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Skout Bans Minors

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Skout networking platform decided to place a temporary ban on users under 18 years old, after three cases of sexual rape were reported in different US states. It seems that it's about young girls who met men posing as teenagers on the platform. The GPS-enabled platform was founded in 2007, as an interactive interface for chatting with nearby strangers. The latest measure is supposed to cut down any attempt of getting registered for users under 13 years, but I doubt it will truly function. You know our kids, smarter with each generation growing, they will find a way to get in legally or not.

Skout Bans Minors (Source: ww1.prweb.com)

Skout Bans Minors 

The skeleton in the closet was initially reported by The New York Times, stating that at least three men are accused of raping children under 15 years of age. Although some of you doubt it could be true, it seems that the newspaper has certain data from the police itself about one case caught in a sexual act.

As consequence, the San Francisco-based company founded by Christian Wiklund responded by forbidding minors from the site, which represented a significant portion of its member base, while he worked with security experts to add better safeguards. Christian Wiklund argued that the safety of the community is his number one concern.  He admitted that he knew about cases of teenagers under 18 entering the community, but the latest events made him think it's serious. I would ask him, if he were the father of a 15 years young girl, dating online some mature men, would he think it's ok?! I guess not, at least he seems to have understood that online dating has to be more selective.

Skout Bans Minors (Source: 9.mshcdn.com)

Skout Bans Minors 

Skout’s next step is partnering up with a leading risk management advisory firm and law enforcement in charge of the local sexual assault cases. During this temporary closure, the company is determined to test and update safeguards for protecting teen users. It seems that more than 3 million users about 18 years will be monitored, in order to see their true identity, following scanned photos, sexual messages or violent behavior. Christian Wiklund is sure that the company owns the proprietary technology for creating a zero-tolerance policy for inappropriate behavior, but let's see whether it truly works.

One of the primary measures is the need for users to have an active Facebook account to sign up for a Skout account. Facebook currently and officially requires users to be 13+, but teens under this age level can easily register, so it's not an ultimate argument. Much more, the Bits report in 2009 points out that sexual predators have assaulted social networks despite scans and monitoring. The report mentions that Myspace removed 90,000 sex offenders, while Facebook removed 8,000 sex offenders during the same year. Dating apps and sites aren't the only places on the Web where illegal sexual behavior has been reported recently. Investors at Balderton Capital, a venture capital firm based in London, told that it was returning a 13 percent stake in Sulake, a Finnish social gaming company, after discovering that one of the company’s products, Habbo, had been used by sexual predators and for teenage sex chats.

GPS-enabled networking apps are more popular than ever. The list includes, besides Skout,  Highlight, Circle or Grindr. New apps for smartphones that use GPS to show where users are have prompted new worries. Skout lets users trade photos, instant messages and virtual gifts. But like other new social networking apps, Skout can check a user’s location on a map. The company initially marketed its service to adults only, but it started a separate service for 13- to 17-year-olds last year after learning that minors had gained access to the app. Christian Wiklund said the app for minors was designed with safeguards like parental controls. The GPS location feature is an optional and it never shows a user’s location with greater accuracy than half a mile.

It's curious to see whether other online dating platforms will try the same measure, in order to protect minors.

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