“People who send links to Zoom, Google Hangouts and other video chats are where you don’t want kids going,” Achilles said. If a user appears to have a pattern of penalties, the website’s human moderators can step in and look at individual messages. KidzWorld has a scoring system so that if a user says something inappropriate that gets picked up by the website’s algorithmic system, they get a warning the next time they say something inappropriate, they get a penalty that prevents them from talking to other users for a certain amount of time and if penalties continue, users can ultimately get fully muted. That said, children are not protected by COPPA on chat rooms that may be geared toward "teens" in general. Kristen Cohen, assistant director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, said websites like that are geared specifically toward children under 13 must comply with COPPA rules. , which centers its business model on the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), uses algorithms and human moderators to make sure children are not signing up with their real names or having what appear to be inappropriate conversations and ultimately stay safe on the platform. These private invitations are where things can get dangerous, Achilles said.
When users appear online, they may receive unsolicited private messages from other users inviting them to chat on Zoom, Skype or Google Hangouts instead. Most chat room websites also offer private chat features that allow users to have one-on-one conversations. Most of the first Google website suggestions that appear when users search "teen chat room" do not require any kind of authentication for users to join, or they require users to click a box indicating that they are entering a chat room designated for teenagers or children that older users can easily bypass.įACEBOOK MESSENGER FOR KIDS TO LAUNCH IN 70 COUNTRIES
AlloTalk directed FOX Business to its rules when asked how the website protects teens on the site. Some chat rooms geared toward “teens” and “kids” can be easily accessed by adult predators who may pose as kids and try to groom them into having inappropriate conversations. Many chat room websites offer themed rooms some of these themes range from interests to specific sexual preference for example, on, users between the ages of 13 and 19 can choose to talk on the general “Teen Room,” the “Gay Room,” the “Depression Room” and even the “Furry Room.”
“We work so aggressively on moderation, safety and privacy,” he said of his site but added that on other platforms, “bad actors have easy access.”