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Chat Network Operators and Users Wary of "Uniformed" Police Presence.

SPEWS No Longer Anonymous.

Vigilante Web Site Perverted-Justice.com

News Archives
2004
2003
2001-2002

   The vigilante web site, Perverted-Justice.com is putting unsuspecting innocent children at risk.  The site has come under fire in recent weeks regarding their tactics of placing personal information of alleged predators on their site, and in the mishandling of evidence.

  The operators of Perverted Justice create a chat profile of an underage person on Yahoo! Chat, or AOL, and enter chat rooms in the attempt to entice would be predators to engage in private conversations.

  The profiles contain a photograph of what seems to be a young girl under the age of 18.  These photographs are obtained via Internet image searches, and are the photographs of unsuspecting persons. 

  This use of an underage person's photograph puts that person at future risk of being contacted by an actual predator, or being questioned by family and school mates as to why their photograph is being used in such a fashion.  Such uses of photographs may also be considered entrapment, or violation of copy write laws. 

  According to current laws, any photograph of a minor, displayed to evoke sexual stimulation, is illegal under the child pornography statutes.  Perverted Justice displays these photographs in the attempt to sexually stimulate viewers of these profiles, and to entice them to engage in private conversations.

  One can only imagine the shock of a parent finding their child's photograph used in such a manner. Or worse, discovering that the Perverted Justice operators are using their own children's photographs.

A site that began with the noble purpose of protecting children online has in its own exuberance, and without first consulting an attorney as to the legalities of their methods, overstepped the boundaries of law.

Peter J. Carr
Publisher
Chatmag.com

Related Link:

[Chatmag Opposes Vigilante Web Site]
 
 
 

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