China's media watchdogs have launched a crackdown on interactive
programs on TV, radio and the Internet that raise money from their
audiences through telecom scams.
The Ministry of Information Industry (MII) said the campaign
would focus on eliminating programs, such as fortune telling,
horoscopes and gambling that lure participants into costly
interactive services.
Interactive services, such as TV and text messaging, have become
cash cows for many Chinese media organizations.
The authorities have received many public complaints of services
such as "live" programs that have actually been prerecorded, so
that when viewers ring expensive competition lines, they are
answered by machines.
Some programs are live, but employ other tricks, such as lengthy
service introduction to prolong call times and fictitious
winners.
The MII has ordered telecommunication operators to survey firms
that provide "value-added" services such as text messaging and
teleconference services, and report to the ministry by Aug. 31.
Then the MII will conduct random investigations.
Although the MII circular details no penalties for operators if
they miss the deadline, the sector is under pressure.
"The MII move will affect about 30 percent of our business,"
said one industry insider.
Professor Kan Kaili, of the Economics and Management School of
Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, said, "Telecom
operators play a key role in this campaign as the money charged in
these programs flows through them, and if they stop charging
consumers for these services, the income sources of the services
are stopped.
"The State Administration of Radio and Television has released
more than ten regulations of this sort since 2006, but to little
effect.
"We have only six national telecom operators, but they profit
from these services and they may not follow the MII's
instructions."?
(Xinhua News Agency August 10, 2007)
