Second Life could sexually exploit children via Internet, Rep. Mark Kirk says

So, Rep. Kirk knows of no instance of what he's trying to get people upset about, and Second Life verifies one's age... but he wants an alert sent out about it? Never mind that CSI: New York did, and widely publicized, a two-part episode based there, or that other TV series have based episodes either on Second Life or on a thinly-disguised fictional version thereof, and various networks (CBS, the BBC, and probably others as well) have had segments on Second Life.

Parents should be aware of what their children are doing; that's beyond argument. But this is just political posturing and scare-mongering.

Is Kirk insane to make these claims. Sure, there's porn on "Second Life," but there is also porn on the Internet in general, and getting to it is probably much easier then getting to porn on Second Life.

Does Kirk think that parents in this country can't be trusted to parent their own children? I'd be offended if I had young teenagers.

I think that is total rubbsh, There is Teen second life what is strictley for teens and adult second life. They just need to grow up a little and start reading the terms of service....

Hmm. Remarkably, there are several easy ways to regulate this without some moronic congressman pretending to work and plying for sympathy votes.
First: I know vista, at least, can lock certain accounts out of certain programs. Just have your kid on a seperate account without access to the program
Second: Learn to be a parent. If the kid's spending hours at a time on the computer, and you don't notice and/or care, there are far more messed up things in your child's life than a game.
Seriously... A little tiny bit of common sense and devotion as a parent can account for this... but nobody wants to claim responsibility for parenting their own freaking children, do they?

zermatt wrote:

The real crime in Second Life is the lies that people call their avatars. If you are a loser in life and a disgusting pig, create an avatar that is cool, hip and really attractive. Second life should be called Primary Delusion.
A couple of months back the Wall Street Journal had an article about Second Life. The users that were profiled may have looked something like their avatars when they were in their twenties, but now that they are much older there is a definite miss match.
What is wrong with a little fantasy?
Nothing with a little fantasy, but spending as much time and money as some users do on this game leads me to believe they could really use face to face human interaction. There are plenty of real humans that will accept you for who you really are, but they may not be willing to have sex with you just because you are there. That may cost you money.

OMG is this funny!

Look it's just another politician up for re-election who will probably get busted with an erection tap-dancing in an airport mens room.

As a resident of Second Life for more than a year, the statement the this senator has made about SL, is an overstatement.

I agree with Turbo on his statement, but Linden Lab has made a lot of effort in making the main grid inaccessible to minor. SL is the same as the internet in a sense that if one searches for porn or other related topics, it will appear. Yet if you search for other wholesome topics, one would find PLENTY of hits for that.

Then there is SL Teen Grid where minors can enjoy SL's features in a safe, guarded environment.

The real question is if our current technology and means is enough to protect children against sex predators in SL or on the web in general. Minors still find a way around those established methods. It really still is the parents' duty to protect the children from the horrible aspects on the internet.

Did you think this through before typing it? People tell lies all the time. Do you really believe that being technically savvy makes someone more prone to tell lies?

If you aren't up to speed on computers and the internet, perhaps as a parent you should educate yourself before turning the unknown over to your children instead of rolling over and letting "the man" do your parenting for you.

I have tremendous respect for Mark Kirk, but it's really hard to see this as anything but election year pandering.

Makes no sense this attack to Second Life (r).

Being in the Mentor Volunteer Program of Linden Lab(r) and as a resident for more than 1.5 years I can asure that all the residents are committed to report all minors on the adult grid. There is an age verification already enforced and several other measures taken in game, like forbiding the entrance to non age verified avatars (old accounts) in mature SIMs.

All the media fuss about minors on the grid isn't anything more than speculation and written by people that don't have the factual and real knowledge of the reality of Second Life.

I'm not American (I live in Portugal, Europe) but it amases me how a Congressman can waste his time and taxpayers money by attacking an online communication platform, where universities and other trustworthy institutions are present and doing a wonderful job in education, arts and technology.

Is he also attacking all the porn, pedofile, violence sites (just to mention a few) that keep popping up on the internet? Is he closing all the newsstands all over the States which show porn magazines to anyone who passes?

Is it not the responsibility of the parents and educators to take care of their children and educate them, explaining what they can and cannot do?

A Congress measure like the one proposed by Mr. Mark Kirk is only a way to gain votes among those moralists that see the phantom of sin and doom everywhere.

Not very nice of you Mr. Kirk...

anyone who rags on and on about internet predators from online gaming are either saboteurs of a rival game company, pissed off programmer, bible thumper, or a 40 yr old virgin. i have 2 kids. i play video games with them and online games. im more afraid when they go play with friends or goto school for their safety than sitting in front of a computer.
people who rag on games and music i would like to meet in person. would love yo beat your ass!

mmm... this reminds me of "how to catch a predator" but with 3-D avatars... well, its hard to regulate the internet on kids nowadays. It's easy for anyone to slip into a site and say they are 18 or over. So for these up-in-coming virtual worlds, you can't really blame the creators... its the kids own free will even though they may not be intellectual. But we do need to be careful about the virtual worlds.