Consumer and youth protection – systematically reducing risks.

Information and communication technologies have long become an essential part in the day-to-day life and work of many. Global data traffic is increasing and the number of services available is also growing steadily. But this also entails risks. We consider averting these risks to be an important part of our responsibilities. These days, e-mailing and surfing the Net are not just the domain of adults. Children and young people take digital media and services for granted even more than adults do. Therefore, we consider it important to accommodate the wishes of many parents and come up with solutions for cost control and appropriate content. Connected communication also entails managing large volumes of personal customer data. Deutsche Telekom therefore also has a particular responsibility to protect these data.

Consumer protection that exceeds statutory requirements.
Our commitment to consumer protection is manifest in a wide range of voluntary commitments. We go above and beyond the legal requirements. For instance, Deutsche Telekom is a founding member of the Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle Telefonmehrwertdienste e. V. (Association for Voluntary Self-Monitoring of Value-Added Telephone Services). We have implemented its code of conduct in the German fixed and mobile networks and established formal benchmarks for conduct. This strengthens customers’ trust in new services overall. The code of conduct is constantly being refined by the members of the association. In 2008, for instance, regulations on the responsible management of prize games were included. Among other things, these regulations provide for transparency for callers in television programs with regard to fees and conditions for participation.

Voluntary commitments on price transparency and cost control.
Often, the use of value added services such as subscriptions, downloads or purchases via digital media incurs additional costs on top of the connection charges. To prevent nasty surprises in the bill, in 2006, T-Mobile Germany established a code of conduct for value added services together with other mobile companies. As a voluntary commitment, it defines industry-wide consumer-friendly guidelines for the provision of value-added services by text message, multimedia message (MMS) or online. On this basis we offer our customers a range of solutions that primarily increase price transparency and cost control, including, for example, bill confirmation by SMS or the handshake process for subscription services. Here, upon ordering a subscription, customers are sent an SMS containing information on the agreement, which they must confirm in order for the agreement to take effect.