Minors on Twitter & Our Camsites: How much accountability are we held to & what risk is there?

[NerdieBirdie]

So based on a conversation that started in another thread by Guy, I wanted to open a specific thread for us discussing this since I am not sure where to look.

Minors/Children/Those under 18 can easily watch us on cam if they are viewing us from a guest or basic account. It seems there is nothing we can do to protect ourselves from that, which I understand.

On the other hand, minors can still easily get prepaid cards, use someone else's, or even their own to create a premium account and pay for our snapchat, connecting them to use sending out daily nudes straight to their phones. They can also interact with us on Twitter, without us even knowing they are a minor.

What responsibility do we hold in monitoring if this is occurring? What methods, if any, do you use to monitor the age of those who follow and interact with you?

Are there any laws we need to be aware of? Can we get in trouble if it comes out there is a minor on our snapchat who has been receiving direct nudes of us as adults?

And anything else on this topic. Lets talk about this.

 

[Teagan]

We bear no responsibility. Their parents do. It's a parents job to monitor their kids online time on their phones and computers and to block sites from them. Kids are smart and get around that and of course some parents just dont do shit to monitor them though but there is no law I know of that could be used against us for a kid doing things they know they shouldnt be. For instance they clicked that box on MFC saying they are 18+ so it's on them. And many girls put on twitter 18+ only to follow.

Parents may be held negligible if it's shown they are but that's it. For instance if they allow, by neglect, to let their kid run rampant online and they get reported. That's not a law about porn though but bad parenting.

As to what I do if I see or suspect someone is a minor I just ban and move on. It's all you can do really.

 

[Deleted member 25213]

I was just wondering about this the other day! Really glad that you started this thread and am super curious to see what everyone has to say. I personally have no idea whether or not I could be liable for something like this occurring and that's a pretty scary concept! Definitely worth exploring and talking about. Thank you.

 

[Sevrin]

Before the internet, kids would sneak peeks at their older friends and family members porn magazines or videos. Since then, porn has been freely available to minors online ever since the internet began, initially mostly on Usenet, and now through the WWW and phone apps. There hasn't been a rash of prosecutions of older brothers or site owners, other than for copyright infringement, or in cases of CP, where it was the content itself, rather than the audience, which is the focus.

Like Teagan says, if you exercise basic caution, you have done your duty. In a criminal prosecution, it has to be proven beyond reasonable doubt that you willfully or recklessly made obscene material available to people you believed to be minors. There are thousands, if not millions, of people showing off their goodies online all day every day. Unless a major change in public policy takes place, no one is going to go after you, at least not if you live in a developed country.

 

[Guy]

We bear no responsibility. Their parents do. It's a parents job to monitor their kids online time on their phones and computers and to block sites from them. Kids are smart and get around that and of course some parents just dont do shit to monitor them though but there is no law I know of that could be used against us for a kid doing things they know they shouldnt be. For instance they clicked that box on MFC saying they are 18+ so it's on them. And many girls put on twitter 18+ only to follow.

Parents may be held negligible if it's shown they are but that's it. For instance if they allow, by neglect, to let their kid run rampant online and they get reported. That's not a law about porn though but bad parenting.

As to what I do if I see or suspect someone is a minor I just ban and move on. It's all you can do really.

Kids cant get around parental controls anymore. Parental control software now blocks proxy websites and prevents kids from being able to download circumvention software.

 

[JickyJuly]

If you sell your Snapchat through an adult site, you should be legally justified in assuming that the buyer is an adult. I do, however, feel that girls who trade things (Skype, Snapchat etc) for giftcards or paypal are certainly opening themselves up to disastrous possibilities. If you're operating outside of a site that verifies age and you deal with a minor, that is absolutely illegal.

 

[Teagan]

Kids cant get around parental controls anymore. Parental control software now blocks proxy websites and prevents kids from being able to download circumvention software.

That means nothing. Kids are not stupid and will get around those. They use friends or other families stuff. They have access to money and burner phones easily. They can quickly figure out passwords on devices to shut off parent controls. Where there is a will there is a way. If a kid wants to look at porn they will.

Like Sevrin said as long as you do not knowingly put on shows or give content to a minor you are safe. If you knowingly do it though not only are you a fucking asshole but yes you may face some legalities. It is actually illegal to provide minors with porn. These laws depend on your state but some are federal and just to note they are 18 and under, not the law of consent in your area. We however are covered as long as we do not knowingly do so and do it on an age verified site.

 

[CharlotteLace]

I typically check who follows me and will block their ass if I even question it. Sometimes I'll go so far as to call them out on it and emphasize I don't want minors anywhere near my smut.

It's also pretty easy to check for yourself if somebody in your chat seems suspicious. The last time I had a dude who I suspected as underage, I asked him how old he was. "22, bb."
"Oh? What year were you born?"
"1988"

While facepalm-worthy (and a bit shameful at his shitty math skills), it's an easy way to figure it out. People have a hard time doing age calculations in a pinch.

Like others have pointed out, if you're going through an adult site and have no reason to suspect they're underage, you should be safe. Minors using cards are still signing agreements to enter a porn site, so technically they're committing fraud by pretending to be of legal age when they're not. It's up to the site to have proper screening measures.

 

[Sevrin]

Kids cant get around parental controls anymore. Parental control software now blocks proxy websites and prevents kids from being able to download circumvention software.

That kind of software is only as secure as the steps parents take to use it properly. Sophisticated parents may be able to use it effectively, but they aren't the majority. Hell, I'd be surprised if the majority of parents bother securing their kids' computers at all.

 

[Guy]

That kind of software is only as secure as the steps parents take to use it properly. Sophisticated parents may be able to use it effectively, but they aren't the majority. Hell, I'd be surprised if the majority of parents bother securing their kids' computers at all.

Most parents dont use parental control software

 

[JerryBoBerry]

Kids cant get around parental controls anymore. Parental control software now blocks proxy websites and prevents kids from being able to download circumvention software.

That kind of software is only as secure as the steps parents take to use it properly. Sophisticated parents may be able to use it effectively, but they aren't the majority. Hell, I'd be surprised if the majority of parents bother securing their kids' computers at all.

And lets be honest, the average kid I know of today can bypass parental control software in seconds.

Even if they can't figure out how to disable it there's still ways around it. Have a spare USB flash drive, SD card, or external hard drive? Just install i another operating system on it. Reboot your computer from that and all that fancy control software never even gets run.

Or they can even order in a mini android stick that plugs in to their TV and bypass their computer all together.

If a kid wants to watch porn, they'll find a way to watch porn.

 

[mynameisbob84]

I think the only responsibility you have is to block people whom you know to be underage. If you're on MFC, then there's a reasonable expectation that you're only being viewed by adults. Obviously there will be minors there too, but I don't think you should have to worry about ensuring each and every person in your room is old enough to be there legally because... it would be impossible. If a minor is in there and is stupid enough to mention how old they are, or if you've been told by a model that member x is a minor, then I think you have a responsibility to ban and report. But I think that's as far as it goes.

 

[RebeccaT]

If a viewer gives even the vaguest hint they are underage I tell them why I am banning them. I know it's actually a fantasy for some guys who are old enough but once it's been hinted at or said in the room then they're banned.

 

[justjoinedtopost]

Mid 1980's. My dick had taken on a life of its own. I had memorized every page of the lingerie section of the Sears and Roebuck catalog, and I had stolen a number of my grandfathers old pin up calendars as well. It was not enough.

I was living in the ghetto at the time. I had to be careful. There was a gang of kids who chased me every time they saw me because they wanted to steal my bike. I tried to stay as close to home as much as possible.

But I ventured out one day with my allowance, driven by my hormones. Pedaled my way up to a run-down little convenience store. Walked up to the register. I was terrified.

“Lemme get a copy of Penthouse.” Tried to make it sound like I was older than fourteen. Doubt I succeeded.

The old black guy was chewing on a toothpick. And he just stared at me for like a full minute. I just stared right back. I was pretty sure I had made a big mistake coming here.

Finally he turned around, got a copy of Penthouse, and tossed it down on the counter. He rang it up. I handed him the money. And he stopped again.

“Boy, your mama know you look at this shit?” he drawled.

Told him the truth. “No. She's dead.”

He opened the register, handed me my change, and I left.

Now clearly, this old guy had no respect for the law. Needed to be prosecuted, maybe even put on a sex offender registry. But he is a f*cking saint as far as I am concerned.

I weep for these little punks nowadays who get off with the click of a mouse. They have no idea what they are missing.

 

[David_Lee_Loca]

I think the only responsibility you have is to block people whom you know to be underage. If you're on MFC, then there's a reasonable expectation that you're only being viewed by adults. Obviously there will be minors there too, but I don't think you should have to worry about ensuring each and every person in your room is old enough to be there legally because... it would be impossible. If a minor is in there and is stupid enough to mention how old they are, or if you've been told by a model that member x is a minor, then I think you have a responsibility to ban and report. But I think that's as far as it goes.

You said exactly what I was thinking! If a member even hints that he might be underage, it's an instant lifetime ban from me.

 

[Guy]

I typically check who follows me and will block their ass if I even question it. Sometimes I'll go so far as to call them out on it and emphasize I don't want minors anywhere near my smut.

I thought smut meant women's erotic literature.

 

[SaffronBurke]

I thought smut meant women's erotic literature.

It means porn. It's what most forms of porn were called back in the 50's and 60's.