Written question asked by Patsy Calton (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 29 January 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 4 February 2004. It was answered by Gerry Sutcliffe (Labour) on Wednesday, 4 February 2004 on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Dept of Trade and Industry

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment has been made of the use of telephone transferred charge calls to propogate unwanted pornographic messages; and if she will make a statement.

Answer: Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment has been made of the use of telephone transferred charge calls to propogate unwanted pornographic messages; and if she will make a statement. [152541] Mr. Sutcliffe: None. However the law relating to pornography applies online as it does offline. Unsolicited emails and reverse SMS messages advertising pornographic services are prohibited by the regulations implementing a recent EC Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications, and which are enforced by the Information Commissioner's office. The mobile operators are drawing up a code of practice to cover new forms of content including pornography. Premium rate services continue to be regulated by the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services (ICSTIS).

Secondary information