UK premium phone regulator ICSTIS (soon be known as the rather friendlier “PhonePayPlus”) have begun an urgent consultation into anonymous text services, after growing concern about these services being used to detrimental effect.
According to ICSTIS, one particular case from 2006 involved a text sent to a mother claiming her son had been killed in a car accident. Since then the regulator has been busy monitoring and researching these anonymous text services, and having come to the conclusion that potential widespread distress exists, they’re now proposing greater licensing and control.
The public consultation can be downloaded at http://www.icstis.org.uk/pdfs_consult/anonymous_sms.pdf – the deadline for comments is Friday 7 September 2007.