Four "sex chat" phone lines and another providing access to porn sites have been closed down during the past week, the High Court was told yesterday.
The closures have been carried out by the regulator with responsibility for premium rate phone services. Other lines are being investigated, the court heard. Two services were deemed to be in breach of the code of practice but were considered less serious and they gave undertakings.
Mr Justice Kearns was also told that all "virtual chat/mess age exchange services" are to carry warnings, at callers' contact, that anyone who sends a message which is "grossly offensive or of an indecent or obscene character" will be guilty of an offence and that all callers must be over 18.
Virtual chat services enable two or more callers to exchange separate recorded messages between each other while connected to the service. These services do not involve live telephone conversations.
The terms for tightening access to sex chat lines were put forward at the resumed hearing of the action brought by a company director, his partner and her two children to prevent the Eircom Phone Book including sex chat lines.
Mr Patrick O'Connor, of Straffan, Co Kildare; Ms Ann Ryan, and her two children, Terri and Eoin Ryan, sued Eircom plc, Golden Pages Ltd, the Censorship of Publications Board and the State. Mr O'Connor expressed concern that children had access to the phone lines.
After yesterday's hearing, in which several steps to limit access to the lines were outlined, Mr O'Connor said he was happy with the outcome. He paid tribute to the judge for expediting the case with "vigour, intent and vast enthusiasm."
During the hearing it was stated that Eircom was deeply concerned and particularly shocked at the content of some of the material which had been put before the court. Eircom shared the court's concern about children's access to such material.
After undertakings were given yesterday to go ahead with the proposals outlined, Mr Justice Kearns adjourned the case generally. Mr O'Connor was allowed costs against Eircom for two of the three days of the action.
Mr Tom Mallon, for the regulator, said there had been a meeting with providers supplying virtual chat services and additional precautionary procedures were laid down to prevent "silent access".
All callers must make a verbal statement on accessing the lines. This would be a short sentence introducing the caller, which could then be used to determine if the caller was under age.
Experienced and trained monitoring staff would disconnect anybody deemed to be under-age, he said, and calls would be monitored between 3 p.m. and 10 p.m., the most likely period for under-age calling.
Eircom's proposals were set out in an affidavit by Ms Mary O'Brien, product manager information services, which was read by Mr Michael Cush SC. She said Eircom would invite the regulator to designate certain services as of an adult nature. Such services would be provided under a special 1559 code and would be accessible by means of a PIN number. Eircom would co-operate fully with the regulator where particular services were to be transferred to the 1559 code.
Eircom was willing to increase its funding contribution to the regulator to enable him to monitor the premium rate service on a more frequent basis, to ensure that services on the 15XX code were in accordance with the code of practice and to enable the regulator to carry out his duties more effectively.
The company proposed to include in its newsletter, which accompanies phone bills, an information article drawing attention to the cost associated with calls to premium rate services and to raise subscribers' awareness of their entitlement to bar, free of charge, access to 15XX numbers.
Ms O'Brien said Eircom had contractual agreements with 62 service providers. The majority provided their services in a lawful manner and in accordance with the code of practice.
Mr Justice Kearns said the proposals appeared to be well-thought-out, sensible and very practical. Mr Peter Finlay SC, for Mr O'Connor, said they seemed to meet the concerns of a reasonable person and seemed to be a real attempt to meet the problem.