Communications Regulation (Premium Rate Services and Electronic Communications Infrastructure) Act 2010

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Code of practice.

15.— (1) The Commission shall, following consultations with premium rate service providers, other interested persons and, as it considers relevant, other regulatory bodies in the State, prepare and publish, as soon as is practicable after the appointed day, a code of practice to be followed by premium rate service providers with respect to—

(a) the provision, content and promotion of specified premium rate services, and

(b) the conditions set for specified premium rate services under regulations under section 7 .

(2) Before publishing a code of practice or any part of a code of practice, the Commission—

(a) shall publish in such manner as it considers appropriate a draft of the code of practice or the part of the draft code of practice and shall give premium rate service providers, other interested persons and, as it considers relevant, other regulatory bodies in the State one month from the date of publication of the draft code or the part of the draft code within which to make written representations to the Commission in relation to the draft code or the part of the draft code, or for such further period, not exceeding 2 months, as the Commission in its absolute discretion thinks fit,

(b) shall, having considered the representations, if any, publish the code or the part of the code with or without modification as the Commission in its absolute discretion thinks fit, and

(c) where the Commission publishes a code of practice or any part of a code of practice, it shall publish a notice of such publication in the Iris Oifigiúil and that notice shall—

(i) identify the code,

(ii) specify the matters concerned in respect of which the code is published, and

(iii) specify the date on which the code comes into operation.

(3) The Commission may, following consultation with premium rate service providers, other interested persons and, as it considers relevant, other regulatory bodies in the State amend or revoke any code of practice or part of any code of practice prepared and published by it under this section.

(4) Where the Commission amends or revokes a code of practice or any part of a code of practice published under this section, it shall publish notice of the amendment or revocation in the Iris Oifigiúil.

(5) The Commission shall make available for public inspection, without charge, on the Commission’s website on the internet and at its principal office, during normal working hours—

(a) a copy of each code of practice, and

(b) where a code of practice has been amended, a copy of the code as so amended.

(6) It is a condition of a premium rate service licence that any code of practice is complied with.

(7) The code of practice in relation to the matters referred to in subsection (1) prepared and published by Regtel on 1 October 2008 continues and is the code of practice until a code of practice replacing it is prepared and published by the Commission under this section.