Recognizing WSIS Impacts

WTDC RESOLUTION 64 (Hyderabad, 2010)

Protecting and supporting users/consumers of telecommunication services/ information and communication technologies

The World Telecommunication Development Conference (Hyderabad, 2010),

• considering
  • a) Article 1, No. 9, of the ITU Constitution, which states that the purpose of the Union is to promote, at the international level, the adoption of a broader approach to the issues of telecommunications in the global information economy and society;
  • b) Article 21, No. 127 of the Constitution, which states that the purpose of the ITU Telecommunication Development Sector is to offer advice and carry out or sponsor studies, as necessary, on technical, economic, financial, managerial, regulatory and policy issues;
  • c) § 13 e) of the Geneva Plan of Action of the World Summit on the Information Society, which states that governments should continue to update their domestic consumer protection laws to respond to the new requirements of the information society,
• taking into account
  • a) ITU’s mandate to serve as coordinator and facilitator for Action Lines C5 and C6 of the Geneva Plan of Action;
  • b) that the basic principles of consumer relations include education and outreach on the appropriate consumption of products and services, in order to guarantee freedom of choice and fairness in contracting, together with clear and appropriate information on different products and services, with the correct specification of quantities, characteristics, composition, quality and price;
  • c) that information is the main input of the digital economy, for which reason it is recognized that the cross-border flow of personal consumer data demands the observance of national laws and regulations;
  • d) that the report entitled “Enforcing national telecommunications laws: Report and best practice guidelines” published in 2010, presented by the Rapporteur for Question 18-1/1, constitutes a first step in suggesting guidelines for enforcing user-protection regulations,
• resolves to instruct the Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau
  • 1 to continue to support work aimed at raising awareness among decision-makers regarding telecommunications//information and communication technologies as well as among regulatory agencies regarding the importance of keeping users/consumers informed about the basic characteristics, quality, security and rates of the different services offered by operators, and at creating other protection mechanisms to facilitate the exercise of consumers’ rights;
  • 2 to collaborate with the Member States in order to identify the critical areas for the establishment of policies or regulatory frameworks for the protection of consumers and users;
  • 3 to continue its coordination with the Telecommunication Standardization Sector on such topics as service quality, perceived quality and security;
  • 4 to strengthen its relations with other international organizations and entities involved in consumer protection,
  • 5 to invite relevant regions to create their end-user/consumer associations,
• urges Member States
  • to create and promote policies that favour providing end users/consumers with information on the characteristics of the telecommunication services offered by different providers,
• invites Sector Members of the ITU Telecommunication Development Sector
  • to contribute with inputs on international best practices related to the implementation of consumer-protection policies, taking into consideration ITU guidelines and recommendations.