The Federal Trade Commission recently issued a report titled Virtual Worlds and Kids: Mapping the Risks, that examined 27 virtual online worlds. The sites the FTC talked about included digital playgrounds such as Build a Bearville, IMVU, Neopets, Runescape and Second Life. And, if you know anything about online video gaming, you will have immediately spotted that these selected worlds run the gamut from those intended for kids to those aimed squarely at adults.
But here’s the disturbing part: The report found at least one instance of sexually or violently explicit content (ranging from bestiality references and aggressive behavior to suicide) in 19 of the 27 virtual worlds. And that list included 14 sites that were created “specifically” for kids 13 and under.
Not only that, but the report noted that most of the sites, including the adult-oriented ones, simply used a birth-date screening system to keep young ones out. And tell me how many kids can’t figure out how to fudge their birth date?
The FTC pointed to one such adult site, which includes nude images on its front page, as an example:
Red Light Center’s main purpose is to offer sexually explicit content. Yet it employed no mechanism to limit access to underage users at the time of the Commission’s study. Indeed, when the Commission selected the virtual world for inclusion in its review, demographic data from comScore, Inc. indicated that nearly 16 percent of Red Light Center’s users were under age 18.
Now, as a gamer myself, I know this stuff has been around for a while. And I’m certainly not advocating that the government should come along and try to micromanage the Internet. Without question, parental oversight has to be a part of the equation. But when kids can so easily walk right into these areas … and when kids’ sites aren’t even that kid-friendly …
There has to be a better way.
Recent Comments