Trio sets tone for good use of Caller Display

THREE cheers for the Family Planning Association, the Marriage and Personal Counselling Service and the Hong Kong Council of Social Service.

All three have announced what the Crusader hopes will be a quickening trend toward intelligent, selective use of the Caller Display function available to phone subscribers.

Caller Display is a new feature offered by Hongkong Telecom that allows people receiving phone calls to know the incoming number before picking up the phone. That might be fine for those at home who want to screen out annoying callers, but it can be a problem for organisations dealing with sensitive issues where anonymity is critical.

For instance, would someone with personal problems - say a pregnant teenager - be as willing to call a counselling service if the number could be traced back to her flat? I can only hope that organisations think twice about who tends to call them before subscribing to the Caller Display feature, and I urge anyone in contact with agencies that deal with sensitive social matters to spread the word that Caller Display isn't best for everyone.

Hongkong Telecom has begun an excellent service that keeps track of the organisations that have pledged not to use Caller Display. Anyone can call 1000 for the latest list.

The problem for consumers is that unless an organisation publicly renounces the use of Caller Display, there is always a chance the receiving party will be able to identify the caller.