The Ministry of Digital Transformation published a draft resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “On Amendments to the Rules for the Provision and Receipt of Telecommunication Services”.
If the resolution is adopted, subscribers will no longer be charged for content services that they did not order.
What was the problem?
Ukrainians lose hundreds of millions of hryvnias a year due to hidden content service schemes. In 2020, the National Commission for State Regulation of Communications and Informatization (NCCIR) received 19% more subscribers’ complaints when compared to 2019. In particular, these complaints include jokes, SMS horoscopes, dating clubs, and many other services for which subscribers are charged by mobile operators without their knowledge.
Due to significant gaps in the legal regulation of the procedure for ordering and providing these services were unprotected: content service subscriptions were imposed, subscribers were charged without their knowledge, and it was virtually impossible to protect the violated rights.
The BRDO estimated that all prepaid subscribers, ie. 86% of mobile subscribers, were not protected. At the same time, market players are hiding the value of services, but BRDO experts have indirectly estimated that the volume of the market of content services is at least a billion hryvnias a year.
To change the situation for the better and prevent subscribers from the illegal charging of fees, the Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO) drew attention to the problem of violations of subscribers’ rights in the provision of content services and proposed mechanisms to address it back in 2019.
In particular, BRDO experts drafted the first version of the resolution to regulate the provision of content services, and earlier this year the BRDO submitted a formal appeal to the Prime Minister of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Digital Transformation, and the Office of the President of Ukraine regarding violations of consumer rights in the provision of content services and the need to address this problem immediately.
What will change if the resolution is adopted?
- content services will be provided solely at the request or with the consent of users who will also need to further confirm their request or consent;
- services will be paid for only when consumers have funds on their mobile balance to pay. Also, it will be prohibited to provide content services with a value exceeding the limit on the consumer’s mobile balance;
- the definition of “content services” and related terms will be clarified to prevent the connection of content services without the users’ knowledge (due to a clear legal definition);
- consumers will be able to completely block access to content services to avoid the risk of being charged for services they have not ordered or had no intention to order;
- consumers will receive timely information about the content services they are subscribed to along with a notification of being charged;
- the adoption of the resolution will allow reducing fraud cases and avoid misunderstandings in the provision of telecommunication services;
- the protection of the rights of Ukrainian consumers will be improved and will be close to the European level that is in line with Ukraine’s obligations under the Association Agreement with the EU.
We welcome the publication of the draft resolution and look forward to its adoption!