We had a chance to chat with Tim Henning from the Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP). Henning was welcomed at MANHUNT headquarters to train our staff on continuing work in protecting children online after we proudly became a member of ASACP.
Read the transcript from the interview below:
Prior to working with our company, had you heard of MANHUNT.net?
Yes, I had.
What was your first impression of our procedures to ensure that children do not access the site?
Your procedures are great. From a child protection stand point MANHUNT is head and shoulders above everybody else out there when it comes to dating sites. There are basic procedures almost everyone has, but you guys have an extra step in the investigation of questionable profiles: asking for photo IDs. Your procedures not only meet the legal requirements, but they go somewhat beyond that as well. I was surprised to find out that your support staff already knew some of the methods for investigating questionable profiles, such as checking if the user has a Myspace [profile]. That being said, one of the most common ways a minor gains access to adult sites is by scanning another person’s ID and photoshopping it. The only way you can tell the ID was altered is to blow it up on a large screen, which [is a tactic] I informed your customer service representatives about.
How do you feel about training MANHUNT staff on the ASACP methods for keeping children safe?
I think it’s fantastic you guys have asked me to come here. MANHUNT is actually the first company to ask an ASACP staff member to visit their office and talk to their staff about child protection issues. As far as social responsibility goes, you guys are quite amazing.
For the rest of the interview, follow the JUMP:
You’ve been with ASACP since 1996. How did you get involved with the company? What made you want to work for the organization?
I started off as a webmaster for adult websites. I noticed that some websites were posting legal pictures, but with child pornography descriptions. I emailed those webmasters and I approached them with a part-time job moderating postings. That’s how it started. We had no sponsors and all expenses were out of pocket for a few months. Later we came up with the idea for ASACP which originally meant Adult Sites Against Child Pornography and we then formed a relationship with the FBI in California.
As you know, we are not the only high traffic site used by gay men. How effective are we in comparison to our competition?
There are not many things you can do that MANHUNT is not already doing. Your customer service [department] approves each profile before it goes live and if it’s questionable you guys ask for ID. On top of that, your staff goes the extra mile and checks if they have a profile on other social networking sites. As far as your competition, I cannot speak specifics, but there are those sites that just require user certification by entering verification keys.
Is there a decline in cases of child molestation, child pornography and statutory rape from new social sites that offer chat?
Absolutely not, in fact it’s a growing issue. Every year it’s becoming a bigger problem, simply because the internet gives people an idea that they’re anonymous but they are not. There are ways that law enforcement can get a sex offender, but they need proof first. It’s really been a heyday for sexual offenders and [procedures to catch offenders] are becoming more technically sophisticated.
MANHUNT does not allow references to drug use, prostitution or solicitation for any services. Do you know if other dating websites allow this?
The short answer is that it depends on the dating website. Most of them are aware of these things for legal reasons to protect their business and their members; then again there are those that are not. You guys do a fantastic job. I was watching your [customer service] team working and there was an [inappropriate] image and [one of the customer service representatives] was blurring it out.
Would you comment on the dangers of leaving a child’s internet use unmonitored?
More parents [now] are knowledgeable of how important it is to monitor their child’s [internet] use because of what’s been happening lately with the media exposing sex predators. However, there are still parents who buy their children laptops with cameras and let their children use them with the doors closed. It’s not really the industry’s fault. There’s only so much we can do to protect children; it’s up to parents to monitor their children’s behavior. The tools are available to them; it’s up to the parents.
With the rise of the iPhone and Blackberry, smart phones have become very common. Do you think this will have an effect on the number of children accessing adult sites?
It is something on the radar that companies are aware of. They are putting out products in the near future to help parents monitor their children on smart phones.
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