Trade Law Daily is a service of Warren Communications News.

The Irish govt. this week announced plans to create a national re...

The Irish govt. this week announced plans to create a national register of next-generation 3G phones, aimed at safeguarding children. Communications Minister Dermot Ahern said that with 3G mobile phones capable of carrying video clips set to emerge later…

Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article

Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.

this year, children need more protection than is available with prepaid phones. “A national register of picture phones has proven impractical by virtue of the fact that we already had millions of GSM handsets in existence when picture-phones became available,” Ahern said: “But 3G is different.” Ahern said the govt. intends to work with the Irish Cellular Industry Assn. (ICIA) to establish the registry, and is trying to form a working group to develop proposals. However, he said, while he understands that industry wants to recoup infrastructure investment and doesn’t want to be saddled with onerous responsibilities, the need to protect children is an “absolute necessity.” Under the registry scheme, anyone who buys a 3G phone will have to provide name, address and other identifying information, a govt. spokesman told us. Asked whether the register could raise privacy or data protection concerns, the spokesman said any “privacy issues that might obtain would be no different to what currently applies.” Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner would oversee such issues, he said. As to whether Ahern expects industry opposition to his proposal, the spokesman said, “he has a very good working relationship with the mobile industry. He believes they understand why he is holding this view and the necessity for it.” ICIA Chmn. Joan Keating confirmed the group has had preliminary talks with the govt. However, she said, operators are “unclear about the usefulness of doing [the register] or what purpose it will serve.” Among the many details to be nailed down are how the accuracy of such a list can be ensured, how the information will be gathered, and who will pay for building and maintaining the register. Ireland now has 3.4 million mobile phones, with a penetration rate of 87% at the end of 2003, the govt. said. About 80% of Irish operators’ prepaid phone customers are already voluntarily registered under various incentive programs, Keating told us.