No more Potter chat?

[entropymail]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "constancevigilance"
<constancevigilance at y...> wrote:
> Yahoo is saying that it has permanently taken down all user-created 
> chatrooms because they were being used to solicit sex with children.
> Does this mean that our weekly Potter chat is toast? I just now
tried to go into HP:1 and nothing happened.



>From TheRegister.co.uk:

YAHOO! SHUTS DOOR ON DODGY CHATROOMS
By John Oates
Published Wednesday 22nd June 2005 09:17 GMT

Yahoo! has pulled the plug on user-created chat rooms in the US with
apparent child sex content after major advertisers withdrew their ads.

The change of heart came after an exposé by a Houston TV station which
revealed Yahoo! was hosting chat rooms with titles including Girls 13
And Under for Older Guys and 9-17-Year Olds Wantin' Sex. The TV
station found chat from men seeking children for sex.

On Friday last week Yahoo! stopped users from creating their own chat
rooms. A statement on the site said the service was unavailable while
Yahoo! worked on improvements and on making it compliant with Yahoo's
terms of service.

The exposéled several companies to withdraw their advertising from
Yahoo! The company is also facing a $10m lawsuit for hosting the
chatrooms.

Yahoo has been criticised for failing to take action on this issue
before. The combination of lost advertising revenue and a $10m lawsuit
seems to have helped focus their minds.

Peter Carr, editor of specialist online title ChatMag.com, told us:
"I've talked to Yahoo! about this before, there was a petition last
year asking them to moderate their chat rooms but they've never done
anything." Carr said Yahoo pulled the plug on customer-created
chatrooms late on Friday night to avoid media attention.

The action has also irritated thousands of legitimate chatroom users.

Yahoo said in a statement: "With regard to Yahoo! Chat, the ability to
publish user-created chat rooms in the public Yahoo! Chat directory is
currently unavailable. We are working on improvements to this service
to enhance the user experience and compliance with our Terms of Service."

Natasha Finlayson, director of policy andcCommunications at UK charity
ChildLine, said: As ardent campaigners for children's safety any steps
which can be taken to minimise risk to children and young people have
to be embraced.

"We have received some calls concerning internet safety and chat rooms
and it is clear that children and young people who are targeted by
paedophiles in this way are at major risk.

"Calls to ChildLine show that chat rooms are very popular with
children and young people as a way of communicating with others,
helping them to make friends and share interests and hobbies. But
ChildLine also hears from children who have given out their contact
details such as their telephone and mobile numbers, email, school name
and home address.

"The monitoring of some internet chat rooms in recent years has gone
some way to improving the online safety of children and young people
but it has been unable to prevent paedophiles from contacting children
and young people." ®

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