Draft EU Rule Said to Threaten Premium Rate Phone Services in Contests
European Union (EU) competition ministers Fri. kicked back for further negotiation a proposed regulation some telcos say unfairly discriminates against them. The provision at issue, Article 5a, was floated by the Dutch presidency this month as part of several amendments to a 2001 regulation on sales promotions in the internal market. The regulation aims to remove barriers to the use and commercial communication of sales promotions within the internal market by harmonizing provisions such as what information promoters must give consumers about their offers, an EU official said; it also lets promoters follow their domestic law when running cross-border promotions. But telcos said last week Art. 5a could harm their industry and should be clarified and put out for public comment.
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Draft Article 5a bars promoters from charging consumers “any associated costs, other than non-premium rates of postage or telecommunications, for participation in a promotional contest or game.” The regulation doesn’t cover the use and commercial communication of -- among other things -- “promotional contests and games in the editorial comment of a media or where a media is the promoter.” The language appears to prohibit all forms of premium-rate phone services linked to promotions or contests, the industry source said. But telcos want to know why media-based contests and games should be exempt, the source said.
The European Competitive Telecom Assn. and the U.K. Competitive Telecom Assn. last week sent a joint letter to the 25 Permanent Representations to the EU requesting clarification and clearer language for Article 5a. The telcos are right to be concerned about Article 5a’s clarity and the lack of prior consultation on it, the EU official said. The Competitiveness Council, which is made up of competitiveness ministers from the EU member states, was slated to consider the various amendments to the sales promotion regulation Fri. But the amendments as a whole have sparked strong resistance from a blocking minority, the official said.
And, as some anticipated, ministers have now sent the dossier back to the working group of official-level experts from the 25 member states to iron out the wrinkles, a spokeswoman from the U.K. Permanent Representation to the EU said. Article 5a could be back on the Competitiveness Council’s agenda in Nov., she said.