Citing new pornographic content as his reason for exiting his contract, Canadian businessman Gordon Keast is suing Telus telephone company because it refused to let him out of a three-year cell phone agreement without charging prepayment penalties. Keast a churchgoing Lutheran, filed the lawsuit on Tuesday, Feb. 14, in a Surrey small claims court. He’s seeking $3,000 for alleged breach of contract.
"Why should I underwrite pornography," said Keast, who believes he is being practical. "Listen, I’m not a Bible thumper; if people want to watch pornography in their bedrooms, that’s fine."
"We do not offer pornography," said Telus Director of Media Relations Jim Johannsson. "We give [the public] tier-1 service, which means we provide a safe and legal means to download pictures of naked men and women." There was no sexual "interaction," he added.
As for the lawsuit, Keast said he expects Telus to "squash me like a bug. However, I did not sign on to this when I renewed my contract in November." Keast doesn’t want to pay the $609.60 prepayment penalty for breaking his service contract. Keast feels duped by Telus’ becoming a provider of adult material.
"The customer signed a contract," Johannsson said. "We put a lot of money into this agreement. The phone is expensive and so are the various commissions and connection fees."
Keast said there was a difference between being a "conduit" and being what Keast terms a "pornography store. If Telus were just a conduit, I wouldn’t have the same feeling."
When asked if Telus is thinking about changing its policy, Johannsson could not comment beyond saying, "Our policies are always evolving."
