The Irish Internet Service Providers Association of Ireland (ISPAI) warned yesterday that Microsoft's decision to close its European chatrooms could force users to move to less reputable sites.
The warning was echoed by Microsoft's competitors, which criticised the firm for acting alone in a move that would potentially shift the problem onto other Internet service providers.
Mr Paul Durrant, general manager of the ISPAI - which regulates Internet use in Ireland - said people may simply move underground and use chatrooms less upstanding than MSN. This could make it less easy to track complaints by people, he added.
Microsoft's Internet service provider, MSN, which has 350 million global users, announced the decision yesterday, citing fears that paedophiles and spammers - a person or company that sends unwanted emails, usually advertisements - were targeting chatroom users.
Chatrooms are websites which enable large groups of people to exchange messages in real time while they are online. It is estimated that they are used by tens of millions of people globally and thousands of Irish consumers.
MSN plans to close tens of thousands of chatroom services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa on October 14th. It is likely these will become subscription services.
Mr Joe Macri, Microsoft Ireland's managing director, said the software giant had taken the landmark decision to protect its users following consultation with international governments and law enforcement agencies.
He denied the suggestion made by a rival firm, Freeserve, that it had taken the decision for commercial reasons because of the excessive cost of monitoring its MSN chatrooms effectively.
Microsoft's decision was welcomed by children's charities yesterday as an indication that firms were taking responsibility for their users more seriously.
The Minister for Children, Mr Brian Lenihan, welcomed the announcement, and said the Internet Advisory Board would look at the initiative as part of an ongoing review of policy.
Internet safety has become a high-profile issue in recent years following a number of high-profile court cases that have illustrated that paedophiles use chatrooms to contact potential victims.
Last year the former head of the Ulster Scots Agency, Mr Stan Mallon, was convicted of attempting to set up a meeting with whom he thought was a 14-year-old girl in Chicago for sex.
Microsoft highlights need for industry standards: page 14