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.
Spitzer said authorities did not have to resort to litigation. He said Yahoo, "acting as a good corporate citizen, … did the right thing. We asked them to create a filter to stop this kind of thing and they have done so."
In June, while still in discussions with the attorneys general, Yahoo voluntarily closed its user-created chat rooms following complaints that some had names suggesting they facilitated illegal conduct, including sex between adults and minors.
Yahoo spokeswoman Mary Osako said Wednesday that Yahoo was still determining if and when user-created chats would be restored as it makes improvements "to enhance the user experience and compliance with our terms of service."
If they do get restored, the agreement calls for Yahoo to review the names of such rooms ahead of time and reject any deemed inappropriate. Even if a room's name is innocuous, Yahoo also will bar any whose postings encourage sex acts between adults and minors, purging such chat rooms within 24 hours from when it becomes aware of them.
"These efforts are consistent with and build upon our long-standing commitment to providing a safer and more secure online experience for consumers," Osako 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.
Spitzer, a Democrat running for governor next year, said he started the investigation at Bruning's urging.
"The agreement we have today is the first of its kind," Spitzer said. "We think this is an agreement that can be a template for others to use."
--Gee, ya think it's a good idea?
