Popular website could pose real danger

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - A website that's gaining popularity could pose a real danger to your children.

News 4 has a warning, you may find some images in this story disturbing and not appropriate for young children.

The site has only been online for a few months, but already is generating a lot of reaction, and for good reason.

While the site is gaining thousands of users a day, it's only to fair to warn you that there's a certain rawness to the site, the strangers you encounter may be clothed and maybe not.

It's a website that's taking chat to a whole new level, or in some cases, a new low.

The site is called Chatroulette, and as the name implies, what happens here is left to chance.

"It's really quite disturbing to watch this," said school psychologist Ann Suchyna.

You can chat with people you don't know, because the site automatically connects you with a complete stranger.

What's more, web cams allow you to see and hear each other.

A News 4 producer tried it while our cameras were rolling.

The News 4 producer said, "You just press a little button that says play. It just sets you up with whoever is randomly selected."

Within minutes, our producer was connected with people of all ages and genders from around the globe.

The top video box is the stranger. The bottom box is you.

There is no age verification and no registration required.

"I think it's a great tool. It has some great capabilities. But unfortunately, there's a dark side to it," said Chief Scott Patronik, of the Erie County Sheriff's Office.

Within minutes of logging on, the dark side popped up on the screen. A man, with the camera pointed only at his crotch, was exposing himself.

The producer said, "There's no restraint. These people are showing no restraint. Nothing is stopping them from doing this."

We did find some people looking for harmless chat. A college student in between classses, and a man from New Jersey who talked about working security for big name celebrities.

But then there's the guy who prefers a virtual clown face over showing his real identity, or the person sitting in a dark room wearing a bra. And this man, who chats for a while before he decides to expose himself.

"This whole thing is really creepy," said the News 4 producer.

News 4 showed our findings to school psychologist Ann Suchyna. She says the explicit imagery, combined with the fact that anyone, of any age, can log on, is a real danger to children.

Suchyna said, "What they once thought might be inappropriate or deviant becomes, well, maybe this is more normal than I thought."

What is her advice to parents about this site? Suchyna says, "Stay off of it."

In the real world you'd be arrested for exposing yourself to a stranger.

Here in the virtual land of chatroulette, where randomness and anonymity go hand in hand, law enforcement is at a disadvantage.

Patronik said, "Right now with the minimal controls on that site, I think it would be up to parents to actually police the site, maybe block the site."

The News 4 producer said, "What I was exposed to today, I can't imagine being exposed to that when I was 13 or 14. I think that would've been horrendous."

The website's operator instructs users that they must be 16 or older, and that it obscene behavior won't be tolerated.

How that is enforced is anyone's guess.

The site's been up for only a few months. How much traffic is it getting?

Those who track this sort of information estimate that the website is getting between three and five million global users a month.