Phonepay Plus clamps down on rogue Android apps

Phonepay Plus is taking steps to clamp down on rogue providers of digital apps and said it will not hesitate to drive out companies that wreak havoc in this growing digital market

Following several consumer complaints and after shutting down rogue services, the UK regulator of premium rate telephone services has launched a consultation paper. This contains a number of key recommendations to providers that will protect consumers and the genuine app marketplace.

Phonepay Plus's chief executive, Paul Whiteing, urged communications and creative industries to work with it to ensure they can retain consumers' digital trust.

"This experience has taught us that we need to be nimble and flexible in our approach. We know that the best regulation is one that works collaboratively with industry to pre-empt before problems occur that harm consumers and damage markets. We ask all businesses involved in the digital market, and the provision of smartphones and apps, to work with us to ensure we retain consumer confidence in digital content."

However, he warned that the regulator would "hesitate to use our robust sanctioning powers to drive out rogue providers who could damage a vital part of the UK's growing and innovative digital and creative economies.

Over the last few months, Phonepay Plus has been forced to shut down services offering Android apps that contained malicious software. One example was for a free 'battery saver' app.

Unknown to the people who downloaded this app, it contained malicious software that accessed the phone's text message function. This allowed the app to automatically send and receive texts that subscribed consumers to a premium rate subscription service.

Phonepay Plus immediately shut down the service and, following a full investigation, the regulator's independent tribunal imposed a fine of £135,000.

The recommendations that it has laid out in the consultation paper include ensuring consumers give clear consent to any charge that will be made. Services operating on a ‘freemium' model must make clear what the app does and consumers must be clearly informed of the price of any extra purchase options before they interact with the service.

Other recommendations are that passwords for stored applications must be re-entered every time the app is opened. Phonepay Plus said this would help stop children buying digital goods without the phone owner's permission.

Phonepay Plus warned providers that where malicious software is found, a tribunal may not consider any proof of consent, such as records of text messages or calls, to be robust enough evidence of a consumer's consent.

The 10-week consultation ends on 5 December and information on how to respond can be found on the Phonepayplus site