The new Federal Government, which Telstra endorsed despite profiting from the previous administration, has decided to hold an inquiry into one of Telstra's sites.
The site was promoted as a site for innovative rock video, but it has been denounced as a kind of pay per view soft porn. It is disturbing that Telstra has managed to get kids to pay for what they can find for free.
Federal inquiry into Telstra's smut sales
ReplyDeleteBy Byron Kaye
THE Federal Government has ordered an investigation into a Telstra website that sold amateur porn videos for $1.
It came after revelations that Telstra's WotNext site had become a marketplace for smut peddlers who went halves with the telco on the takings from downloads on to mobile phones.
Telstra, still part-government owned, was forced to take the site down after intense backlash from family groups. The site was back online by the afternoon - without the sleaze.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy ordered internet watchdog Australian Communications and Media Authority to investigate.
An ACMA spokeswoman said the authority could direct Telstra to take down the content but did not need to give a formal take-down notice since the telco had already acted.
Telstra said it had reviewed its screening process for the site, admitting it had fallen short of community expectations. The telco, which posted a $3.3 billion profit this year, set up WotNext in January for bands to post their videos online. However it soon became flooded with lewd content.
Before the site was taken down in response to The Daily Telegraph article, almost all the most popular videos featured women in various states of undress.