August 7, 2003
Mobile phone concerns: inbuilt cameras could be used for child pornography
There's increasing concern among lawmakers that mobile phone technology is playing into the hands of paedophiles and pornographers. And because the technology is used by children as well as adults, there are now urgent calls for the law to keep up. An issue which will be raised at a meeting of Australia's attorneys-general today, as Ben Knight reports in ABC Online. The new 3G phones, which can send and receive video are on the agenda as Senator Harradine says there is evidence in the UK that the phones have been used by paedophile rings.
The internet industry and the phone companies themselves are working on these issues. Some might be solved by extending Australia's current laws controlling internet content to cover phones as well. But some experts are warning against over regulating the technology.
VERBATIM:
"Well ultimately it's the bad behaviours that we want to regulate to stop, and we don't want regulation which would perhaps impede some of the benefits of technologies. And what we've got to remember is these technologies offer potentially a lot of benefits and a lot of economic traction in the economy, I mean, people will use them for all sorts of things and most of those will be good or at least innocent. And we certainly don't want to block those off". -- Charles Britton, the Australian Consumer's Association's adviser on communications policy.
Late June, the UK Home Office warned of 'horrifying implications' as paedophiles use the latest mobile phone technology to target schoolchildren. cf Paedophiles set picture phone trap.
For other articles published on this issue, see Porn and Dark Side of MMS category in Picturephoning.com.
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