Politech mailing list archives
FC: More on child "privacy" and Altavista not shutting down sites
From: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 11:42:36 -0500
********** Date: 15 Feb 2001 07:49:34 -0800 Message-ID: <20010215154934.18505.cpmta () c012 sfo cp net> To: declan () well com From: Jamie McCarthy <jamiemccarthy () altavista com> Cc: jamie () mccarthy vg > AltaVista said today that it "has closed down all of its community > services, which includes all interactive services, such as chat > rooms, bulletin boards and free email. I'm sending this from the free AltaVista email account I just signed up for ten minutes ago. > We'll ban Net-sex not by claiming a child's innocence is being > violated, but that his privacy is. Ain't that just swell? CNET: AltaVista spokesman David Emanuel labeled the report a "publicity stunt," http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-4820233.html ComputerWorld: The problem, according to AltaVista spokesman Jim Shissler, is that the claim by the bureau isn't true. Instead, Shissler said, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company removed the chat room, e-mail and other community features from its Web site last week because of a business decision made by the company in September, when it announced that it was leaving the portal business to concentrate on being a search engine site (see story). "That [Better Business Bureau] press release is inaccurate," Shissler said. "We've not changed any features on our site" in response to the agency. While the company had had communications with the Better Business Bureau about the portal, those talks didn't lead to the closures, he said. In its statement today, the bureau stated it was "pleased to announce that AltaVista Co. has modified its Web site in order to protect the safety of children." Not so, Shissler said. "I wish I could tell you why they would put out a press release like that." http://www.computerworld.com/cwi/story/0,1199,NAV47_NLTpm_STO57721,00.html NetworkWorldFusion: AltaVista closed down all its interactive community services based on a business decision - and not because of an unfavorable review by the Children's Advertising Review Unit of the Council of Better Business Bureaus... "Our removal of those features was because we have become focused on search for consumers and businesses, and those features were not in line with our goals," company spokesman David Emanuel said on Wednesday. http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2001/0214altavista.html -- Jamie McCarthy jamie () mccarthy vg http://jamie.mccarthy.vg/ Find the best deals on the web at AltaVista Shopping! http://www.shopping.altavista.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if it remains intact. To subscribe, visit http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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- FC: More on child "privacy" and Altavista not shutting down sites Declan McCullagh (Feb 15)