Government investigates telcos for abetting illegal sales, harassment
By Yuen Yeuk-laam Source: Global Times Published: 2015-3-17 0:03:31
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced Monday that it has begun an investigation of telecommunication crimes and violations, following damning reports in a China Central Television (CCTV) gala on consumer rights protection.
The report alleged that major telecommunication companies have been providing support for illegal activities, allowing users to disguise their numbers to make phone calls for false advertising or fraud purposes.
The companies immediately responded to the allegations.
China Mobile and China Unicom said on their official Sina Weibo accounts that they have ordered their branches to investigate, and promised that violators will be punished strictly.
Tian Ying, a Beijing-based telecoms analyst at market research firm Gartner Inc, told the Global Times that the problem of phone harassment has existed for years, but has been difficult to tackle because of a lack of clear regulations and definitions.
"Using a phone call to advertise a product or a service is not completely illegal. Advertisers and offenders are just taking advantage of the loophole," she said.
She added that the mobile applications which claim that they can block advertising phone calls are not entirely effective because offenders could easily change their numbers to avoid being blocked.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said it has already spoken with the executives of China Mobile Communications Corporation, China Unicom, and China Telecom, as well as some provincial communication officials, as part of its investigation.
"Whoever is responsible for the violations will be punished according to the law while the result of the investigation will be disclosed in a timely fashion," it said.
The industry and information technology ministry said it will work on tackling unregistered SIM cards, known as "black cards" to safeguard network information security.
In 2013, the Chinese government implemented regulations requiring telephone users to register for SIM cards with their official IDs to ensure the telecommunication services are not being misused.
