ISP Code of Practice draft expected in January

Telecomms forum still to sign off text-phone harrassment code plan

The InternetNZ Code of Practice for ISPs is beginning to move towards a first draft. Law graduate Stuart Meiklejohn has been engaged to start work on December 1 putting the draft document together.

InternetNZ aims to have the bulk of the document out by the end of January, says executive director Peter Macaulay. He sees the draft emerging in stages, which can be separately considered by the ISPs. The email and antispam guidelines will probably be first off the blocks, with the business-to-customer side of ISP operation next in priority. Standards applying to dealings between one ISP and another will be the last piece and may run over the notional end-of-January schedule.

Meiklejohn has just finished an internship with the Ministry of Economic Development and prior to that worked with Deloitte, says Macaulay.

Main ISP consideration of the code will be on the basis of the first draft, but some have obviously had input into the exercise already, he says.

Devising the antispam code involves coordinating with the Telecommunications Carriers Forum, which has already drafted a code on SMS spam.

The question of precautions to prevent harassment of young people by way of text-phone chatrooms, also being coordinated by TCF, is separate, and guidelines for the evolution of that code are still to go before the TCF board for sign-off. The board is next scheduled to meet on December 8.