Yahoo to Bar Minor-Adult Sex Chat Rooms

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=1208125

Yahoo to Bar Minor-Adult Sex Chat Rooms

NEW YORK Oct 12, 2005 — Yahoo Inc. said Wednesday it will bar chat rooms that promote sex between minors and adults and restrict all chat rooms to users 18 and older.

The changes come under an agreement with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning.

"This is about protecting kids," Bruning said.

The company also is eliminating the teen chat category and limiting usage of all chat rooms to adults, although it was not clear how the company would prevent children from signing up as adults because credit cards aren't required.

My first question would be why did they allow this to begin with??? :doh: :furious: :banghead:

Mine too. Let's see the ACLU's spin on this one!

Jules said:

My first question would be why did they allow this to begin with??? :doh: :furious: :banghead:

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Thats what I was wondering....
(geesh, Jules ~ we are on a roll!!)

It's about time! I too wondered why they allowed them, esp. since Yahoo promotes yahoo as being kid friendly.

Pook said:

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=1208125

Yahoo to Bar Minor-Adult Sex Chat Rooms

NEW YORK Oct 12, 2005 — Yahoo Inc. said Wednesday it will bar chat rooms that promote sex between minors and adults and restrict all chat rooms to users 18 and older.

The changes come under an agreement with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning.

"This is about protecting kids," Bruning said.

The company also is eliminating the teen chat category and limiting usage of all chat rooms to adults, although it was not clear how the company would prevent children from signing up as adults because credit cards aren't required.

Click to expand...

Simple. Have a password quiz only someone at least 21/25 would know. Kind of like the "Who won the World Series in 1933?" password in WWII movies. And have it change every time they logged on, so they couldn't go google the damn answer.

lisag said:

Thats what I was wondering....
(geesh, Jules ~ we are on a roll!!)

Click to expand...

:blowkiss: :blowkiss:

I heard this on the news coming to work today. I don't use Yahoo chat rooms. Too confusing. However, I do enjoy some of the games. I love JT's Blocks. I need my logon and password to go in and usually just choose to start. I have no favorite "group". There is a "chat" spot on the bottom, but I've never "chatted" with anyone, I just play the game. Sometimes, I'll notice that a pornographic sight will be advertised on this chat area. It just pops up as chat. "See my pictures and profile and visit my website", etc. Once I noticed someone had responded that kids may play this game and that Yahoo should try to control this garbage. I hope the next time I play this game, I don't see this or young kids trying to "shock" adults with their language when they chat on this. I wonder if this will eliminate the chat area or that kids can't play these games that have chat areas under them?

The problem (probably impossible to solve) with teen chat rooms is how to tell if someone is an adult - to me that seems far more to be the problem than a teen pretending to be an adult. It's an odd medium - you never know who anyone really is in any way shape or form - gender, age, hair color, skin color, etc. - anyone can be whoever they say they are.

Online, no one knows I am really a housecat.

I "pose" as an underaged child, generally 12-13, and enter Yahoo chat rooms. Let me be the first to say that those chat rooms are EXTREMELY dangerous for kids, no matter what group/chat you go into. I will go into a chat room and just sit there, in my profile it states I am 13. Within a minute I will have several IM's pop up asking me "ASL". I always state 12 or 13 then ask their age. Most of these guys are adults and do not care that "I" am a child.

To make a long story short, I get an extensive chat log from an adult that thinks he is hitting on a child. Normally it is extremely graphic in sexual nature. Once I get enough information, I turn it over to LE. Several users have been arrested and convicted.

Yahoo does not check for anything. It's a free for all in those chat rooms filled with nothing but a bunch of perverts. I've had adults hit on me when I was in a TEEN chatroom. Rooms like that is where they literally prey.

With that said, I really hope yahoo changes some policies. I think they've been involved in quite a few cases regarding sexual solicition toward a minor, and it's finally catching up with them. I'm just glad some perverts were taken off the net before they actually did find a naive little girl willing to meet up with them. :furious: