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Here's a link to the article. I heard then talking about it on the radio this morning.
MSN to close chat rooms
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Microsoft says it will drop chat room services in 28 countries next month, in a move it says will ward off pedophiles and junk e-mailers.
But tech analysts said the changes would help the software giant get rid of users who don't pay and are not contributing to the company's bottom line.
"They're trying to move people to their paid subscription sites," said Ian Brown, director of the Foundation for Information Policy Research, a technology think tank. "They are shutting down services for which people are not paying and getting a good bit of P.R. out of it."
In a statement, the Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft said it made the decision following the growing abuse of the Internet, particularly in unsupervised, anonymous chat rooms.
The company pointed to a rise in the use of junk mail known as spam and "unsolicited and inappropriate material, particularly with regards to children."
MSN spokesman Matt Whittingham told CNN: "Recently we have become increasingly concerned about the level of inappropriate communication, including spam, the grooming of children by pedophiles, and sexually explicit language and imagery in chat rooms.
"We have looked at the matter very carefully and we are closing down chat in Europe to protect our customers against those inappropriate communications."
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Microsoft says it will drop chat room services in 28 countries next month, in a move it says will ward off pedophiles and junk e-mailers.
But tech analysts said the changes would help the software giant get rid of users who don't pay and are not contributing to the company's bottom line.
"They're trying to move people to their paid subscription sites," said Ian Brown, director of the Foundation for Information Policy Research, a technology think tank. "They are shutting down services for which people are not paying and getting a good bit of P.R. out of it."
In a statement, the Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft said it made the decision following the growing abuse of the Internet, particularly in unsupervised, anonymous chat rooms.
The company pointed to a rise in the use of junk mail known as spam and "unsolicited and inappropriate material, particularly with regards to children."
MSN spokesman Matt Whittingham told CNN: "Recently we have become increasingly concerned about the level of inappropriate communication, including spam, the grooming of children by pedophiles, and sexually explicit language and imagery in chat rooms.
"We have looked at the matter very carefully and we are closing down chat in Europe to protect our customers against those inappropriate communications."
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