Premium rate service regulator ICSTIS has barred two online sexual entertainment service providers, Spanish-based Greenock and German-based Premium Call GmbH.

ICSTIS (Indepedent Committee for the Supervision of Telephone Information Services) imposed fines of �75,000 and �50,000 respectively and reported the cases to the British National Hi-Tech Crime Unit.

The use of premium rate charging as a way of paying for internet and other content has considerable potential, but consumers have to be able to use the payment mechanism with confidence Sir Peter North, ICSTIS

It is believed to be the first UK content regulator to take action under the recently implemented Electronic Commerce Regulations.

Both companies used promotional material which repeatedly referred to sexual acts involving children.

The software used to access the websites at a premium rate of �1.50 per minute downloaded automatically without users' knowledge.

Protecting consumers

It was deliberately designed to mislead users into running up huge phone bills said Icstis.

"The use of premium rate charging as a way of paying for internet and other content has considerable potential, but consumers have to be able to use the payment mechanism with confidence," said ICSTIS chairman Sir Peter North.

"The sanctions imposed on Greenock and Premium Call GmbH reflect the serious consumer harm caused by their services and serve as a warning to others that we will not hesitate to take decisive action to protect UK consumers from such abuse," he added.

Under the e-commerce directive ICSTIS is permitted in cases of urgency, especially in the protection of minors, to take direct action against service providers based in other European Union member states.

The action taken by ICSTIS has been welcomed by the Department of Trade and Industry

Premium Call, who are appealling the ICSTIS decision, say that the sites did not contain any pornography and that they had no control over the use made by their customers of the premium telephone numbers they provided.