Habbo is a very popular virtual world, meant primarily for the teens. The company has a solid presence in that it has more than 9 million users. A majority of its user base comprises of teenagers who interact with each other through the chat rooms provided by Habbo. However, the social network has run into problems over accusations of inappropriate content.
The whole thing kickstarted when it was discovered that a lot of sexually explicit messages were present on the website. This, naturally, was a cause of great concern since the network has a huge base of teenage users for whom, the content is very inappropriate.
Things got all the worse when Habbo’s parent company, Sulake, showed its disinterest in purging such content and trying to secure its young users. The website is currently available in 11 languages and it does carry a huge influence on the web, so naturally the web is abuzz with this.
As soon as the notorious scandal has surfaced, many investors in the company are thinking of pulling out their stakes. In fact, the second largest stakeholder in the company, Balderton Capital, has already decided to pull out its significant 13 percent share at zero value. It has also decide to resign from the board of directors of the company so that it may not be caught in the scandal in any way.
The CEO of Habbo seems to have sprung to action now. According to him, “I was incredibly concerned to see this report and to hear about the findings of the Channel Four News investigation. As a parent, I understand the critical importance of making sure teenagers and young people have a safe online experience. I was sorry to hear of Balderton’s decision to withdraw its involvement, but my priority right now is to address the issues raised by the investigation. Since hearing about the report I have asked my team to tighten security across the site and to strengthen the user rules.”
Source: Kernel Mag
Courtesy: Giga Om
