Well, not necessarily news, and an alarmist story, since most people expect the EU e-money directive will never be enforced in the strictest of terms…
But here’s the gist of the controversy: Brands including Virgin, MSN, Granada Sky Broadcasting, Emap and Sony Music are all in danger of having any services using SMS as a billing mechanism shut down. According to EU, pre-paid airtime is viewed as e-money for anything not delivered to a mobile phone and consumed while it’s being used, which would require operators to hold an e-money licence.
The majority of mobile aggregators are therefore restricting their clients’ use of premium SMS in this manner.
For background:
– When is e-money not e-money? When it stays on your mobile phone
– FSA’s E-money consultation paper
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