Self-Regulation


Instrument of self-regulation

Title:
Industry Code of Practice for the use of mobile phone technology to provide passive location services in the UK
Entry into force:
01.10.2006
Type of document:
Industry Code of Practice
Geographical scope:
United Kingdom
Content-related scope:
mobile
Related areas:
consumer rights,
youth protection

In September 2004, an industry working group, led by the Mobile Broadband Group (MBG), published a Code of Practice for the use of mobile phone technology for passive location services in the UK. The group comprised nine location service providers ("LSP") in the UK and five mobile network operators.

The purpose of the Code of Practice is to set principles of good practice for the provision of such services. It focuses on ‘passive’ location services, which are defined as those services where a mobile phone user, once she or he has enabled the service, consents to be located by another, when that other person initiates a location request (either from another mobile phone or from a PC).
The industry and the public do not want location services to be used to locate customers, particularly children, either without their knowledge or against their will. Risks cannot be completely eliminated, but the Code of Practice seeks to balance usability with safeguards in a proportionate and reasonable manner.

For the purposes of developing the Code of Practice, the location services are broken down into four main types:

  1. Child location services
  2. Friend location services
  3. Mobile games supported by location services
  4. Corporate location services
The following organisations have signed the code:
O2 (UK) Ltd, Orange Personal Communications Services Ltd, T-Mobile UK Ltd, Virgin Mobile Telecoms Ltd, Vodafone Ltd, Hutchison 3G UK Ltd.

   Click to download the corresponding pdf-document (0.161 MB)

Get more information from this website:
http://www.mobilebroadbandgroup.com/


Available on the website since April 24, 2008