KDDI looking to monetize adult content/dating sites?

KDDI has added categories for adult and dating sites to its content menu. While these appear under the "other open sites" category and aren't part of the officially-sanctioned content offerings, au is getting involved both with policing the content (i.e., checking that the sites comply with legal requirements such as mosaicing naughty bits) and in billing -- any membership fees can, it seems, be paid using au's Matomete au Shiharai ("all-in-one au payment") service, which charges site membership fees to your phone bill.

au's explanation is that it was already possible to access adult content via links from other unofficial sites in its directory, and that the move is intended to give it some control over access to adult content (clicking through to the "other open sites" category brings up a warning and a requirement to age-verify using a password) and the content of these sites. We note the responsible approach, but assuming we're drawing the right conclusions above it also means that they will be tapping into a lucrative stream of revenues.

[Via K-Tai Watch (Japanese)]