Virtual worlds designed for adults are not doing enough to exclude kids, according to the US Federal Trade Commission.
A major study into adult online worlds pointed out that seven of the worlds with the 'most explicit sex and violence' has a minimum age setting of 13.
And even the sites with an 18 rating didn't block an immediate second attempt with an older birthday put in.
Shock?
The fact that kids can access the content is hardly surprising, and the internet and chatroom are rife with the same kind of content of course.
But the FTC was less than delighted to find that even those who enter a birthdate below the proper age were not necessarily kept out for long.
"Two worlds… rejected child registrations, but then immediately permitted users to re-register as an adult from the same computer," the report said.
It's not a new problem, or an unexpected one, but it is becoming increasingly obvious that kids can easily find unsuitable content with the minimum of internet knowledge.
Via Reuters
Your comments (1) Click to add a new comment
madjedi
December 11th 2009
1. What are these kids parents doing while there kids are in aduld only virtual worlds?
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