Microsoft Corp. is pulling the plug on its free, unsupervised Internet chat rooms in 28 countries and moving them to a subscription service in Canada, the United States and Japan over concerns the forums have become a haven for junk e-mail and sex predators.
“We’re taking the responsible move to make our service a safer environment, especially for young adults and for children,” said Ruth D’Souza, director of marketing at MSN.ca.
As of Oct. 14, in Canada, the U.S. and Japan, the company will move the forums to a subscription-based service that will require users to register identities and billing details and pay a “nominal fee.”
The company is shutting down its chat services in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and most of Latin America, Reuters reported last night.
Related Article: Microsoft attacked over chat room closures
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