The Internet Trust
Alliance, established by China's top Internet companies Sina, Sohu
and Netease, issued in Beijing Monday regulations for
self-discipline of China's wireless service providers.
The move was made
following the Ministry of Information Industry's clampdown on
pornography and unreasonable charges, which began in July this
year. The ministry's actions have sharply reined in growth in the
short message service (SMS) sector.
Highlights of the
alliance's regulations are a transparent charging system and legal
content with no pornography.
The alliance will make a
quarterly evaluation of service providers' performance and award
Client Trusted Wireless Service (CTWS) certification for
compliance.
Sohu CEO Zhang Chaoyang
said, "We will put continued and serious effort into the
establishment of a new CTWS brand, and the tremendous combined
influence of Sina, Sohu and Netease will soon create a healthy and
orderly environment for China's Internet wireless service
development."
Sohu has recently suffered
losses in its wireless service because of what it termed "strict
governmental regulation."
Many of China's Internet
companies, including Sohu and Sina, had some of their wireless
services suspended when the Ministry of Information Industry found
them violating regulations during its campaign that began last
summer.
Industry sources say that
before the crackdown, Internet users frequently complained about
the spread of pornographic information through the Internet SMS,
and "subscription pitfalls," where they would be charged several
dollars a month if they mistakenly keyed a wrong button or
submitted a default selection set up by the service provider.
Ding Lei, CEO of Netease,
said, "Sohu, Sina and Netease, originally competitors in the
Internet industry, are now standing together to regulate
performance and cooperate to guarantee trusted service to our
clients. As the wireless service industry develops, the
self-discipline regulations will be expanded. This will bolster the
industry's sustained growth and may also provide valuable
experience for other industries."
Revenue at several
Internet companies' wireless service businesses declined as a
result of the government campaign in the second half. Sina's
third-quarter SMS revenue slipped 6.6 percent compared with the
previous quarter; Sohu's wireless service sank 30 percent and
Netease's wireless-related service fell 16.4 percent.
Sina, Sohu and Netease
formed their alliance in September.
(China Daily
November 30, 2004)