Bing Porn Makes Users Googley-Eyed

Microsoft Corp. launched its new search engine, Bing, to great fanfare last week, managing to take over No. 2 provider Yahoo! almost overnight. One little glitch: Bing allows access to full-motion live-action porn feeds, right from the Bing site.

The search engine allows previews of sites returned in search results without having to leave the Bing portal, without filters. And that includes any video that might be running on the indexed sites, whether that’s “Wife Sluts IV” or a how-to on knitting tea cozies.

With there is undoubtedly a certain demographic that applauds the, err, “feature,” it brings with it a bevy of issues. Most problematically, it eludes such precautions as parental controls, home content filters like that from Norton Security, and even workplace security tools, making it a headache for businesses and concerned parents alike. It also might lead to copyright issues with the porn sites themselves, since the video feed runs in Bing rather than the host site. It also eliminates the need to sign on or have a subscription to such sites. And to boot, Bing might find itself blocked in places where such material is deemed illegal or at the very least, highly offensive.

Microsoft has acknowledged that some users want more ability to filter results, but seems to be standing by its product. No word to whether its market share gains might erode as the site is blocked by entities not wanting to take the heat, so to speak.