Representative Kirk Wants to Ban Second Life's "Rape Rooms" from Schools

Yesterday we noted that U.S. Representative Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) had asked the Federal Trade Commission to issue a consumer-alert warning about the dangers of Second Life. “During the past five years, social networking Web sites like MySpace, Facebook and Second Life exploded in popularity,” Kirk said in a statement issued on Monday.  “As more kids flock to these sites, we’ve seen a corresponding increase of online sexual predators targeting children.  According to a U.S. Department of Justice survey, one-in-five kids have been sexually solicited online.  As new technologies develop, more disturbing revelations unfold.  Sites like Second Life offer no protections to keep kids from virtual ‘rape rooms,’ brothels and drug stores.  If sites like Second Life won’t protect kids from obviously inappropriate content, the Congress will.”

Of course, as we mentioned yesterday, Kirk is playing on some of the  four horseman of the Internet apocalypse (terrorists, drug dealers, kidnappers, and child pornographers), possibly with an eye towards reelection.

Kirk previously introduced The Deleting Online Predators Act, banning social networks  and chat rooms from schools without approved educational purposes. It passed in the House, but did not make it to the Senate.

Many of Kirk's examples of the dangers of Second Life  include real locations that are obviously intended for adult use, but his only examples of minor coming into danger come from sites like MySpace:

Demonstrating the risks in MySpace, Mount Prospect police officers created a fictional profile of a 15-year-old Mount Prospect girl.  A 29-year-old man sent the fake girl a message, calling her “adorable” and asked to get to know her better.  An individual also encouraged her to prostitute herself by sending her a message about a companionship service in Elk Grove.

Also, as we noted yesterday, Linden Lab actually does offer protection to keep kids from "virtual 'rape rooms'" that seem to meet regulations and exceed those of many traditional websites. Kirk argues in his open letter to the FTC that it's not enough:

Second Life and its owner, Linden Lab of San Francisco, has no controls in place to prevent minors from creating an account, giving minors access to pornographic and explicit material for no charge. Second Life claims to prevent children under the age of 13 from accessing the site, but there are no age verification features built into the registration process. Although many of the program’s features require a credit card, there are many areas in which sexually explicit content is free and readily available.

There are dangers on any part of the Internet, to be sure, and I'm certainly not arguing against advice, recommendations, and tools for parents to protect their children. To be fair, part of Kirk's bill would do that. But this is also a chance to embrace the technology, which many agencies at every level are doing. And, to be fair again, Congress generally seems to be taking a more measured, cautious approach, instead of simply trying to scare the public away, which, to continue to be fair, a lot more of Kirk's bill, stance, and rhetoric seem to be trying to do just that.

[via CNET]

Comments

[Peter Hanley]

Call me out of touch, but two things jump out at me about Rep. Kirk's problematic election-season panic:

1) I thought teenagers weren't allowed to be on the Second Life® adult grid, and vice versa. An age segregated internet seems to be the holy grail of Rep. Kirk's ilk of fear-monger, so I'm not clear why he wouldn't be praising Second Life as the model for a self-imposed standard of the internet.

2) There are Rape Rooms in Second Life? I'll need a slurl for that one, because all I can picture is the GITMO installation.

I will note for the record that the Representative's press release does not include the proper trademark denotation, as per Linden Labs Second Life Brand Center. If we can't rely on the Government to protect our trademarks, how can we expect them to protect our children?

=P