The national children’s charity, NSPCC, has set up a working group to push for regulatory changes to the provision of ‘zero-rated’ websites by network providers – to enable children to access its ChildLine website without buying data.
The move comes as new EU regulations on network providers are set to be finalised by the European group of telecom providers, BEREC, later this month.
Under current EU rules, communication providers can give free access to websites as long as the person has an available data allowance on their mobile phone. But they are not allowed to zero-rate a specific website if the user has met his or her data cap. The charity is seeking to change this so that users can access its website at all times for free.
ChildLine currently has an arrangement with O2 to allow the network’s customers access to its online services without requiring a data allowance. It is also in talks with Vodafone, EE, BT, TalkTalk, Three, SKY and Virgin to extend zero-rating to more networks.
Peter Wanless, chief executive of the NSPCC, said regulatory updates were needed to address the changes to the way that ChildLine’s services are being used.
“When ChildLine was founded in 1986 children only used telephones, often telephone boxes, to get in touch. Now almost three-quarters of our counselling sessions are being conducted online,” he said.
“To reflect the changing way in which our advice is being delivered and to continue our commitment to provide free and private contact for young people in need it is now vital that the communications industry as a whole is not prevented by EU guidelines in ‘zero-rating’ the new ChildLine website.
“Doing this will send out a strong message to young people across the UK that in 2016 they still have a dedicated and confidential service ready to help them which is accessible 24/7 and absolutely free of charge, be it online or over the phone. O2 are leading the way and we very much hope that other networks will follow suit.”
A spokesman for the charity told Civil Society News the working group met for the first time yesterday and will seek to influence European decision-makers as they finalise the new communication legislation later this month.
“The working group met and is now exploring different options,” he said. “Peter Wanless will be writing to the Body of European Regulators of Electronic Communications (BEREC) to explain our position.”
Last year, ChildLine’s website was visited 3.5 million times, while its national call centre provided 300,000 counselling sessions. Some 71 per cent of those sessions were conducted online via email and chat – a high proportion of which were with children contemplating suicide or self-harm, the charity said.
As part of the charity’s drive to extend free use of its online services, it is launching a new strapline: “Online, on the phone, anytime."
