Problems Associated with Underage Moderators in Mixed-Age Chat Rooms (13+ Including Adults)

[MandyW]

1.

• Child protection: Minors placed in moderator roles are potentially vulnerable to grooming or manipulation, especially in spaces where adults are present.
• Liability: Platforms could face legal consequences if an underage moderator is harmed or exploited while moderating adults. This includes exposure to sexual content, harassment, or other harmful material.
• Inadequate age verification: If adults unknowingly engage with minors in authority roles, both parties may be put at risk, particularly in jurisdictions with strict online child safety laws.

2.

• Maturity gaps: Young moderators may struggle to process or manage adult topics such as mental health crises, harassment, or sexual content.
• Emotional burden: Being expected to mediate conflict, enforce rules, or handle abuse reports can place undue psychological stress on a minor.

3.

• Undermined authority: Adults may dismiss or resist the authority of a minor, leading to increased conflict or chaos in the community.
• Inconsistent moderation: Younger moderators might lack the experience to make sound, unbiased decisions in complex situations, leading to uneven rule enforcement or favoritism.

4.

• Blurring of roles: Allowing minors to hold power over adults may confuse social and ethical boundaries, especially in personal interactions.
• Community trust: Adult users may feel uncomfortable or untrusting of a platform that delegates moderation to minors, potentially affecting community health and growth.

5.

• COPPA / GDPR-K: If moderators are under 13 (or under 16 in parts of the EU), collecting their data or allowing them to take administrative roles may violate data protection laws unless verified parental consent is obtained.
• Duty of care obligations: Platforms are required to provide enhanced protections for users under 18, which becomes more complex when those minors have elevated access or decision-making powers.

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Risk Mitigation and Governance Strategies

To address these risks, platforms should implement the following:

A. Governance Policies

• Age restrictions for moderators: Set a minimum age (e.g., 18+) for all moderators to ensure legal and psychological readiness.
• Clear role definitions: Distinguish between “helper” roles for younger users and full moderator status, limiting access to sensitive content or administrative tools.

B. Moderation Structure

• Tiered moderation: Create a layered system where adult moderators handle sensitive issues while junior helpers (if any) manage non-critical tasks like welcoming users or flagging messages.
• Supervision and training: All moderators, especially younger ones, should be trained, supervised, and regularly reviewed by a trusted adult administrator.

C. Safety Controls

• Content filters and escalation protocols: Use automated tools to shield underage users from harmful content and ensure serious issues are escalated to trained adults.
• Audit logs and oversight: Maintain logs of moderation actions and enable oversight by senior staff to prevent misuse or poor decision-making.

D. Legal Compliance

• Parental consent: If minors are involved in moderation at any level, platforms must obtain documented parental consent and comply with applicable laws.
• Policy transparency: Terms of service and community guidelines should clearly state moderation rules, age requirements, and escalation channels.

 

[Seraphim]

Is nobody going to talk about the fact that this is AI?

 

[Unholy]

Let’s see if this is AI.

@MandyW


STATEMENTS

1. The terms of service and community guidelines do, in fact, state the age requirements for the room you decide to enter.

Policy transparency: Terms of service and community guidelines should clearly state moderation rules, age requirements, and escalation channels.



QUESTIONS

1. What do you mean by "obtain documented parental consent and comply with applicable laws"? What laws are you referring to?

Parental consent: If minors are involved in moderation at any level, platforms must obtain documented parental consent and comply with applicable laws.

2. What do "COPPA" and "GDPR-K" stand for? As mentioned above, in chat rooms they collect email addresses you've used to sign up with and IP addresses. Upon registration or entering the chat, staff or owners may be able to view this information at any time. Viewing this doesn't violate data protection laws, and they don't need your consent to view it. As long as the data isn't exposed, they aren't violating anything.

COPPA / GDPR-K: If moderators are under 13 (or under 16 in parts of the EU), collecting their data or allowing them to take administrative roles may violate data protection laws unless verified parental consent is obtained.

 

[slay preppy!]

I used quillbot or and it said it was 100% ai lol

 

[Unholy]

I used quillbot or and it said it was 100% ai lol

lol.

 

[Seraphim]

I used quillbot or and it said it was 100% ai lol

I'm not an AI. I know I'm a little weird, but nothing like Tesla's machines and robots. 🤣🤣🤣

 

[MandyW]

The thread is about mix-age chat rooms.
Applicable law to the relevant country. (e.g. Australia).

online safety act 2021​

The Online Safety Act 2021 is new legislation that makes Australia’s existing laws for online safety more expansive and much stronger.

Our laws need to keep pace with advances in technology and the threats we face online from harmful behaviour and toxic content. These modern times of rapid change and social upheaval call for robust new laws.

The new powers in the Online Safety Act cement eSafety’s role as a world leader in online safety. They place Australia at the international forefront in the fight against online harm.

COPPA: Child Online Privacy Protection Act.

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, is a U.S. law that aims to protect the privacy and personally identifying information of children under the age of 16 who use online services. The law places rules on the use of data from and about children under 16 that are stricter than those governing data about older people, and offers parents the ability to monitor and approve some of the information their children share.

GDPR-K: General Data Protection Regulation

​

 

[Unholy]

The thread is about mix-age chat rooms.
Applicable law to the relevant country. (e.g. Australia).

online safety act 2021​

The Online Safety Act 2021 is new legislation that makes Australia’s existing laws for online safety more expansive and much stronger.

Our laws need to keep pace with advances in technology and the threats we face online from harmful behaviour and toxic content. These modern times of rapid change and social upheaval call for robust new laws.

The new powers in the Online Safety Act cement eSafety’s role as a world leader in online safety. They place Australia at the international forefront in the fight against online harm.

COPPA: Child Online Privacy Protection Act.

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, is a U.S. law that aims to protect the privacy and personally identifying information of children under the age of 16 who use online services. The law places rules on the use of data from and about children under 16 that are stricter than those governing data about older people, and offers parents the ability to monitor and approve some of the information their children share.

GDPR-K: General Data Protection Regulation

​

I love the fact that you removed punctuation, capitalization, etc.

But it doesn’t change the fact that this is either 1 from a website or 2 Ai.

 

[TheCitizenzz]

There was an amendment to the Online Safety Act 2021 in Australia.

“The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 amends the Online Safety Act 2021 and requires ‘age-restricted social media platforms’ to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under 16 years from having accounts on their platforms.

Social media platforms operating in Australia have 12 months to develop and roll out systems to enforce the age restrictions, which are expected to be in place by the end of 2025.”

Basically any Australian under 16 won’t be allowed by law to be on ‘social media’ platforms and it is the responsibility of these platforms to ensure this doesn’t happen.

Would chat avenue be classed as ‘social media’?Irrespective, I would be very concerned about any under 16 year old Australian being on sites like this if I owned it and would be looking at how I could restrict them being here.

In this context having a 14 year old Australian mod seems beyond ridiculous.

 

[TheCitizenzz]

​

@Unholy, this is obviously obtained via a ****** search or two……. It doesn’t negate corporate responsibility of providers lol and this is quite a few steps beyond the under 18 modding discourse we are having.​

Teen Social Media Laws By US State​

SB 3	July 1, 2023	Requires parental consent for minors to open accounts
Act 456	July 1, 2024	• Age verification • Parental consent for minors • Platform limits on certain accounts
HB 18	Sept. 1, 2024	Requires parental consent for minors to open accounts
HB 603 / SB 571 ("Maryland Kids Code")	Oct. 1, 2024	• Sets a high set of privacy settings by default for users under 16 • Bans data collection for personalized content • Requires age-appropriate design to avoid endless streaming • Requires age verification • Requires parental consent
HB 464 / SB 194	Oct. 1, 2024	• Requires parental consent for minors creating accounts • Age verification • Imposes a curfew restricting social media use between 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. for those under 18 (parents can waive this)
HB 1891	Jan. 1, 2025	• Requires parental consent for minors creating accounts • Age verification • Stricter privacy and safety measures to protect minors from online harm
HB 3	July 1, 2025	• Requires parental consent for minors creating accounts • Age verification • Limit exposure to "harmful" content • Measures to protect minors’ personal data
SB 351 ("Protecting Georgia's Children")	July 1, 2025	• Requires parental consent for minors creating accounts • Age verification • Restrictions on social media use in schools
MN HF3488	July 1, 2025	• Requires parental consent for minors creating accounts • Age verification • Content removal upon request • Provides measures to ensure minors are compensated for certain kinds of content creation
Social Media Safety Act	Court injunction	Initially required age verification and parental consent for minors but is paused due to legal challenges.
Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 1349.09	Court injunction	Initially required age verification and parental consent for minors but is paused due to legal challenges
AB 2273 ("California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act")	Court injunction	• Focused on age-appropriate content design • High default privacy settings • Bans "harmful" algorithmic content for minors • Tied up in court litigation

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[TheCitizenzz]

The states per law are listed below as the editing came out poorly

 

[Unholy]

The states per law are listed below as the editing came out poorly

It’s alright, I’m not worried about the editing.

 

[MandyW]

@TheCitizenzz, It's good that we're using this unholy troll as a ride to further explain what the law states in this regard. Also not sure if he's part of staff here but if he is then we'd like to ask him about the vetting process in which admins or even mods are chosen, as well as the written consent of parents for minor mods is they obtained it. failing to explain those inquiries would most certainly put this site in dire jeopardy obligating the domain provider the intervene by demanding those explanation or face the legal consequences if the site is not pulled down.

​

 

[Unholy]

@TheCitizenzz, It's good that we're using this unholy troll as a ride to further explain what the law states in this regard. Also not sure if he's part of staff here but if he is then we'd like to ask him about the vetting process in which admins or even mods are chosen, as well as the written consent of parents for minor mods is they obtained it. failing to explain those inquiries would most certainly put this site in dire jeopardy obligating the domain provider the intervene by demanding those explanation or face the legal consequences if the site is not pulled down.

​

​

Staff? Goodness no.

All admins were once moderators, admins are chosen by @Chatmaster ~

If you apply for mod, they’ll ask “Why do you want to become a moderator?”


@Inkandtatts - The gayest admin there is, will explain the vetting process in which admins / mods are chosen.

 

[TheCitizenzz]

@MandyW , I’m finding all this rather interesting from a perspective of how laws seem to be evolving around the world and am wondering how organisations evolve to meet changing legislation.

Restricting Utah youth between certain hours seems very impractical and it would probably make sense to just have all social media sites and chat rooms as 18 and over only.

That makes sense to me at least.

 

[Unholy]

Don’t ask @Finn2.0 he will tell you to “frick off”

You shouldn’t bother him, he’s the most hostile mod out there.

His old ass has been here since 2018, 2018 - That's 7 years wasted in an online chat room, he has no life!

 

[TheCitizenzz]

@Unholy, I did invite any admin to comment but I’m not sure if any will. Never the less I’ll move onto better things now like sleep.

 

[RandomGuyUK]

@TheCitizenzz, It's good that we're using this unholy troll as a ride to further explain what the law states in this regard. Also not sure if he's part of staff here but if he is then we'd like to ask him about the vetting process in which admins or even mods are chosen, as well as the written consent of parents for minor mods is they obtained it. failing to explain those inquiries would most certainly put this site in dire jeopardy obligating the domain provider the intervene by demanding those explanation or face the legal consequences if the site is not pulled down.

​

What's your focus on 'the vetting process'?
There is hardly any official vetting process. This is a random site full of volunteers. You know this.

It's kinda hit and miss; and some bad actors slip through the cracks and become mods.
of course that happens. - Hopefully it gets fixed, and people who are too weird get removed as mods, and also banned too.

This is not an accountable, sanctionable place.
(your hyperbole about millions of dollars in compensation was laughable btw. Never gonna happen).

But by and large i agree with all the rational, logical, legal points you made in your first post. I think Adults should moderate all rooms. But thats the problem. not all adults are trustworthy. - In real life, adults who work with under 18's - eg teachers, and anyone who works with children - have to apply for a CRB (criminal record) check. But the internet is the wild west.

We have to trust the moderators are sensible.
And I reckon they pretty much are, here.

 

[RandomGuyUK]

Don’t ask @Finn2.0 he will tell you to “frick off”

You shouldn’t bother him, he’s the most hostile mod out there.

His old ass has been here since 2018, 2018 - That's 7 years wasted in an online chat room, he has no life!

You have clocked up quite a few years yourself here - since 2022

 

[MandyW]

@RandomGuyUK "This is not an accountable, sanctionable place".

Chat Rooms by law is classified as part of social media even when it's privately owned. they're still operate under regulations of Social Acts and abide by it.
The focus of vetting process is the theme of the original thread. which are minors placed in mix- age chatrooms not equipped to handle adult issues. furthermore, placing a minor mod under guardianship of adult mod worsens the situation further. The vetting process is to ensure that guardian adult mod is fit to mentor or taking under their wings those minors. e.g. prior offences, cybercriminal history, certified or not to work with children WWCC. By that social acts parent or legal guardians should be made aware by Platforms of the roles of their children as staff. Weather it's volunteered position or paid job that's irrelevant.

​

 

[RandomGuyUK]

@RandomGuyUK "This is not an accountable, sanctionable place".

Chat Rooms by law is classified as part of social media even when it's privately owned. they're still operate under regulations of Social Acts and abide by it.
The focus of vetting process is the theme of the original thread. which are minors placed in mix- age chatrooms not equipped to handle adult issues. furthermore, placing a minor mod under guardianship of adult mod worsens the situation further. The vetting process is to ensure that guardian adult mod is fit to mentor or taking under their wings those minors. e.g. prior offences, cybercriminal history, certified or not to work with children WWCC. By that social acts parent or legal guardians should be made aware by Platforms of the roles of their children as staff. Weather it's volunteered position or paid job that's irrelevant.

​

All I will say is this - Good luck trying to bring a successful lawsuit.

I agree with your concerns, but you are as bad as Seraphim -- too verbose, too obsessed, and you want/demand answers; yet there are no real answers. it's a private volunteer site. - Is that ideal? no, of course not. - Is it what it is? yes, duhh. - Is it OK? pretty much yes. Mostly.

Sue chat avenue if you think you can make millions.

You have no real solutions here, just worried concern. Which is fair enough ... but get with the programme dude. Your worries are never going to be fixed.. The only solutions would be Photo ID here to prove we are who we say we are. And that is unlikely to happen.