Wii is a porno portal for children

[Dominus Atheos]

Kotaku

A tipster sends word that The Porn Talk, a site backed by a secretive faith-based ministry in California, is prepping to attack Nintendo's Wii and other gaming devices, calling them "portals to porno" in a press release.

In the press release, leaked to Kotaku today, The Porn Talk founder Mike Foster does his best to stoke up some fear about the Wii saying that even though the device has parental controls, "parents don't see a need for them because they are unaware of the porn capabilities."

With a headline that reads "The Wii's Dirty Little Secret," the story's caustic tone is more off-putting than what little facts are presented. The full press release is on the jump.

I find it funny that a site that seems to go to so much effort to hide its ties to religion and ministry work is using the phrase dirty little secret.

Press Release:

Brian Crecente

The Wii's Dirty Little Secret

The Wiittle Porn Problem For Nintendo's Best Selling Game Console

CORONA, CA - The Nintendo Wii gaming console has a wiittle porn problem. That's right; this seemingly innocent family game console has a dirty little secret. It has the dubious ability to access pornography via the internet and most parents are not aware of this fact according to www.ThePornTalk.com

Like many new gaming technologies, the Wii's wireless internet capabilities make it a portal to porno. "Parents think the computer is the only way for their kids to get porn on the internet. Unfortunately, they are dead wrong," says Mike Foster, founder of ThePornTalk.com. "Gaming devices like the Wii and the PSP aren't just for fun games anymore. You're able to surf the net, chat with friends, email, and view porn because of its internet access. Kids know this but parents don't!"

Wireless internet (Wi-Fi) technology allows electronic devices like Nintendo's Wii to wirelessly connect to the internet. Airports, Starbucks, schools, and even entire cities give people the opportunity to log on the internet with a Wi-Fi device like the Wii or even Sony's PSP. "This makes it very difficult to monitor as a parent. You can easily put safeguards in your house but it's impossible to monitor in a Wi-Fi world," says Foster. "Even though the Nintendo Wii has parental controls, parents don't see a need for them because they are unaware of the porn capabilities."

The Nintendo Wii has become the best-selling video game console in the United States, outselling Microsoft and Sony competitors in the month of January, 2007. Because of its success many websites have taken advantage of its online capability. Several companies have changed the look and functionality of their web sites to accommodate the Wii. The porn industry is also implementing these changes to their sites. Porn websites are taking the look of the Wii's home page and menus and modeling their own sites after them. Porn sites are even converting their video clips so that they can run on the Wii.

So the solution lies in parents getting the facts and then talking to their children about expectations for online activity. Foster believes that, "Whether it is the home computer or these new gaming consoles, porn is easily accessible. The Wii is an amazing console and tons of fun but parents need good info on how to keep kids safe."

About ThePornTalk.com
ThePornTalk.com is an innovative web resource that helps parents talk to their kids about porn and internet dangers. The site features conversation starters, videos, a weekly podcast, parent's stories and other resources. Contributors to the site include child advocates, pastors, therapists, and kids themselves.

[KrauserKrauser]

Ummmm, when I was setting up my Wii yesterday it clearly asked me if I wanted to turn on Parental controls, sound familiar to all teh arguments that computers are gateways to porn for kids as well?

This is alarmist bullshit, they obviously have never bothered to set up a Wii just to see what the protections are.

[Lt. Dan]

This is so dumb. Ma and Pa need to be in charge of the house and that means all that enters it. Fuck, lets just make all the corners in the world rounded. I mean, shit, kids could fall and hurt themselves.

[Stark]

So it's a 'portal to porn' if parents give their kids unfettered access to the internet with no supervision?

NO SHIT.

I love the 'parent's don't see a need for them because they aren't aware of the porn capabilities'. That sounds like a personal problem to me.

[Admiral Valdemar]

The problem is humans are inherently stupid and you'll find that answer pretty much fits with every one of life's problems.

[Phantasee]

I wonder if looking at porn on a Wii will lead to spyware, adware and other stuff you usually get on a computer. Any ideas?

EDIT: And what about pop ups?

[DPDarkPrimus]

So first it was the PSP, then the DS, and now the Wii as magical pornographic box?

[Stark]

I wonder if looking at porn on a Wii will lead to spyware, adware and other stuff you usually get on a computer. Any ideas?

EDIT: And what about pop ups?

Given that it's a cut-down Opera, it has less capabilities to be vulnerable and it's immune to many exploits simply by being Not IE. Not running in a Windows environment probably makes it very safe too: it was some time until people bothered to write viruses for mobile phone hardware, for instance.

[HSRTG]

By the time kids get old enough to care, they'll probably have figured out a way to bypass the parental controls anyway.

[Magus]

A HAH HAH HAH...

Oh jeez...

1) The fact that a Wii can access the internet with full browser functionality means that porn is obviously accessible. Wii's internet access is not hidden, and anyone who can't connect "internet" with "porn access" is an idiot.

2) The fact that a Wii, on setup, asks if you want to activate parental controls is an obvious indicator that a Wii can display unsavory content. The fact that a lot of parents buy the latest console for Timmy for Christmas, let him set it up by himself and are completely unaware of its capabilities is a reflection on the parents, not Nintendo.

[loomer]

Let's face it. Everything is a porno portal for children now. Hell, the window is a porno portal if you ask the right people. Although I do wonder what it's like to surf for porn using the wiimote.

[Invictus ChiKen]

Hmmm so I wonder if we read bits of the Song of Solomon to these guys without nameing where it's from if they'd start declaring the book super smut. Untill we told them the books name

[Mr Bean]

If only we could convince our mightily Porn Overlords to use their powers for good. Ok... I mean MORE good things that just Porn.[/b]

[Davis 51]

I did NOT need to wake up to this crap.

I have a strong feeling my mom will take every word of this article for its face value.

[Darth Wong]

Does the Wii have some kind of Star Trek replicator system which actually generates an Ethernet cable out of thin air and then causes it to snake its way through walls until it finds the nearest router? It seems to me that the Wii will only surf the Internet at all if the parents allow it to do so, never mind parental filters. Goddamned fundie fucktards.

[RogueIce]

If only we could convince our mightily Porn Overlords to use their powers for good. Ok... I mean MORE good things that just Porn.[/b]

Non-crappy porn?

[Ryushikaze]

I did NOT need to wake up to this crap.

I have a strong feeling my mom will take every word of this article for its face value.

Then explain to her how it's Bullshit. Information is the best way to kill ignorance- and thus ways ignorance could screw you over- after all.

[Magus]

I do believe it has wireless network hardware, so in a sense, it can do that, if there is an open wireless point in range.

I'm not sure it should matter. In my opinion, things such as the ability to administrate a small local network, set up a simple server, or install/remove any hardware in one's computer is a part of basic computer literacy. The fact that today's parents are woefully ignorant of the most basic inner workings of machines they rely on every day is a testiment to their own good sense (or, rather, a lack thereof). I wonder if there were articles in the past pointing out VHS's "dirty little secret" or the personal PC's "dirty little secret." Wouldn't surprise me one bit.

[Davis 51]

I did NOT need to wake up to this crap.

I have a strong feeling my mom will take every word of this article for its face value.

Then explain to her how it's Bullshit. Information is the best way to kill ignorance- and thus ways ignorance could screw you over- after all.

The sad thing is, my mother is very smart. I shouldn't have to explain, but I probably will, because she has a bad habit of believing this alarmist crap. Though I am more concerned about my brother. I'm already 18, so I can look up porn if I want. If she decides it's 'dangerous' to him, then he is going to be pissed....

Oh well. I'll talk to her over spring break, just to be safe. It's not like my brother doesn't already have access to the internet on his own computer.

Does the Wii have some kind of Star Trek replicator system which actually generates an Ethernet cable out of thin air and then causes it to snake its way through walls until it finds the nearest router? It seems to me that the Wii will only surf the Internet at all if the parents allow it to do so, never mind parental filters. Goddamned fundie fucktards.

Even though it has wi-fi, when I was setting it up, it requires some level of proficiency with wireless networks. And yes, it does have parental controls. Besides, chances are, if a child is already proficient enough to be able to bypass the passwords, and set up the wireless network himself, then he is probably looking at porn already on his computer. Why would he look at it on a TV screen that can barely transfer videos from youtube at decent quality.

[quote="Magus"I wonder if there were articles in the past pointing out VHS's "dirty little secret" or the personal PC's "dirty little secret." [/quote]

I remember the shitstorm when Newsweek discovered that there was *gasp* pornographic content on da intarnet.

[Magus]

The sad thing is, my mother is very smart. I shouldn't have to explain, but I probably will, because she has a bad habit of believing this alarmist crap.

::brain implodes after attempting to reconcile data::

[Darth Servo]

Is it just me or do fundy morons have a knee-jerk reaction like this to every new electronic toy or technological development? I seem to recall reading something a while back about how centuries ago, they had a tantrum when the mechanical watch was invented too as it allowed men to tell time independently of the way God meant it to be; namely using the sun.

[Nephtys]

Headlines of the Future... Today!

Literacy: A portal to pornography?

Books and their dirty secret... could the printed media be showing kids filthy pictures? Read more!

[Darth Wong]

Did you know that eyeballs can be used to view pornography? This is the dirty little secret of the eye doctors! By encouraging us to take care of our eyes, they are actually helping to spread pornography!

[KrauserKrauser]

I'm surprised there aren't articles stating the dangers of letting your kid get a video iPod because then they could download porn by accident and watch it by mistake.

Apple better fix that shit now before it damages my fragile little mind.

[Darth Wong]

The funny thing is that kids aren't really interested in seeing porno. It's not until puberty hits that they start getting those urges, and porno becomes irresistible. And by that time, they'll know plenty of ways to get it that don't involve a game console. And by that age, any responsible parent should have talked with them in a mature, adult way about what pornography is, what real-life sex is, and how the two relate. Any consequence of a failure to do so rests on the parent's shoulders, not society.