Johannesburg - At least 90% of children aged between eight and 16 with internet access have viewed porn online - often by mistake, says the cellphone industry's self-regulating body.
It said on Monday that 22% of teen girls and 20% of boys had sent inappropriate photographs of themselves via SMS, which were finding their way on to porn sites.
Russel Stromin, head of the Code of Conduct Committee for the Wireless Application Service Providers' Association, said children had easy access to mobile devices, such as cellphones with the internet. This meant the number of children viewing and sending inappropriate material was widespread.
"As the industry body for the mobile applications industry, we encourage our members to provide parents with tools to protect their children," said Stromin.
This could mean blocking access to adult sites on a child's cellphone, but also talking to children and warning them, Stromin said.
All cellular providers could block access to specific sites, he said, while illegal sites could be blocked for everybody.
"Parents can dial their provider's customer service number and request the site to be blocked."
Mobile phones were increasingly being used to solicit youth aged 12 to 25, and protecting young people had to become a priority.
"Globally, mobile service providers have taken the lead in this area, with the mobile alliance against child sexual abuse content being launched at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in 2008," Stromin said.
"Blocking your children's cellphones from accessing adult content is a good start, but it's only the beginning of what parents need to do."
- SAPA
