The GSMA, the global trade association for mobile operators, will establish a mobile industry-wide alliance to combat mobile services being misused to access content involving child sexual abuse. The vast majority of child sexual abuse content is currently accessed through and hosted on the conventional Internet, but the recent spread of mobile broadband services means that the mobile industry needs to take measures to prevent such misuse of mobile services.

The goal of the GSMA’s initiative is to keep the mobile environment hostile to child sexual abuse content and to individuals or organisations wishing to consume or profit from such illegal content.

“The GSMA is determined that our industry makes it as difficult as possible for criminals to use the mobile medium to consume or profit from the sexual exploitation of children,” said Rob Conway, CEO of the GSMA. “The GSMA recognises the importance of inhibiting the production, distribution and monetisation of child sexual abuse content. We invite all operators to join this alliance to combat access to child sexual abuse content via mobile devices.”

The alliance, which will be launched in the first quarter of 2008, will be open to all mobile operators, regardless of access technology, to maximise its effectiveness. Through international cooperation and information sharing between mobile operators, the alliance will accelerate the spread of measures to counter the distribution and consumption of child sexual abuse content.

About the GSMA:
The GSMA (The GSM Association) is the global trade association representing more than 700 GSM mobile phone operators across 218 countries and territories of the world. In addition, more than 200 manufacturers and suppliers support the Association’s initiatives as key partners.

The primary goals of the GSMA are to ensure mobile phones and wireless services work globally and are easily accessible, enhancing their value to individual customers and national economies, while creating new business opportunities for operators and their suppliers. The Association’s members serve more than 2.5 billion customers – 85% of the world’s mobile phone users.

For more information please contact:
For the GSM Association:
Mark Smith or David Pringle
Email: [email protected]