I noticed in the comments on Google withdrawing adverts for essay-writing agencies, quite a few people suggested that *If* the agencies were concerned to only sell to people who wouldn't use their products dishonestly, they' happily register all essays sold with a public repository to prevent dishonest use.

Similarly, *if* telcos were concerned that only informed adults could use premium rate services, then they would bar premium rate numbers by default, and require the account holder to explicit request access.

The fact they don't implies they rely on people misusing premium rate numbers (speaking as a parent who caught his son dialling a premium rate "cheats line" I should know !) for a large proportion of their revenue.

The fact ICSTIS and OFCOM between them never once mooted this speaks volumes about who they work for. And it ain't us.

The most important change would be to move to a rule which as far as possible enforces the "one person, one vote" principle. If you're going to use premium rate lines for voting, then caller ID is needed and only ONE vote from each number counted. Anything else changes it from being a vote to being purely a mechanism for unjust enrichment.

Agreed entirely with comment #1 -- and I suspect the reason why ICSTIS will never insist on one vote per person is EXACTLY the same.

the "Simple Solution" isnt so simple after all. it was tried in Oz with Sex lines... You had to register to be allowed to call em. Problem was, who wants to ring up to admit you call sex lines? Well, in all of oz over a year, I believe less than a dozen registered. The Tin-Foil-Hat Brigade will swoop down on the privacy implications of that faster than you can say Jack Robinson, and the Premium Rate number industry will be bankrupt overnight.

Then how will ITV pay for more episodes of Coronation street? Hang on, I've just changed my mind... Bring in the ban!

Just ban all premium rate services.

What do they add to the sum of human happiness?

Maybe we could then move back to the kind of telly where somebody talented writes a script and a group of other talented people perform it.

Heard a premuim phone competition invite yesterday "Please do not call after 8 as your vote will not count and you will still be charged." How hard is it to set the system to stop receiving calls at a set time? Is it technically possible to switch to a non-charged "Thanks for your call, but I'm afraid the lines are closed," message?

Chad.

I don't know about Oz, but in the UK a premium rate service is just that. No distinction as to what it's for, so no need for embaressment to ask for it to be unbarred.

I don't see what privacy issues are involved. It's just a service which instead of offering by default, has to be offered by explicit consent. I wasn't talking of a state-run register !

Personally I think the risks of a child curiously dialling one of the numbers found in any number of magazines or on the TV is a good enough reason.

And so what if a few companies go bust. It'd just show they were preying on people whose phones were being misused.

That said, a subsequent comment about banning all premuim rate services wouldn't bother me either.

Who in their right mind calls premium rate numbers anyway? More fool those who do. You'll never succed in banning stupidity, why waste time trying?

BT bar access to all 09 numbers free.