Snapchat Cancels Pornographic 'Cosmo After Dark' Channel After One Week
Snapchat has put an end to a controversial channel on its "Discover" section after facing heavy backlash for its pornographic content.
"Cosmo After Dark," a digital channel on the app, featured explicit discussions about sex, pornography, and other adult matters.
According to Cosmopolitan magazine, the channel was "an X-rated weekly edition that goes live every Friday at 6 p.m. and is exclusively dedicated to all things hot and h*rny."
However, the new channel was met by outraged parents who were concerned about their children's ability to access the content even with parental restrictions.
The worst part was there was no way for parents or their children to switch it off.
In a post published by watchdog and educational organization Protect Young Eyes, Chris McKenna explains why the feature needed to come down.
"Cosmo After Dark seems to include a new, more pornographic level of sexualized content, even by Snapchat's standards," McKenna writes. "It's for this reason that Protect Young Eyes is so concerned. Snapchat seems desperate. As a publicly traded company, making money is important. In the bloody waters of social media competition, it's a feeding frenzy, and there are signs that Snapchat might not survive. Therefore, everything seems ok. They won't say no to anyone."
McKenna further explained how he had spoken to some 240 eighth grade middle school students and was shocked to find that 80 percent of them were active on Snapchat.
Because of this threat Protect Young Eyes is encouraging parents to be proactive about the content their children see on social media.
PYE has recommended that parents download "Bark," an award-winning service that "proactively monitors text messages, emails, and 24 different social networks for potential safety concerns, so busy parents can save time and gain peace of mind."
Bark works on a three-fold accountability system: "Monitor, Detect, Alert." According to its website, the app sends "automatic alerts via email and text when Bark's algorithms detect potential risks," meaning that "you don't have to comb through every post and text."
"Keep up the good work! Porn hijacks brains. Porn requires that you feed it and it never gets full," one person commented on McKenna's post highlighting this new development from Snapchat.
"I appreciate you sharing this information. Hard to keep up with all that is coming at our kids and families," another commenter added. "I personally think we absolutely need to be guarding these things from our children!"