According to a report in the New York Times, the nation's biggest phone operators are closing ranks against sex-related content for America mobile phone users. This comes despite the overwhelming success of such formats in Europe and in Asia, where phone companies have enjoyed the fruits of selling adult content in various formats, from still pictures to short movies.
In response, companies like Playboy Entertainment plan to offer this rapidly expanding market clothed pictures of its models, despite reports Cingular Wireless recently canceled a similar offering featuring buttoned-up adult film stars. Although Cingular did not release details on that aborted deal, AVN confirmed with Vivid Entertainment that the suspended offering was not a part of their current mobile content arrangement with Waat Media, Inc. "That's not one of ours," VP of Licensing David Schlessinger said.
The companies Cingular, Verizon and Sprint are at this time sex and nudity content-free, although all three feature at least one offering that includes swimsuit models, says the Times. The phone companies are believed to be ignoring forecasts that predict sex-related content will be a major revenue stream out of a fear of direct economic repercussions and religious organization boycotts if this material is offered.
The refusals to carry adult content may set the stage for a free speech battle, on the basis that these companies are keeping people from getting access to material they want, an established legal no-no in terms of phone service. But as no company is compelled to sell material they don't wish to sell, the phone companies seem confident they can avoid legal repercussions.
