Hey kids!

Recently, it has been brought to our attention that a video was created with accusations directed at the owners, administrators and moderators of this very website.   We usually don’t respond to such crap and just continue to make this website better without the outside noise.   However, with a little extra time,  we thought it would be appropriate to send a message in response to the channel and its author that was posting false accusations and defamatory remarks about this website and its staff.   I have gathered input from several of our staff members for this writing.  For this blogs purposes, we will call the video author, Mr. X.

We will not be providing a link to his channel because it contains too much false information and generally made to create some shock value and click bait.  Nothing more than attracting more users to his channel for monetary purposes.  That is very evident by the number of monetary links to T-shirt sales, voice over work and whatever else he sells on his channel which the links are stuffed at the top.  We will write some responses that we want to address with regards to the accusations he made towards us and the deranged thoughts he conveniently conjured up to make his case.   The points will only address older users (more specifically any predators who access and uses our chat platform for unlawful purposes).  We have other rules that we enforce but because of the subject of Mr. X’s video, this is the theme we will focus on.    We will just list them out in point form so it is more clear.  We apologize for the randomness of the points listed below but the randomness of his accusations were even worse.

 Points of interest in response to the video:

• This website has always put safety first for our users.   There are many rules and tips that we provide on this website.   It is literally spread throughout.  We have NEVER encouraged older users to use this website.  Quite the contrary.    Just ask all the older users we currently have on our ban list.   It is written in many places that users older than 19 are not allowed.   The main page, chat page, welcome message in chat…..few other pages on this website.  Heck, it’s not even a huge website in terms of pages and we have this on a lot of spots.   How many times do we have to write it?    All older users are banned.  We staff dozens of moderators and have a very hard working Administrator named Arkham.   Pedophiles make us sick and we have always assisted law enforcement to help catch them.   To accuse us of encouraging this activity and to accuse us all (owners, admins, and mods) of being pedophiles is very irresponsible and false.    If a moderator is informed or sees an older user.  He or she is kicked and banned instantly.
• This website does not allow the use of VPNs.   Mr.X accused us of blocking his IP address to prevent him from accessing the website to gather information when, in fact, he just was using a hosting company IP address.   Obviously a Proxy or VPN to conceal his identity.  Those are always blocked.  In fact, his entire ASN with the hosting company he was using, was blocked.  It was simple as that.  We have absolutely no idea what his IP address is or was as he conducted his “investigation”.   VPN bans are added almost daily to our ban list.   He got blocked and accused us of blocking him to prevent his “investigation”.   Any emails sent to our Administrator “Arkham” has no record of his IP address and Arkham does not have access to block entire ASN’s to our website.    So, why do we block VPNs?  Well, it is to prevent bots and predators from accessing our website.  It is NOT to prevent Mr. X from making his videos or whatever he is doing.  In fact, if he wanted to access the website, all he has to do is turn off his VPN.  I guess he forgot to mention that point to his viewers, because it adds to what i mentioned before….some shock value to his video and accusations.    It would be a better headline if he were to say that we blocked his IP to prevent him from doing his investigation.
• Mr. X has implied there was no response from our Administrator Arkham to his email when he asked (in an aggressive and threatening manner) what will be done from the predators he encountered on a recent visit to our website.   In fact, Arkham did reply.  He was asked to send screenshots.   He didn’t receive them so there was no action done.  After all, what was Arkham to do if there is no evidence?   If we started to ban people when another user makes an accusation, that would be total chaos.  WE NEED PROOF.   We asked him for proof in the form of screenshots.   He was not able to provide them and falsely believed we already had all this information.  Provide the screenshots.  You even showed on your channel how to take a screenshot, so provide them!  Saying a few names will not help us.   Oh, and another thing.   For privacy reasons we do  not read logs.  In fact, we do not have access to chat logs.  To suggest that we are intentionally covering anything up is, again, being irresponsible and quite frankly, stupid.
• We love that Mr. X is against the “bad guys”  but the “list” he created contained about 80% bots.   We have gone through each one of the names on his list.  They were either already banned or had already dropped off the system.  For a little background, sometimes this chat receives automated bots directing users to other websites.   This was very prevalent around the time he shot the video but has since been cleaned up significantly when we were made aware of them a week ago.   These bots are present in thousands of websites around the web and have no care about the age of the user they are spamming.  They spam the same message everywhere.  These are automated bots, not pedophiles.    We have taken a lot of measures to stop them (banning the VPNs and proxies they used as the first measure).  We will continue to work hard to stop bots from accessing our website with Recaptcha and heavy in-chat moderation.   Although, we do not doubt Mr.X encountered some of the real predator users he showed in his video, he failed to do the #1 thing we tell all users who encounter older users;  That is, REPORT THEM to us with the appropriate screenshots.  If you only have a name we could only do minimal investigation but capturing someone saying they are older is definitely more helpful and effective then accusing someone of being older.   The bottom line is we will deal with them.   By no means are we protecting them.   If you feel we are not effective enough to deal with them then we also encourage users to file a report with their local police to get in touch with us and we can assist law enforcement.  We have done so many times in the past.  That will always continue.  Mr.X feels because he has thousands of subscribers, a deep voice act, and some sinister music makes him above the law.  Let this website and law enforcement do their jobs to catch predators.
• The manner in which Mr. X picks apart our introduction page for grammar mistakes (most was because  Mr. X has a problem of reading) and images for depicting what he suggested as old people, was amusing and appalling at the same time.  Mr. X  coupled this with his scary music and sinister theme ……. what an absolute joke.   Definitely exaggerated many of his points to make everyone who helps run and moderate our website (including our independent third party web designer) look like monsters when there isn’t anybody more friendly than the staff here.
• Mr. X then goes on to sarcastically read a paragraph in the Frequently Asked Questions page that states that we do not disclose information about past or pending cases involving law enforcement.  Well, duh, maybe because it’s a violation of privacy and the law to interfere with an active case.  In fact, most of the time we do not get information about the case.  It’s none of our business.  We just help law enforcement with whatever we can provide them.  Perhaps he was looking for us to announce the details of a pending or closed investigation for the world to see?
• Mr. X claims to have opened up the report button and says it’s not working.  Yet, if he had a pair of working eyes, he could see that the flag button beside each message is the “report button”.   That would have notified a moderator immediately of any message in the chat that would violate our rules.  Action would have been taken much quicker.     He actually used the contact form as the report button then went on a little rant wondering why it was such a useless “form” lacking any sort of functions.   They are not the same thing.   Attached below is a larger image for anyone  as blind as Mr. X was and unable to find it.

How to flag a message for moderator review?

Here is the icon that must be pressed to make a report. —>  It appears at the end of every message for registered users.  After pressing that, the following form pops up:

Select the appropriate reason for your report and a moderator will action it.   That is all.  Very simple to use.  We have 13 year olds who can figure this out, but apparently a grown adult using our website could not.

Concluding Remarks

The video was just full of a lot of bullsh*t, exaggeration of facts, and total lack of research and understanding of how our website actually works and functions.   It is this short sightedness and lack of common sense that is really troubling with this Mr.X.  If he crosses paths with a predator, it must mean that we are welcoming them with open arms.  In many ways, it is clear that his lack of common sense was almost on purpose.  After all, if the real facts are known, there wouldn’t be a video to be made.   It is unbelievable how a channel like his can even have subscribers considering the amount of fake news Mr. X is reporting.   I guess that’s actually what brings in the subscribers.    Reading his comments, it’s clear he has a lot of people fooled.  Accusing us of encouraging pedophiles to be here?  Are you insane?  We are working actively with law enforcement, plastering all sorts of rules and chat safety messages throughout the website, and taking all possible measures within our reach to help stop them.   That is not enough for Mr. X because then it isn’t a story for him.   We can go on and on with several more inconsistencies found with Mr. X’s video but the above should be sufficient.  The fact is we are fighting the same fight.  He just doesn’t realize it.

It is important to note that we are not attacking his fight against exploitation of children.  We respect and support that.   We are with him on that.   We are questioning the way he one sidedly went about making that video.   The sad part is he is a grown man in a kids chat and also encouraging other older users to come here which doesn’t help.    Suggesting at the end of his video, that people don’t even need to mention his channel link is simply a way to deflect his true intention of monetary gain.  Yet, the amount of monetary gain he will earn from this video will be significant.

KidsChat.net  has been here a long time.   We have grown into a very popular and enjoyable community platform for kids to chat throughout the years.  If this website was anything like he claims, there would not be a single user here.  Yet, everyone can see the abundance of happy kids who use our website  to contact their friends and make new friends.    If any of us were supporting criminal activity suggested in his video, we would all surely be in prison by now.   With popularity, unfortunately, also brings the risks with it.   More users always becomes more problems.  However, we are here to fight them.  We are continuing to work every single day to make this place safer and help put away the filth for good.

Stay safe everyone and happy chatting.

– Kids Chat Net Team

UPDATE:  The above information is all true.  Nobody would know that better than us.  Mr. X does not know how to navigate this website, nor does he want to show anything but one side.  He is encouraging users of his channel to come to our website (primarily older users is his audience) which does not help the issue.   Furthermore, Administrator Arkham is  now receiving serious death threats from multiple people.  This will have to be escalated through the proper legal channels.  

Update #2.  Please read the follow up to more fake news for another response to more fake news being posted.

Update #3: Users have brought to my attention that the video made by MoneyMax which included defamatory and slanderous remarks towards us, has been removed by Youtube for violating policy.  For the record, we did not flag the video.  We did, however, already contact lawyers and will need to decide whether to proceed with legal proceedings.  Although the video was removed appropriately, the damage has already been done to our website.   This is a prime example of a case where in todays day and age of social media, you just cannot get away with slandering others.  People, groups and companies get hurt.  Wrongfully so.  Our team has seen a few of his other videos and I must say, several of them violate the same terms and policies.   I won’t get into the details here but multiple videos are in clear violation.   Hopefully, Youtube will take a look at them and have his fake news, click bait channel shut down permanently.  I believe a channel is allowed 3 strikes and he has already been warned previously.  Here is a public tweet that he made from a Twitter account he was using to contact Youtube’s Policy team:

His video was littered with fake news and lies yet he is here trying to sound like a victim.   It’s one thing to show your fight against the predators but do the right thing and present the truth.  I am assuming he was referring to our website as the “pedo ring”.  He thinks that by mentioning the FBI and NCMEC, it would scare Youtube into adding his video back.  Our response has been more than sufficient to show that this individual has no credibility at all.  We welcome the FBI, NCMEC or any other entity to view this website and see if we are knowingly allowing, encouraging,  creating a “ring” or safe haven for predators and ignoring real reports.    After they find that we are not, we hope they can get in touch with us so we can work together. (we have worked with some FBI branches in the past and would love to hear any new ideas or suggestions to help eradicate predators from the web)  Ultimately, MoneyMax’s video was filled with lies and exaggerated facts.  It was rightfully removed.   The predators most likely did not flag the video.  What are they going to say?  That they have rights too?   They spend more of their worthless lives doing shadier things.  It was most likely flagged by subscribers or viewers who are sick of people who think they are going to get away with slandering others without credible evidence.   Nah, we’re not going to let that happen.  

If he’s still around to show another video, we hope he’s learned his lesson from this one.  Stop the lying, present real facts, credible evidence and stop stretching the truth.   Show both sides of an argument.  When you have a decision to either reach out to find the real truth or to say heck with it, i’m going to stretch the truth, nobody will notice.   Please choose the former.  You will eventually be called out like you were here.   Put monetary gains aside for once.  Read everything carefully so you don’t take things out of context.   All of these suggestions may actually get him a respectable video.  But, please do lose that silly fake voice 🤐.  

Stay safe everyone. 😷