Telstra UGC site slammed for racy content

Australia's Communications and Media Authority is investigating mobile operator Telstra's video sharing site WotNext on charges it was selling amateur adult video clips for $1 each. Communications Minister Stephen Conroy ordered the Internet watchdog group to look into the matter after backlash from family organizations forced Telstra to shut down the site earlier this week--the carrier, which is owned in part by the Australian government, relaunched a family-friendly version of WotNext later that same day. Telstra added a review of the WotNext screening process is underway, admitting previous protocols fell well short of community expectations.

Telstra debuted WotNext in January 2007. Spokesman Peter Taylor told the Sydney Morning Herald the questionable videos and descriptions on the site were an unintended consequence of building a content library based on user-generated submissions, citing similar challenges are faced by sites like YouTube and MySpace. "Because Telstra is at the heart of everything in Australia, we obviously need to be held to a higher standard so we are reviewing even stricter content guidelines than those popular sites," Taylor said.

For more on the WotNext controversy:
- read this Daily Telegraph article

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