Canadian Phone Company Selling Porn

westcoaster004 writes "Telus, Canada's second-largest telecommunications carrier has started selling pornography to its cellular subscribers. The service allows subscribers with mobile browsers to purchase both photographic and video adult-oriented content from Telus, at an average of CD$4 per download. Telus decided to introduce the service after noticing that there existed a certain 'segment of the population that is interested in that content' from review of the mobile Web browsing habits of their subscribers 'on an aggregate level.' They are the first telecommunications company in Canada to offer such content. A Telus spokesman said: 'We're fairly certain that if our competitors in Canada haven't launched it, they will soon. Same in the US.'"

Selling porn?

[GMontag]

I still can not figure out why anybody buys porn when so much of it is still free, as in beer as it were.

Guessing it might be harder to get free on one's phone as I have not tried to get it at all on mine, but still.

Telus

[MarkRose]

Telus is actually a fairly progressive company. They even started using VOIP for long distance back in 2002 [nortel.com]. Home Internet service is quite reliable (they don't even shape bittorrent traffic, that I'm aware of), and they're often upgrading ADSL service at no extra charge (though I splurged for a 6.0/1.0 connection at $45/mn). They also stand up for their customers, refusing to give out customer details without a subpoena, etc. The Mobility division (cell phones, etc) is also quite competitive, though they do rape you with long distance charges on cellphones, but no one has the same coverage they do. Honestly, this latest move doesn't surprise me too much (though I was surprised when it first showed up on my cell's browsing homepage).

Re:What really is wrong with porn?

[Virak]

Well, except for the fact that it demeans women (and men for that matter),

This argument has always confused me. If people are willing to be in porn, even if it 'demeans' them, then why shouldn't they be allowed to? They're adults, and they're only 'harming' themselves, if it could even be called that. It just doesn't make sense, unless you mean that it demeans *everyone*, in which case it makes even *less* sense in other ways.

cheapens and turns a God-given gift into a commodity,

If you can find significant evidence of a loving god, of the kind whose gifts would be worthy respecting, then maybe you'd have a point.

reduces human beings from being to people to be loved and honored to being objects and tools for one's one self-gratification

See above. If you mean human beings that are in porn, it's their choice, and if you mean all humans, I'd like to see you explain how that works.

Re:Interesting

[king-manic]

How big is Canada's bloc of religious wackos who think anything sexual is so horrible it needs to be banned? I'm hoping it's significantly smaller than it is in the US so that this excellent example of free speech will hold up as something for America to follow.

I live in the middle of the largest bloc of "wackos", work for the company in question. The wackos are mostly harmless and get pummelled into submission by the minorities and liberal press. Our "conservative wackos" would problably pass as "democrats" in the states.

Re:What really is wrong with porn?

[hasbeard]

Actually, I didn't say they shouldn't be allowed to. The OP asked a question, and I answered it. He asked what is wrong with pornography and I replied with the statements you have quoted about people demeaning themselves. I didn't make any statements about what people should be allowed or not allowed to do. The fact that people make a choice to participate in a given behavior doesn't lessen the harm it does to them.

Moderation?

[Vacardo]

With the lack of parental control over minors and their cell phones, what precautions will be taken to stop the under-age abusing this system?

Re:Interesting

[segin]

And what exactly is wrong with children watching porn? If you get the issue of sex dealt with children before they are having unprotected sex with everyone and their grandmother/grandfather(s), then your children might not be contracting HIV at 15 and dying of AIDS at 19.

The so-called "psychological effects" are equivalents to a fresh, steaming pile of horse shit. Watching porn at an early age has the opposite effect that is documented in these "studies". Most of your 14-15 year old sluts haven't seen a porn flick in their lives (nor do they need to with the sex they get). Most of it is by a bunch of backwards-thinking liberals that just can't side with science and admit that God does not exist, and must constantly force their beliefs upon our legal system. Where's the separation of church and state in that?.

Kids

[Mark_MF-WN]

Your kids can already watch porn on their cellphones (as I found out in class a few weeks ago). All Telus is doing is offering to sell pornography. The free stuff was already available. So, for that matter, were commercial porn sites, for kids that have a credit card.

The thing is, if you're too goddam fucking stupid to NOT activate the adult-content service when you sign up for your child's cell phone contract, you deserve whatever you get. Granted, most people are indeed too stupid to even read their cell-phone contract, and are definitely too stupid to NOT check the little box that enables the adult content service... but that's just how life is. The kid that eats the most marbles doesn't get to grow up and have more kids. The kid who eats the second most will grow up and give his kids a big bag of cherry-flavoured marbles...

There is no hope for the children of stupid people. Let's just accept that, and allow the rest of us have our freedom.