The Australian Sex Party - a political group which pledges to decriminalize prostitution in the country - has threatened Google with legal action after the site blocked its adverts.
Sex Party Candidate Fiona Patten said she is angry with the timing of the refusal to run the adverts, which came just days before the group contested a key by-election in Melbourne.
And Patten, a former sex worker who describes her party as being 'positive about sex', has accused Google of being inconsistent in applying its own rules.
'We've sent them screenshots of the donate buttons on the ALP and the Greens sites and they've allowed all of those ads to run,' she told Digg.com.
Google had earlier told Patten that 'it doesn't allow the solicitation of funds unless they're tax exempt.'
But Patten claims that as the Sex Party is a recognised political group any donations made to it are tax deductible.
Despite the removal of adverts from the search engine giant, the Sex Party still performed well in the by-election.
The Sex Party has pledged to ban sniffer dogs if it meets with electoral success
The Sex Party has pledged to ban sniffer dogs if it meets with electoral success
The party came third out of 16 candidates and won 6.6 percent of the total vote.
As well as its commitment to legalizing the sex industry in Australia, the Sex Party has also pledged to decriminalize all drugs intended for personal use if elected.
Somewhat bizarrely, Fiona Patten's party also makes a manifesto pledge for the 'immediate cessation of the use of drug sniffer dogs in public places.'
In an earlier interview on ABC local radio, Fiona Patten said she has been interested in sex all of her life.
'I think the sex industry has a very important role to play in feminism.
'And I think that by moving the industry to the fore by allowing more debate about the industry...that's allowed us to discuss sexuality in far more detail.'
Google prudes
Google prudes
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Re: Google prudes
I used to go to Primary School and High School with Fiona Patten.
She was far more of a prude back then.
She was far more of a prude back then.
Bah!
