Ex-Employee Says Web Site Has X-Rated Ties

An ex-employee claimed a Los Angeles Web site, which allows users to participate in live video chats via Web cameras, is linked to X-rated sites.

Stickam, which has 600,000 registered users age 14 and up, says on its site it is owned by Advanced Video Communications, a Los Angeles company that sells video conferencing and e-commerce services to businesses in Japan and other Asian countries, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Former Stickam Vice President Alex Becker and company documents report Advanced Video Communications is managed and owned by Wataru Takahashi, a Japanese businessman who owns and operates DTI Services, a network of Web sites offering live sex shows, the newspaper said.

Becker, who left Stickam recently, said he was speaking out because the company wasn’t doing enough to protect young users. He alleged Stickam employees deleted e-mail sent to the company regarding customer service and abuse complaints without reading or responding, the Times said.

Scott Flacks, Stickam’s marketing vice president, denied to the Times that the site was lax about security or that e-mail was deleted.