Content standards

We do not publish 18-classification content services under our own brand, but we allow commercial partners to bring these to appropriate and consenting audiences. We insist that our commercial partners ensure that these services are only available to customers who have first proved that they are 18 or older.

In the UK, O2 was the first mobile operator to join the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and is a member of its Funding Council. The IWF investigates internet sites that contain potentially illegal content, primarily child pornography. All illegal material is passed to the police via the National Criminal Intelligence Service in the UK.

O2 Ireland is affiliated to the country's 'Hotline' service, operated by the Internet Service Providers Association of Ireland and supervised by the Government's Internet Advisory Board. The primary goal of the Hotline is to combat child pornography.

Feedback from stakeholders suggests that the issue of privacy may also become a subject of future concern. We believe the introduction of location-based services - which can identify the location of a mobile phone user - could be misused and infringe people's rights and safety. We support the new UK Code of Practice on Location Based Services, developed by peer operators and service providers in consultation with the Home Office and children's charities. The Code stipulates that mobile customers cannot be tracked without their explicit consent.

O2 UK has also participated in an industry initiative to develop a common STOP request for premium rate text services. This will help to reduce the receipt of unsolicited texts, commonly referred to as spam. During the last two years we have also promoted debate around the issue of privacy by jointly hosting a seminar on the subject of privacy with think-tank Demos.