Parents warned about Chatroulette.com

AUSTIN (KXAN) - An increasingly popular Web site poses a threat to Texas children by giving users – including dangerous sex offenders – an opportunity to conduct live video chats with randomly selected participants.

Armed with only a computer Web camera and Internet access, ChatRoulette users are paired with a random stranger for a video chat. Neither a login nor registration is required before young users can be face-to-face with a total stranger. Worse, users who simply click "next" are shuffled to a new video chat partner.

An undercover investigation by Attorney General Greg Abbott's Cyber Crimes Unit revealed startling results. Nearly half of the randomly selected users encountered by Cyber Crimes investigators immediately exposed themselves and conducted sexually explicit acts on camera.

In light of the serious threat that children will be exposed to graphic sexual conduct, Abbott's office said Texas parents should prohibit their children from accessing ChatRoulette,  Although site users are supposed to be for users at least 16 years old, the rule is not clearly enforced – which means parents’ preventative role is particularly important.

Abbott reminds parents to closely monitor their children's Internet activities by using the following safety tips:

• Place the computer in a public room at home so that parents can monitor their children’s Internet use. Do not allow computers in a child’s bedroom or permit the use of Web cameras.
• Make sure children know never to agree to a face-to-face meeting with someone they meet online and never to divulge personal information to an Internet stranger.
• Stay informed. Surf the Internet with children or at least talk to them about the Web sites they are visiting.
• Establish ground rules for children’s Internet usage, including the hours they may surf and the kinds of Web sites they may visit. Post the rules near the computer.