The Audiovisual Council of Andalusia intends to regulate chat and SMS advertising

The CAA opens a period of consultations on the regulation of advertising of sexual contacts on television, chats and SMS of all types with additional pricing 803 and 806.

The Audiovisual Council of Andalusia (CAA) has opened a consultation period in which it will involve the Ombudsman for Minors, the Andalusian Council for Minors and the Council of Consumers and Users of Andalusia, as well as the business associations of the audiovisual sector and other citizen associations to determine whether it regulates the advertising of telechats and the sending of SMS on countless local television stations. According to the CAA "the absence of express regulation, the legal lack of definition of said television content and the protection of a fundamental right such as freedom of expression cannot mean that these practices, which constitute an important source of income for television stations and telecommunications companies, remain outside the limits established by Spanish and Community legislation to protect viewers, especially minors." For the CAA, this increasingly widespread advertising practice would require “a significant coordination and control effort to protect the rights of consumers and users in general and, in particular, the most vulnerable groups, such as minors, the elderly and people with disabilities.”

The objective of the council would be to establish behavioral guidelines and establish objective criteria that guide the operators subject to the council's scope of action, "in view of the dispersion, fragmentation and indeterminacy that characterizes the legislation of the audiovisual sector and the absence of regulatory and self-regulation standards regarding the advertising of personal contacts and sexual services."

In 2007, the Spanish Parliament, following the recommendation of the European Parliament published in 1997, asked the media to renounce advertising of sexual services and prostitution. In recent months, the Audiovisual Council of Andalusia has opened more than 30 files against television operators that broadcast advertising and telechats for sexual services and prostitution during children's hours, between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., with penalties that in some cases could reach 300,000 euros.