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Just because there was a court ruling against shady ringtone practices doesn’t mean the participants will heed the rules. Just like a decision against a prepaid phone trafficker won’t deter others, and like Verizon suing spammers won’t stop that profession, either. So it comes as little surprise that the European Union’s consumer affairs commissioner has found that eight of 10 of these shady ringtone sites signs you up for a subscription, according to an Associated Press report.

Yeah, but that’s over in Europe, you might say. Well, we do use the same Internet. Europeans are visiting the same sites and are seeing the same blatantly false advertising. Clearly, the Florida court decision from back in March (referenced above) has not proven a deterrent. Eight in 10. That’s an awful lot of shady dealings.

Ringtones are no small deal in Europe. They accounted for $1.1 billion in sales (691 euros) last year. It would be a shame to see that number drop off because of a drop in consumer confidence. As such, the commissioner wants national governments to pursue these rogue sites.

Once again, I offer the same solution as I mentioned during the AT&T situation: Only allow approved sites to place charges directly to a customer’s mobile. Yeah, it might be a pain in the ass, but it would provide the most protection for consumers.

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