EU clampdown on ring-tone scams

(RAPID)
EU Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva has announced the results of an EU-wide investigation into websites offering mobile phone services such as ring-tones and wallpapers. The enquiry, which was carried out on more than 500 websites across the 27 Member States, Norway and Iceland, found that 80% of the sites checked need to be further investigated for suspected breaches of EU consumer rules. Many of the websites target children and young people. Problems found included: unclear price information where prices are incomplete did not include taxes or customers are unaware that they are signing up to a subscription. Large numbers of websites do not provide some of the required contact information about the trader. Other problems relate to misleading information where key information is hidden in very small print or hard to find on a website or the word "free" is used to mislead consumers into a long-term contracts. Companies will be contacted by the national authorities and asked to clarify or correct problems identified. Failure to do so can result in legal action leading to fines or closure of their websites. For cross border cases, national authorities will work with colleagues from other EU authorities. Authorities are asked to report back on their progress in the first half of 2009. See also Frequently Asked Questions.

Labels: Consumer_protection, Mobile_and_wireless

EU - Ringtone websites? hidden charges 'exploiting" children

(Sunday Times)
More than 90% of websites selling ringtones for mobile phones to children and teenagers are misleading them with unclear charges and confusing information, an investigation by the European commission has found. The tactics include signing up users to subscriptions when they believe they are downloading one-off tunes and using free offers to lure them into long-term paid contracts. Brussels is to announce that it will launch inquiries into dozens of British ringtone websites, in addition to many others across Europe. In a further move against the exploitation of mobile phone users, Viviane Reding, the European Union telecoms commissioner, said that operators had adopted a "bunker mentality" by not reducing their international call charges.

Labels: Consumer_protection, Mobile_and_wireless

EU - Brussels eyes internet retailing

(FT)
Moves to break down national borders in internet retailing so that customers can take advantage of prices offered by companies in different countries are to be championed by the EU's consumer protection commissioner. Meglena Kuneva plans an assault on companies which vary their online prices across the European Union but restrict customers to making purchases only on their own national website. Ms Kuneva will make the pledge as she announces plans for separate legislation for creating an EU-wide simplified set of rights governing online and High Street transactions. see Key Challenges for Consumer Policy in the Digital Age Speech by Meglena Kuneva, European Consumer Commissioner, Roundtable on Digital Issues, London, 20 June 2008. See also Commission sets out 5 priorities for consumer policy in a digital age and Gap between domestic and cross-border e-commerce grows wider, says EU report (Press Releases). Frequently Asked Questions on E-commerce in the European Union ? Eurobarometer results.

Labels: Consumer_protection, Electronic_commerce, Statistics

UK - ISPs sign up to Ofcom Code on broadband speeds

(OUT-LAW News)
A Code of Practice to ensure that internet service providers (ISPs) offer greater clarity over customers' broadband line speeds was published by Ofcom today. The Code does not require the disclosure of average speeds, but Ofcom said that might change. Some 32 ISPs, covering over 90% of broadband customers, have already agreed to honour both the letter and the spirit of the Code to give consumers a clearer understanding of the speeds they can get. Signatories include BT Total Broadband, Virgin Media, TalkTalk, Tiscali and AOL Broadband.

Labels: Consumer_protection, Internet_access_and_use, Self-regulation_Codes_of_Conduct

UK - Facebook users warned about ads

(BBC)
Credit companies are using the Facebook social networking site to target young people, a debt charity has warned. Credit Action says adverts promising cheap loans for people with poor credit ratings are appearing on the site and many break advertising regulations. In particular, they are promoting two new products - payday loans secured against a salary or logbook loans secured against a car.

Labels: Consumer_protection, Social_networking

EU - Consumers: 50% of misleading airline websites corrected

(RAPID)
EU Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva published the mid term report on an EU wide enforcement investigation - involving 15 EU national authorities as well as Norway - against misleading advertising and unfair practices on airline ticket selling websites. The report shows that there are "serious and persistent consumer problems" throughout the airline industry as a whole. 1 in 3 websites surveyed (137 out of 386 originally checked by the 13 reporting countries) have had to be followed up with enforcement action over the last 7 months for breaches of EU consumer law. Over 50% of those websites have been corrected during this time. see also Airline Ticket selling website - EU Enforcement Results. Questions and Answers and Meglena KUNEVA, European Consumer Commissioner, Airline Ticket Sweep Investigation, Press conference speaking points, Brussels, May 8th 2008.

Labels: Consumer_protection, Electronic_commerce

EU issues airline website threat

(BBC)
The EU's consumer commissioner has warned she will punish airlines that fail to improve their online booking websites within a year. One-third of European consumers are being misled or cheated when they buy flights online, an EU study found. See Press conference speaking points of Meglena KUNEVA, European Consumer Commissioner, Airline Ticket Sweep Investigation.

Labels: Consumer_protection

Ban junk food advertising on internet, say campaigners

(Guardian)
Food and drink companies should be banned from marketing unhealthy snacks and drinks to young children via new media such as social networking sites and text messaging, a coalition of international consumer groups and health bodies recommends. The group is urging governments to adopt a code that they say would curb the rising obesity rates among children. The code would restrict junk food marketing, including outlawing the use of cartoon characters, celebrity tie-ins, free gifts and competitions aimed at younger audiences.

Labels: Consumer_protection, Health, Protection_of_minors

UK - Text scams warning to youngsters

(BBC)
Thousands of young people have been sent fake scam text messages by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to warn them about con-artists. The campaign saw 25,000 mobile phone users aged between 18 and 24 receive a message telling them they might have won £1,000 in cash. But a second message arrived soon after informing them that the message was a fake and warning them about scams.

Labels: Consumer_protection, Mobile_and_wireless

EU - New rules crackdown on misleading advertising and aggressive sales practices

(RAPID)
Just two weeks before Christmas, sweeping new EU rules to crackdown on misleading advertising and aggressive selling practices - including a ban on fake "free" offers and a ban on "pester power" advertising (direct exhortation) to children on the Internet - will come into force across the EU (December 12 2007). These restrictions are part of an extensive black list of schemes which are banned by the new Unfair Commercial Practices (UCP) Directive ? targeting in particular a "dirty dozen" of the some of the most abusive practices, from bait advertising, to pyramid schemes, advertorials and false curative health claims which are used against consumers. o date only 14 Member States have implemented the directive. The Commission has launched proceedings against Member States that have not yet adopted any national rules.

Labels: Consumer_protection

EU - Commission advocates more competition in airline ticket distribution

(RAPDI)
The European Commission has adopted a proposal to simplify and modernise the two-decade-old rules for computerised reservation systems (CRS). These systems are used by travel agents to book airline tickets on behalf of their customers. The revised rules will allow CRSs and subscribing travel agents to expand their offer and better compete in the airline distribution market. See Q&A on the revised rules for computerised airline ticket reservation systems

Labels: Competition, Consumer_protection

EU - Airline websites 'are misleading'

(BBC)
At least 200 European airline websites are misleading the consumer, a study by the European Commission has found. Websites are failing to show taxes and charges, and refusing to advertise the lowest fare prominently, according to the report. The Commission has refused to name any airlines involved in order to give them time to improve their service. see also Consumers: EU crackdown on misleading airline ticket websites (RAPID). See also EU investigates airline ticket selling websites. Questions and answers and Press conference speaking points by Meglena Kuneva, European Commissioner for Consumer Protection.

Labels: Consumer_protection

EU - Consumer guarantee law may extend to software

(OUT-LAW News)
Buying software or other digital goods as a consumer does not entitle an individual to the same rights under EU law that he or she enjoys when buying tangible products. But that could change following a European Parliament Resolution that endorsed a Green Paper on EU consumer laws .

Labels: Consumer_protection

BE - ISP claims court ruling will force it into 'illegal' behaviour

(OUT-LAW News)
A Belgian court ruling would force internet service providers into conducting "invisible and illegal" checks on internet users' actions, according to Belgian ISP Scarlet, who were recently ordered by a Belgian court to block its users from engaging in illegal file-sharing. It has now lodged an appeal against that ruling. "This measure is nothing else than playing Big Brother on the Internet,'' said Scarlet managing director. "If we don't challenge it today, we leave the door open to permanent, and invisible and illegal, checks of personal data."

Labels: Consumer_protection, Copyright_trademarks_and_patents, Data_protection_privacy, Internet_access_and_use

US - Defendant claims RIAA abusing courts to shore up "failing business model"

(Ars Technica)
Another file-sharing defendant who says she has never installed or used file-sharing software is fighting back against the RIAA, accusing the music industry of waging war in the US court system to "shore up the American recording industry's failing business model."

Labels: Consumer_protection, Copyright_trademarks_and_patents

Google calls for web privacy laws

(BBC News)
Google has been attacked for its own privacy policy : now the company has called on governments and business to agree a basic set of global privacy rules. Without global standards the health of the internet was at risk, the firm's privacy chief told a UN agency conference in Strasbourg. He said that the rise of the net meant vast amounts of personal data was now regularly shipped around the globe.

Labels: Consumer_protection, Data_protection_privacy

UK - Honesty the best online policy

(BBC News)
Columnist Bill Thompson says firms should tell customers when their computer security has been breached. UK organisations have no legal duty to tell if personal data has been compromised. The situation may change, if the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology has its way. They have spent the last year looking at internet security and how it affects us all and they published their final report, called Personal Internet Security.

Labels: Computer_crime, Consumer_protection, Data_protection_privacy

UK - C4 phone line move to cost it £3m

(FT)
Channel 4 has responded to a spate of scandals over premium rate phone lines by announcing that it would no longer seek to make a profit from them ? a decision that will deal a huge financial blow to the broadcaster. In a statement, Channel 4 said the move was an attempt to regain the trust of its audience and played down the financial impact, saying that it would cost the company only £3m in the current financial year. In fact, in the last full financial year, PRTS contributed "more than £10m" to overall pre-tax profits of £21.3m.

Labels: Audiovisual, Consumer_protection

UK - Phone-ins - Regaining viewers? trust is the real issue

(FT)
Despite a breakdown in trust and an outbreak of "format fatigue" over Big Brother, there is no end in sight for interactive "reality" television, two leading broadcasters have told the FT. With Channel 4 announcing last week that it would stop using premium-rate telephone services for profit and ITV awaiting the outcome of a report into its phone-ins, the reliance of commercial television on participatory programming is under the spotlight.

Labels: Audiovisual, Consumer_protection

UK - Britons misled over broadband speeds, says Which?

(Guardian)
There is a huge gap between the broadband speeds providers are advertising and those that users are able to achieve at home, research by Which? showed. Which? claims that while many companies advertise speeds of up to 8Mbps (megabits per second) or faster, consumers are achieving an average speed of just 2.7Mbps, while some have experienced speeds as low as 0.09Mbps.

Labels: Consumer_protection, Internet_access_and_use

OECD - Recommendation on Consumer Dispute Resolution and Redress

(OECD)
OECD countries have agreed a new approach to better protect the rights of consumers and make online shopping safer. They call on national authorities and business to make it easier, cheaper and quicker for people to resolve complaints and get compensation when they are unhappy with goods or services they have bought. The OECD Recommendation on Consumer Dispute Resolution and Redress offers a roadmap for consumer protection agencies to address the practical and legal obstacles that many consumers face when trying to exchange goods or get their money back from firms, in their own country or abroad.

Labels: Consumer_protection