It’s time for changes for Sim cards. On 4 October the Telecommunications Guarantee Authority (Agcom) announced that the SIMs will also be activated via Spid and Cie. Operations will thus be greatly simplified.
And now, through a resolution published again on the Agcom website on Thursday 9 November, the delicate issue, or rather the relationship, between SIM and minors is addressed. To protect them, a parental control will automatically be appliedol. Let’s see what it’s about.
Yes and minor
We were talking about the Agcom resolution of 8 November, published on the official website the following day.
A resolution which also fills a rather glaring legislative gap. Beyond the habit of registering a minor’s SIM card in the name of an adult, there is no law that prohibits it from being registered directly in the name of very young people. And the choice of many operators to set the minimum age limit at 8 years is arbitrary. But also commercial: it is from that age that specific commercial offers reserved for children and teenagers are launched.
But something will change in the Sims for minors starting from November 21st. Let’s find out what.
Il parental control
The resolution adopted is 9/23/Cons of 25 January, regarding “Systems for the protection of minors from the risks of cyberspace”. The innovation, operational from November 21st, will be free, and will involve all SIM cards registered to minors.
Operators will indeed have the obligation to apply this default block on SIMs for minors, including those containing offers.
This will be a parental control system (SCP) which will be activated with the aim of “limiting or blocking access to certain online activities by a minor, preventing access, through any application, to content inappropriate for his age (e.g. pornography, violence, weapons, drugs, etc. .).”
The blocked sites
Agcom has provided a list of the categories of sites that will be blocked by the parental control system.
- Adult content: sites reserved for adults; sites displaying nudity in a pornographic context, sexual accessories, sexually oriented activities; sites that recommend the purchase of such goods and services.
- Gambling/betting: sites that provide information or promote/support gambling and/or betting.
- Weapons: Sites that provide information, promote, or support the sale of weapons and related items.
- Violence: sites that present or promote violence or personal injury, including self-inflicted, suicide, or that show scenes of gratuitous, persistent or brutal violence.
- Hatred and discrimination: sites that promote/support hatred/intolerance towards individuals or groups.
- Promotion of practices that can damage health in light of consolidated medical knowledge: sites that promote/support anorexia/bulimia, use of narcotic substances, alcohol, tobacco.
- Anonymizer: Sites that provide tools to make online activity untraceable.
- Set: Sites that promote/offer assistance in influencing real events through the use of spells, curses, magical powers, or supernatural beings.
Implementation times and possible sanctions
The block on SIM cards intended for minors will come into force on 21 November, 9 months after the publication of the resolution.
By that date, operators must communicate the technical solutions adopted, the categories of content to be blocked identified and the third parties used as technological partners to implement the parental control system.
In case of violation of the rule, Agcom may order the return of any sums unjustifiably charged to users.
Sims and minors, automatic parental control: two doubts
The first doubt concerns the specific sites that will be blocked. Beyond the eight categories, on which contents will the authority intervene, and with what method?
Even more reasonable is the doubt about the real usefulness of the rule. Which should be communicated clearly and thoroughly, to prevent an adult from purchasing a SIM in his own name and then giving it to his minor child (a practice which, as we have said, is the one most widely used today). In this way, needless to say, there would be no content blocking. But it would be up to the adult to monitor the minor’s traffic or apply all the necessary filters and limitations.