Microsoft's decision to close down thousands of its Internet chatrooms has been greeted by children's charities as a welcome sign that the Internet industry is at last taking responsibility for activities carried out on the web. The Internet giant has prompted debate on making the web a safer placefor children, writes Jamie Smyth
For several years children's groups have warned that chatrooms - sites on the web which enable people to communicate by typing messages in real time to other online users - are open to exploitation by paedophiles.
Few Internet firms globally - with the notable exception of the Irish Internet service provider Eircom.net - have taken decisive action on the issue. As far back as 1998 Eircom decided not to offer chatrooms to users, at least in part because of safety concerns over misuse. But many firms have cashed in on their popularity by generating advertising revenue and traffic growth, thereby leaving themselves open to the charge of placing profit above their users' well-being.
It is estimated that tens of millions of people visit chatrooms hosted by the big Internet service providers such as MSN, AOL, Freeserve. And scores of Irish chatrooms are also available on the web, provided by firms such as Esat BT, Yahoo and Irishchat.
The dynamic of being able to meet people with similar hobbies online in chatrooms has proved one of the most successful functions of the Internet and has particularly attracted young users.
Assessing just how many paedophiles use chatrooms to contact children is impossible given the tens of thousands of chatrooms that are hosted worldwide and the anonymity afforded by the Internet.
But the conviction of former Ulster Scots Agency chief executive Mr Stan Mallon in the US last year for attempting to meet a child for sex illustrates that Ireland is not immune to this type of Internet sexual abuse.
Mr Mallon, who visited the White House as part of a delegation of Irish dignitaries for St Patrick's Day celebrations, made a detour to Chicago to meet whom he believed to be a 14-year-old girl he first encountered in a chatroom. But, in fact, Mr Mallon had been corresponding with US police who monitor "sexual predators" in chatrooms. He was later convicted and sent to prison.
Indeed, Microsoft's decision to close all its European chatroom sites follows another high-profile conviction in May of a paedophile who used an MSN chatroom to befriend a 12-year-old girl before having sex with her.
Media reports suggest there have been at least 26 court cases in Britain involving child abuse that have been directly linked with chatrooms, putting additional pressure on the Internet industry to protect users.
Microsoft's popular MSN division stressed yesterday that it had taken the decision following growing evidence that paedophiles were using its chatrooms to contact children, and that "spammers" were targeting users with pornographic emails.
MSN said it would in the future restrict access to its international chatroom sites, allowing only identifiable subscribers to use them.
It is likely to adopt a similar strategy in Europe, although no decision has yet been made on how this subscription process would be structured.
Law enforcement agencies generally agree that making Internet users subscribe for services by providing credit card details makes it much easier to track people's movements online. And the success of the Garda's Operation Amethist investigation into child pornography was based on the credit card details provided by users of a US-based website.
The Microsoft decision was understandably welcomed by children's groups, many of which have criticised Internet firms for failing to take responsibility for policing the Internet in the past.
For years the big Internet firms have resisted pressure from governments, law enforcement agencies and lobby groups that have sought to hold them responsible for activities on their websites.
Some of the biggest Internet companies have tended to wash their hands of any illegal activities carried out on the web, such as music piracy, spamming or the spread of child pornography.
Most argue that the distributed nature of the web makes it impossible for them to take any meaningful action against misuse.
Microsoft's unilateral decision - and the favourable press coverage it generated - is likely to have a profound impact on the industry.
It should certainly stimulate debate on how to make the web a safer place for children, many of whom are more technology-literate then parents. But it may not succeed in achieving its goal of making the web a safer place for children and, ironically, it could make it more difficult to police the web.
Freeserve, one of MSN's biggest competitors in Britain, yesterday accused Microsoft of not investing in its own chatroom monitoring services and warned that its decision could actually make the situation worse.
The theory is that by closing its chatrooms down without laying out a viable alternative strategy for people, MSN will force its users to migrate to less reputable and well-known chatrooms operated by other firms.
These chatrooms may not have the same level of safeguards or monitoring that a global player such as MSN could afford, and could potentially leave children more exposed to inappropriate activity or paedophiles.
This argument has some merit.
Certainly, if all the big Internet firms eventually decide to make people pay to subscribe to chatrooms, net-savvy children will probably seek out alternative chatroom suppliers on the Internet.
Banning chatrooms wouldn't solve the problem either. A host of new technologies, such as instant messenger, which enables two people to send messages to each other in real time, are emerging and are open to abuse.
In the volatile and distributed Internet arena, adopting industrywide standards and striving for a collaborative approach between policymakers, industry and law enforcement agencies is the only way to address major issues.
But undoubtedly the best way to protect children is for parents to monitor their Internet use and educate them about the potential dangers posed by chatrooms and the Internet. It should also be noted that the benefits of the Internet far outweigh the potential dangers that exist.
Specific advice for parents is available on the website: www.hotline.ie
Microsoft's decision to close down thousands of its Internet chatrooms has been greeted by children's charities as a welcome sign that the Internet industry is at last taking responsibility for activities carried out on the web.
For several years children's groups have warned that chatrooms - sites on the web which enable people to communicate by typing messages in real time to other online users - are open to exploitation by paedophiles.
Few Internet firms globally - with the notable exception of the Irish Internet service provider Eircom.net - have taken decisive action on the issue. As far back as 1998 Eircom decided not to offer chatrooms to users, at least in part because of safety concerns over misuse. But many firms have cashed in on their popularity by generating advertising revenue and traffic growth, thereby leaving themselves open to the charge of placing profit above their users' well-being.
It is estimated that tens of millions of people visit chatrooms hosted by the big Internet service providers such as MSN, AOL, Freeserve. And scores of Irish chatrooms are also available on the web, provided by firms such as Esat BT, Yahoo and Irishchat.
The dynamic of being able to meet people with similar hobbies online in chatrooms has proved one of the most successful functions of the Internet and has particularly attracted young users.
Assessing just how many paedophiles use chatrooms to contact children is impossible given the tens of thousands of chatrooms that are hosted worldwide and the anonymity afforded by the Internet.
But the conviction of former Ulster Scots Agency chief executive Mr Stan Mallon in the US last year for attempting to meet a child for sex illustrates that Ireland is not immune to this type of Internet sexual abuse.
Mr Mallon, who visited the White House as part of a delegation of Irish dignitaries for St Patrick's Day celebrations, made a detour to Chicago to meet whom he believed to be a 14-year-old girl he first encountered in a chatroom. But, in fact, Mr Mallon had been corresponding with US police who monitor "sexual predators" in chatrooms. He was later convicted and sent to prison.
Indeed, Microsoft's decision to close all its European chatroom sites follows another high-profile conviction in May of a paedophile who used an MSN chatroom to befriend a 12-year-old girl before having sex with her.
Media reports suggest there have been at least 26 court cases in Britain involving child abuse that have been directly linked with chatrooms, putting additional pressure on the Internet industry to protect users.
Microsoft's popular MSN division stressed yesterday that it had taken the decision following growing evidence that paedophiles were using its chatrooms to contact children, and that "spammers" were targeting users with pornographic emails.
MSN said it would in the future restrict access to its international chatroom sites, allowing only identifiable subscribers to use them.
It is likely to adopt a similar strategy in Europe, although no decision has yet been made on how this subscription process would be structured.
Law enforcement agencies generally agree that making Internet users subscribe for services by providing credit card details makes it much easier to track people's movements online. And the success of the Garda's Operation Amethist investigation into child pornography was based on the credit card details provided by users of a US-based website.
The Microsoft decision was understandably welcomed by children's groups, many of which have criticised Internet firms for failing to take responsibility for policing the Internet in the past.
For years the big Internet firms have resisted pressure from governments, law enforcement agencies and lobby groups that have sought to hold them responsible for activities on their websites.
Some of the biggest Internet companies have tended to wash their hands of any illegal activities carried out on the web, such as music piracy, spamming or the spread of child pornography.
Most argue that the distributed nature of the web makes it impossible for them to take any meaningful action against misuse.
Microsoft's unilateral decision - and the favourable press coverage it generated - is likely to have a profound impact on the industry.
It should certainly stimulate debate on how to make the web a safer place for children, many of whom are more technology-literate then parents. But it may not succeed in achieving its goal of making the web a safer place for children and, ironically, it could make it more difficult to police the web.
Freeserve, one of MSN's biggest competitors in Britain, yesterday accused Microsoft of not investing in its own chatroom monitoring services and warned that its decision could actually make the situation worse.
The theory is that by closing its chatrooms down without laying out a viable alternative strategy for people, MSN will force its users to migrate to less reputable and well-known chatrooms operated by other firms.
These chatrooms may not have the same level of safeguards or monitoring that a global player such as MSN could afford, and could potentially leave children more exposed to inappropriate activity or paedophiles.
This argument has some merit.
Certainly, if all the big Internet firms eventually decide to make people pay to subscribe to chatrooms, net-savvy children will probably seek out alternative chatroom suppliers on the Internet.
Banning chatrooms wouldn't solve the problem either. A host of new technologies, such as instant messenger, which enables two people to send messages to each other in real time, are emerging and are open to abuse.
In the volatile and distributed Internet arena, adopting industrywide standards and striving for a collaborative approach between policymakers, industry and law enforcement agencies is the only way to address major issues.
But undoubtedly the best way to protect children is for parents to monitor their Internet use and educate them about the potential dangers posed by chatrooms and the Internet. It should also be noted that the benefits of the Internet far outweigh the potential dangers that exist.
Specific advice for parents is available on the website: www.hotline.ie