MSN.com Reinstates 'Transsexual' Search Results
Reverses Policy to Link Searches Only to Adult Content
Faced with angry protests from the trans community, msn.com has quietly reversed a decision to link all searches on the term 'transsexual' to a commercial porn site.
Activists discovered that the search engine had been configured to deliberately steer users to a single sexually explicit portal, rather than giving a list of results. Users who followed the suggested link to NightSurf.com found listings such as "Sexy TransSexual" and "Chix with Dix". Hypocritically, msn.com had coupled this with warning that the word 'transsexual' might "return adult content".
In a widenining campaign, trans people were encouraged to bombard the Microsoft off-shoot with complaints - a call that soon circulated on discussion boards and websites and produced a strong response.
On Tuesday 21st May, normal search facilities were found to be back in place - though complainants have yet to receive any word of apology from the Internet giant.
