Alliance continues to pile pressure on OFCOM for TV phonequiz crackdown

11.31.46am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 18th May 2007

Antrim Alliance Councillor Alan Lawther

Antrim Alliance Councillor Alan Lawther has heaped more pressure on OFCOM to deliver tough regulations to crack down on TV phone quizzes. He stated that the progress made by OFCOM to date was simply not good enough and that he would continue his campaign for tough laws in this area.

Cllr Alan Lawther said: "I received more correspondence from OFCOM over my bid to get tougher laws on TV phone quizzes and am very disappointed at their lack of progress made.

"OFCOM needs to take bold steps to curb the problem of these rip of quizzes.

"The phone quizzes provide a license to print money and most calls are charged at extortionate rates - rates that callers often don't know that they are going to get hit with.

"I was previously concerned that OFCOM's definition of TV phone in quizzes will stop their recommendations going far enough and I think my concerns have been borne out. Many general programmes have a quiz as one item of their content, these will not then be covered by their recommendations and in my opinion they should be.

"We want a code of practice for all quizzes requiring a viewer to phone in, not just those in "quiz TV programmes". OFCOM must act quickly and effectively to close this appalling loophole."

ENDS