ASA Clears O2 Text Message Ad

The ASA has rejected complaints against a text message ad for O2’s chat and dating service despite claims that it encouraged young people to engage in phone conversations with strangers.

The advertisers denied the claims and argued that a number of controls had been put in place to prevent the text chat room service from being misused. They insisted that registered users under the age of 16 were only able to receive messages from users of a similar age and emphasised that the service was moderated by automatic filtering and human review. They also explained that users found to be sending messages or making calls that were abusive, indecent or menacing would have their phone barred and would be referred to the police.

The ASA noted that significant measures had been installed to protect young mobile phone users and dismissed the complaints after concluding that the ad was not, in fact, irresponsible.

The Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services (Icstis) recently confirmed that complaints about unwanted text messages have “soared” over the last year (see Complaints About Unsolicited Text Messages Soar). The industry regulator, which monitors premium rate calls and text messages, has received over 150 complaints in the last nine months about reverse billing, which occurs when users reply to a promotional text message and end up getting charged as much as £1.50 for the privilege.

ASA: 020 7580 5555 www.asa.org.uk

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