Yahoo! closes user chatrooms
29 June 2005
Internet portal Yahoo! has reportedly closed down its user-created chatrooms.
The company took the decision after it was discovered that the online forums were being used by sexual predators to prey on underaged children.
A television station based in Houston, Texas, reported that men were discovered that the online forums were being used by sexual predators to prey on underaged children and discussing sex online with underage girls.
The closed chat rooms had titles such as "Girls 13 and Under for Older Guys" and "Younger Girls for Older Guys," according KPRC-TV.
Yahoo! saw clients such as Pepsi, State Farm Insurance and Georgia-Pacific withdraw their advertising following the report. State Farm spokesman Phil Supple said: "We were thoroughly appalled when we were told that our ads were appearing on those sites. We took immediate action to see that they were withdrawn."
Chatrooms that Yahoo! manages and are still available for users, but individuals can no longer set up their own. A Yahoo! spokeswoman confirmed the changes, stating, "We began implementing the changes to Yahoo! Chat user rooms in the past week."
Yahoo's user agreement prohibits users from harming minors in any way and from making available any content that is unlawful, obscene or objectionable.
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