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Telus Drops Porn Service After Complaints Onslaught

By Gudrun Schultz

VANCOUVER, B.C., February 21, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Telus announced yesterday the company would cancel pornography sales through its cellular phone service, CanWest News Service reported earlier today, after losing contracts and receiving hundreds of customer complaints.

Jim Johannsson, director of media relations for Telus, said the volume of individual complaints played a significant role in the company's decision to withdraw the service.

Beginning in January, adult customers were offered a porn delivery service that allowed them to download images or video clips for $3 or $4 dollars each. Several thousand users had registered for the service, according to Johannsson.

Numerous LifeSiteNews.com readers issued complaints to Telus via the contact information provided by this news service.

Archbishop Raymond Roussin, of the Vancouver Catholic archdiocese, actively opposed the Telus program by directing nearly 130 Catholic parishes and schools to cancel their contracts with Telus Mobility. The B.C. Catholic newspaper, published weekly by the archdiocese, included a 12-page special section covering the issue in this week's edition. A front page editorial criticizes Telus for "hitching its financial future to the abuse-ridden and pain-filled pornography industry."

In a statement issued Tuesday, Archbishop Raymond Roussin said he was "pleased and grateful that Telus is amending its decision. This is for the greater good of the community as a whole and I'm glad Telus is recognizing it," the Archbishop said.

Telus officials had defended the company decision to offer what it referred to as "adult content" by pointing out that most cell phones are capable of accessing the Internet, allowing users to download hard-core pornographic material at will. The Telus service limited images to full or partial nudity and avoided more explicit content.

Archbishop Roussin said last week that Telus' defense was "inadequate."

"So pervasive is the problem of pornography in our society today and so lucrative are the profits from this segment of the industry, that mobile phone providers are willing to take substantial risks in terms of their image."

"They do so by turning a blind eye to the enormous and widespread problems resulting from pornography: the abuse of countless vulnerable persons - including children, women, and men - who view pornographic material, those who are portrayed in sexually explicit material, and those who suffer from the behavior of their loved ones."

Johannsson told CanWest the company had "taken to heart" the concerns expressed by customers. "(Providing adult content) is not a business our customers want us to be in."

"Some of our corporate customers, too, have called to try and understand the direction we were going," Johannsson said.

Gordon Keast, who runs a communications company in Surrey, B.C., is suing Telus over the company's refusal to cancel his three-year cellphone contract, after he objected to the new pornography service, CanWest reported.

"At the time I renewed my contract with Telus in November they didn't market and sell pornography. Now they do, and as a subscriber I don't want my fees to underwrite their pornography business," said Keast. He filed suit yesterday in small claims court, seeking $3,000 for alleged breach of contract.

"Consumers have the power to shape the marketplace," Archbishop Roussin said, in his directive to churches and schools. "I strongly urge you to use your influence to protect our society from the destructive effects of the proliferation of pornography."

See coverage by The B.C. Catholic:
http://www.rcav.org/media/

Pornography and Sex Addiction: From Shame to Healing
http://bcc.rcav.org/07-02-19/Pornography_and_Sex_Addiction.pdf

See previous LifeSiteNews coverage:

BC Archbishop Considers Cancelling Telus Contract Over Porn Sales
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/feb/07021205.html

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