difenbaker
12-15-2006, 07:39 PM
South Korea wants teens to hang up mobile phones
By Reuters
Published: December 15, 2006, 5:34 AM PST
Parents go crazy over the phone bill while the kid just keeps on talking. Preset limits on calling time don't always work.
South Korea is trying to stop teenagers from ringing up massive mobile phone bills with new rules that let parents control just how long the handsets are used. Phone bill angst is rife in South Korea, where data from mobile service operators show that four out of five people own a handset and at least six out of ten school-age children have one.
A Telecommunications Ministry official said on Friday that from January, children will need parental permission to go above a preset limit, which can be up to 30,000 won ($32.57) a month.
Parents will also receive detailed information about the types of services their children subscribe to.
At present, parents can set a limit on how long children can talk on their mobiles, but all the kids have to do is ask the mobile provider to increase the limit.
In February, a teenaged South Korean boy killed himself after tallying a phone bill of 3.7 million won ($4,017).
"The ministry hopes these regulations will prevent teenagers from making a lot of mistakes about how they use their mobile phones, which can lead to mounting bills," the telecommunications ministry said in a press release.
more here:
http://news.com.com/South+Korea+wants+teens+to+hang+up+mobile+phones/2100-1039_3-6144046.html?tag=cd.top
... I wonder what these "parents" are doing? Why would they need government regulations, cant they stop their children themselves?
:cool:
By Reuters
Published: December 15, 2006, 5:34 AM PST
Parents go crazy over the phone bill while the kid just keeps on talking. Preset limits on calling time don't always work.
South Korea is trying to stop teenagers from ringing up massive mobile phone bills with new rules that let parents control just how long the handsets are used. Phone bill angst is rife in South Korea, where data from mobile service operators show that four out of five people own a handset and at least six out of ten school-age children have one.
A Telecommunications Ministry official said on Friday that from January, children will need parental permission to go above a preset limit, which can be up to 30,000 won ($32.57) a month.
Parents will also receive detailed information about the types of services their children subscribe to.
At present, parents can set a limit on how long children can talk on their mobiles, but all the kids have to do is ask the mobile provider to increase the limit.
In February, a teenaged South Korean boy killed himself after tallying a phone bill of 3.7 million won ($4,017).
"The ministry hopes these regulations will prevent teenagers from making a lot of mistakes about how they use their mobile phones, which can lead to mounting bills," the telecommunications ministry said in a press release.
more here:
http://news.com.com/South+Korea+wants+teens+to+hang+up+mobile+phones/2100-1039_3-6144046.html?tag=cd.top
... I wonder what these "parents" are doing? Why would they need government regulations, cant they stop their children themselves?
:cool: