth protection act. According to the unanimous opinion of the German supreme youth protection authorities and the signing mobile phone service providers they are, however, not subject to a labelling obligation, because the games cannot be passed (separately). General rules which are valid for all data media remain applicable, e.g. the general prohibition of illegal and severely youth endangering contents pursuant to § 15 JuSchG and the obligations for possible indexing by the Federal Inspection Authority (Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien, BPjM).
- Games and videos on separate data media for mobile phones
The signing mobile phone service providers respect that in the above-mentioned cases games and videos are subject to labelling and purchase restriction pursuant to §§ 12 et sqq JuSchG. When selling separate data media in combination with the end device, the providers assume that the labelling obligation primarily exists for the data media and not for the mobile telephone.
§ 5 Realisation of the standards
The mobile phone service providers will realise these standards as soon as possible, depending on their particular technical and operational premises.
§ 6 Development
Technical development in the mobile phone sector and arising impacts on youth protection in all services and offers will require changes in the above-described standards and measures. Therefore, all signing mobile phone service providers will commit to develop this code of conduct continuously.
§ 7 Youth protection commissioners
The signing mobile phone service providers have nominated youth protection commissioners. Customers and potential customers may approach the commissioners.
The signing mobile phone service providers will include the youth protection commissioners adequately and punctually in questions of production, purchase, strategy and design of offers and in all other decisions in order to protect youth and to observe this code of conduct.
The youth protection commissioners will meet periodically to exchange experiences. The contact details of the youth protection commissioners are registered in the annex.
§ 8 Commencement and publication
This code of conduct comes into effect through signing of the participating mobile phone service providers. The providers commit to communicate this code of conduct and in particular to provide it on their home pages online.
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