WH Smith shuts its website to remove pornographic ebooks
WH SMITH shut down its website yesterday after reports it was selling pornographic ebooks.
More than 60 pornographic titles – mostly self-published – were available on the WH Smith site, as well as through Amazon, Waterstones and Barnes & Noble, according to the Mail on Sunday.
In a statement yesterday, WH Smith said it had closed the website until the ebooks could be removed.
WH Smith said: “This is an industry wide issue impacting retailers that sell self-published ebooks due to the explosion of self-publishing, which in the main is good as it gives new authors the opportunity to get their content published.
“However, we are disgusted by these particular titles, find this unacceptable and we in no way whatsoever condone them.”
Amazon and Barnes & Noble also said they were removing abuse-themed books which had been brought to their attention.
Waterstones said it “takes a feed from central databases of book publications, notably Nielsen… We do not stock in our shops or in our warehouses for internet supply any of these titles and we have never had any ordered from us.”