Pacific Bell Asks State to Let It Cut Off Dial-a-Porn

Pacific Bell has asked the state Public Utilities Commission to let it control dial-a-porn by eliminating a $2 charge for blocking 976 telephone service and by cutting off providers of sexually explicit material, the company said Thursday.

The firm filed petitions with the PUC on Wednesday in a renewed effort to divorce itself from unrestricted access to dial-a-porn, which has produced a statewide outcry from parents and consumer groups.

“We have never wanted to be associated with dial-a-porn,” said Terry Mulready, Pacific Bell vice president. “It’s damaging to our reputation and our business. That’s why we’re asking the (PUC) again to let us disconnect 976 dial-a-porn.”

Pacific Bell also is seeking permission to refund $2 to each of more than 180,000 customers who have asked the company to block their access to the 976 service since the firm began taking orders in January.

PUC President Stanley W. Hulett said he feels certain that the majority of his fellow commissioners “welcome the opportunity to look again at this issue.” However, he said that Pacific Bell’s request to review the content of 976 messages may be beyond the PUC’s jurisdiction.

The commission is tentatively scheduled to take up Pacific Bell’s requests on March 23.

In seeking permission to decide whether a 976 message constitutes dial-a-porn, Pacific Bell seems certain to find itself back in court, where it lost a legal battle in December over dial-a-porn.

U.S. District Judge A. Wallace Tashima ruled in a Los Angeles case involving Sable Communication of California Inc., the state’s largest dial-a-porn operator, that the state regulation permitting phone companies to disconnect lines used for illegal purposes could not be used to eliminate 976 dial-a-porn.

Tashima declared that it was unconstitutional for a state to “simply close down the forum of a provider of sexually explicit messages.” The state’s alternatives are to either prosecute under obscenity laws or establish a prior-review permit system, he said.

Pacific Bell signaled its willingness Thursday to test the issue again. But, this time, a spokesman said, the company would attempt to establish different legal grounds: namely, damage to its reputation by close association with dial-a-porn providers.

‘What we’re thinking of doing is putting together a board of outside community leaders to review anything and make a recommendation whether the material is sexually explicit,” Mulready said. “The ultimate decision will be Pacific Bell’s. But, we feel Pacific Bell has a right to say no to pornography providers.”

Pacific Bell’s media manager, Linda Bonniksen, said 976 service has gotten a “bad name” from dial-a-porn, and some people think of it only as a source of sexual titillation at up to $2 for each call.

She said that 976 service is also a source of information on insurance rates, blue book prices on used cars and medical matters.

“Only about 6% to 14% of our customers want blocking,” Bonniksen said.