Popular game clone ‘Club Penguin Online’ has finally fallen through the thin ice
After having its servers shut down in 2017, the immensely popular online game Club Penguin, which was one of the earliest social platforms for kids, has seen numerous copies pop up across the web. Playing off the nostalgia and enjoyment so many players had, these unauthorized games are everywhere and seem on the surface to be the same, but looking a bit closer showed a more nefarious side. These clones often feature racist, homophobic, and sexual comments in the chats, something that was previously not possible when the official servers had been up and running as they contained content filers and even human moderation. Club Penguin owner, Disney, has now taken legal action to force these sites to shut down,[1] and had this to say:
“Child safety is a top priority for the Walt Disney Company and we are appalled by the allegations of criminal activity and abhorrent behavior on this unauthorized website that is illegally using the Club Penguin brand and characters for its own purposes.” — Walt Disney Company[2]
Before focusing on the major issues with a particular knockoff, ‘Club Penguin Online,’ that has been at the heart of the controversy, let’s have a look at how this supposedly safe and child focused gaming site started, and why these knockoffs can be so dangerous
Launched back in 2005, the official Club Penguin was built to be a safe social network for children, with moderators and content filters stopping inappropriate and offensive language from being sent. For the most part it worked, and the userbase soared, peaking around 150 million.[3] However, even when Disney was running the official site, allegations and concerns about young children on the site being groomed by paedophiles raised concern, with one mother stating to police that her son had been told to join a private chatroom and then asked about “colours of underwear.”[4] Of course we’re not entirely surprised that individuals and groups have tried to abuse children on sites like Club Penguin, but the content filter and moderation efforts did help in keeping the site relatively clean and safe for children to use. But this all changed in 2017 when Disney shut down servers and launched a mobile version for a $4.99 monthly cost,[5] causing fans to look elsewhere to waddle around the winter land they had come to love.
So Club Penguin Online, (the fan-made clone which will now be referred to as CPO to avoid confusion), saw a surge in popularity, and celebrated 7 million users during the Covid-19 pandemic.[6] But CPO has be mired in controversy since it started, with a Discord chat about the site being bombarded with claims that the owner was a pedophile and soliciting images from underage users, but was also banning anyone who made these claims through a network of moderators on their side.[7] This matter goes further unfortunately, with a petition on change.org citing significant evidence and testimony from ex-CPO moderators against the so-called “Riley” or “Anthony” for abusing his position as owner to solicit sexually explicit images from underage users in exchange for admin status.[8] Skirting the law for a long time, and constantly on thin ice for threatening to leak personal information of anyone who reported him, the CPO owner seems to have finally fallen through the preverbal ice following Disney’s cease and desist for the site, and possibly arrested with suspicion of possession of child abuse images.[9]
While it is incredibly disheartening that there are people out there abusing children by taking advantage of branding from old child friendly and safe platforms like Club Penguin, we need to thank the YouTubers who helped bring public notice to CPO, and everyone who signed the change.org petition to get Disney involved, as this is a step to helping kids stay safe online.
Sources
[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52677039
[2] https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/disney-club-penguin-racist-homophobic-comments-a9520531.html
[3] https://clubpenguin.fandom.com/wiki/Club_Penguin
[4] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2143562/Warning-paedophiles-grooming-primary-school-children-Club-Penguin-Moshi-Monsters-websites.html
[5] https://variety.com/2017/digital/news/club-penguin-island-app-disney-launch-1202019211/
[6] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52677039
[7] https://gamestoday.info/gamingnews/the-truth-behind-club-penguin-online/
[8] https://www.change.org/p/the-walt-disney-company-shut-down-club-penguin-online?original_footer_petition_id=&grid_position=&pt=
