British Mobile phone giant Vodafone announced today it was barring customers from accessing adult websites through their handsets in a move designed to protect children.
Vodafone Ireland said it was looking into taking similar action here.
Users will have to prove they are over 18 before restrictions are lifted on sites containing pornography, gambling or Internet chatrooms that are designed for adults or unmonitored.
Vodafone in Britain claims to be the first operator in the world to launch a system to control access to the internet following an agreement by the industry in January to take action.
Vodafone is using a "filter" that looks for certain words and content to identify websites of an adult nature. Access to these sites is then blocked unless customers specifically "opt in" and ask for the bar to be removed.
They will have to provide their credit card details either online, over the telephone or by visiting a Vodafone shop.
The assumption is that only adults have access to a credit card, although the company admits the system of verification is not perfect.
Mr Al Russell, head of content services at Vodafone UK, said: "We have seen the popularity of mobile internet to access things like chatrooms and if we didn't take action it was inevitable that minors would be exposed to adult services."