Porn is extremely powerful. Some hate it; others can’t get enough of it. It is also one of the factors that made DVD the success story that it is today. Porn is among one of the reasons why VHS beat out BetaMax. But pornography is also something many people don’t want to see in their neighborhoods or around their kids. On TV it is easy enough to “lock out” those channels, and there are software to block Web sites. So what’s the problem with mobile phones? Basically the problem is that mobile content providers might not be able to easily verify the age of users.
Today it isn’t uncommon for teens, tweens and even the occasional post-toddler to have a mobile phone. According to Jupiter Research adult content on mobile devices could be worth about $3.3 billion (that’s billion with a B) by 2011. That’s a lot of green made from seeing a bit of flesh. This will be an issue that we’re sure will be watched closely.
Here in the UK we have had effective age verification in place across all the mobile network operators for a while now. The age verification is managed by the network operators (users can age verify via a number of means, including via credit card, in store, via WAP and in-store) – and this information is shared with technical service providers such as D2see. There is a shared responsibility for policing.
Why do the US operators not take a look at our model and replicate (/improve on) it? There is a LOT of money to be made by the network operators from a variety of services which are only suitable for adults – so they will see a VERY quick return on investment.