Want Free Games? Have Some Porn Too
No one in their right mind would offer free game downloads for kids that comes with porno-popping adware right? And surely another right-minded entity wouldn't allow such a proprietor to sponsor their kid-targeted webpage right? Wrong on both counts. Warner Brothers and Zango, what were you thinking?
Scooby and Fred Flintstone aren't the only welcoming features on Warner Brothers' fun stuff webpage, which lets visitors know in large block Wonder Woman letters that it's "just for kids." Just above and to the right of the scrolling "V for Vendetta" sweepstakes (wait, isn't that movie rated R?), you'll see that the page is sponsored by Zango Games.
Zango is already making people angry elsewhere over their adware affiliates. The love child formed of adware and (alleged) child porn browser distributor 180 Solutions and Hotbar, Zango offers hundreds of free games through downloading the Zango Search Assistant. Clicking on the Zango Games icon in the top right corner of the Warner Brothers webpage leads the visitor to the download screen.
The page promotes games like "Bubble Burst," biblical-sounding "The Walls of Jericho," and "Jade Shadow." All that's only important if you want to make a case that these pages and the downloads offered are targeted toward kids, which they are.
The kicker is in the End User License Agreement (EULA). Above the EULA, a box confirming that the downloader is 18 is pre-checked (i.e., it's clicked for you). In the EULA, which is probably read about as much as the box is unchecked, the language reveals something peculiar.
Please note that you may receive Adult-oriented ads if you utilize keywords connected to, search for or view Adult websites.
Content that is "Adult" is defined as any audio, video, audiovisual, images, sounds or text that contain or reference any of the following: profanity, crude or off-color humor, violence, blood and gore, weapons, use of alcohol, drugs, tobacco or other controlled substances, online gambling, pornography, erotica, erotic images, nudity, sex, sexually explicit images, and sexual references.
Zango tells the user that certain keywords used while using the Search Assistant will deliver porn. One has to wonder if those words include "breast cancer" or "sex education."
"So you are a parent," writes Chet Faliszek, who pointed us to the problem. "You monitor your kids on the web. You let them go to the WB so they can check out one of the WB's cartoons. And what do you get? Pop-up ads and porn ads!"
One commentator on Faliszek's blog mentions that the pre-checked box can be unchecked and a user can still download the software. Faliszek advisers concerned parents and citizens to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and call their representatives.
Or give Alberto Gonzales a call. He was quite happy with the misleading hyperlink and domain law passed this week, which imposes criminal penalties on persons intending to trick children into looking at porn.
Discuss this article with your fellow WebPros at WebProWorld.
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Tag: Warner Brothers, Zango
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Jason L. Miller is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.
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Jason Lee Miller
