Dialog Telekom prevents access to child sexual abuse content on mobiles

Dialog Telekom PLC has joined the GSMA's Mobile Alliance against Child Sexual Abuse Content in a bid to protect the rights of children and contribute towards preventing their sexual exploitation.

In doing so the company has committed to abide by the criteria for formal membership to join the Alliance, including promoting the Alliance's mission of obstructing the use of the mobile environment by individuals or organisations wishing to consume or profit from child sexual abuse content.

Dialog Telekom in association with the National Child Protection Authority in Sri Lanka, have taken steps to prevent access of child sexual abuse content from external websites accessible through Dialog mobiles. Dialog Telekom is the first Sri Lankan organisation to join the Alliance and will restrict access to websites that are identified as containing child sexual abuse images by the Internet Watch Foundation Unit.

now, there has been no way to prevent people in Sri Lanka accessing these illegal sites through their mobile phones using GPRS/3G technologies.

Dialog mobile subscribers who attempt to access illegal sites will now receive an error message that the page is unavailable.

"Dialog is to be commended for its leadership in addressing this hugely important issue," said CEO and Member of the Board of the GSMA Rob Conway. "We call on more Asian mobile operators to join the Alliance and take further steps to prevent their networks from being used as a means of accessing or hosting pictures and videos of children being sexually abused."

"At the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressed world leaders, stating that as well as global terrorism, another similar menace - pornographic sites via the internet, is making the future of children unsafe. He said that this is an important area for world leaders to focus on.

In association with Dialog GSM, with the security of our nation's children in mind, we are restricting internet access to child sexual abuse content via mobile phones to coincide with the 2008 International Children's day," said Chairman, National Child Protection Authority, Jagath Wellawattha.

Group Chief Corporate Officer - Dialog Telekom PLC Mothilal de Silva said, "As a responsible corporate, we agree with the Mobile Alliance against Child Sexual Abuse Content on the need to be mindful on ensuring a proper balance between the interests of law enforcement and respect for fundamental human rights on this subject matter.

While freedom on information is a human right, as well as the right to freedom of expression, we feel that controlling this type of menace is important to protect our future generations from exploitation and ensure information security."