Chat Roulette could be dangerous for kids

Online gamble may expose kids to predators, sex
MID-MICHIGAN It's a new Web site that allows you to chat and watch people at the same time on a webcam.

But along with the weird there's the perverse and there are no restrictions to get on.

It's easy to get on. Just type in chatroulette.com, press active, scroll down and you are in the bottom box. Scroll up and another person appears. But you cannot control who or what is in the box.

You can meet people from all around the world. Seconds after logging in, we met Frank, who said he was from Holland.

Chat Roulette has become an international hit, making Internet stars out of the wacky, like a piano spoof on YouTube has had more than four million hits.

Leah, 16, and her 17-year-old cousin David agreed to spin the unpredictable wheel of Chat Roulette with their parents' permission.

"I have gone on there and seen kids younger than me, 10 year olds," Leah said.

Shortly after typing in Chat Roulette, Leah saw no celebrities, but saw plenty of nudity.

"There are people pleasing themselves," she said.

Anybody doing anything could pop up.

"The worst things I have seen on here so far are nude men men touching themselves and sexual advertisements," David said.

Like many moms, Leah's mother had never heard of Chat Roulette, and initially didn't know her daughter was using it.

"She explained what she did with it and said she could talk with people from all around the world," she said. "I thought that was fabulous. Then I learned there is are a lot of vulgar things on it."

Amy Krug of Priority Children says parents not knowing about the Web site is what it makes it potentially dangerous.

"If they have Facebook or other media sites they need to be checking those sites all the time," said Amy Krug.

Chat Roulette tries to police itself by posting that broadcasting inappropriate content to minors is a violation of the law.

But there is no age restriction and with a webcam involved, Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell believes that can create added problems.

"There is an inherit danger in webcams," he said.

"There is an inherit danger in any Internet Web site, even on Craigslist, when young kids can get in there and see prostitutes and make a date with a prostitute."

The possibility of meeting up with stranger is one reason David's dad banned Chat Roulette, even though he trusts his kids.

While you can't control what video pops up, you can control how long you view it. It's called nexting, and with that push of the button the obscene and the outrageous are gone.

Here's another Web site you may want to check out: connectsafely.com. It has tips and advice for parents on how to keep you teens safe online.

For more information, click here.

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