Some do it for love, others for fun, but the end result is ugly

PETALING JAYA: For social activist Syed Azmi Alhabshi, it is quite common for him to get complaints about smut on the Internet.

Among others, he gets reports about a dirty voice message, a photo of a couple showing their private parts and even a video of a child.

There are two categories of people who record illicit content of themselves – those who do it for their significant other and those who are seeking attention.

Syed Azmi said the first usually stemmed from trust issues between couples.

But when things turn sour, these photos and videos are shared or used to blackmail one another.

“Of course, there is another group who actually do this for attention. They post it on social media to be popular.

“In theory, there is another thing called peer pressure and they portray themselves as attractive,” he said.

Syed Azmi added that the youngsters were naive in thinking there was nothing wrong with what they do, believing their acts to be funny.

“The part of social media that is scary is; maybe you upload a photo of your body today.

“And maybe tomorrow you upload your face. With just a few photos, people can already piece it together.

“The trauma is big and the impact of it is even bigger,” he said.

Another activist, who declined to be named, said many indecent videos are there on the Internet of young girls wearing skimpy or tight-fitting clothes dancing and posing sexily, such as on the TikTok app.

“It’s starting to gain popularity in Malaysia and you’ll be surprised by the videos you see there.

“These are young girls and some are wearing tudung,” he said, adding that the youngsters did it because it made them feel popular.

“They want to satisfy their followers online.”

Indonesia banned TikTok for a week in July over “pornography, inappropriate content and blasphemy”.

Reuters reported that the ban was lifted after TikTok agreed to remove negative content and to open an office in Indonesia to monitor the content.

Meanwhile, Channel News Asia (CNA) yesterday reported the widespread of live-streaming of child sex abuse cases in the Philippines.

It is an act where a child performs sexual activities in front of the camera and this will then be sent or watched by a viewer, usually abroad.

These were usually done by older relatives or even the parents of the child.

International Justice Mission Philippines director Sam Inocencio told the news channel that girls and boys were forced to perform sex acts and in some cases, molested or abused in humiliating ways.

International children rights organisation Terre des Hommes’ reported that an estimated 750,000 men are seeking for contact with children online at any given time of the day, based on the United Nations and the Federal Bureau of Investigations data.

CNA also spoke to Unicef Philippines representative Lotta Sylwander, who said that online sexual crime was a huge business and that at least half of all crimes on the dark web globally revolved around child pornography.

“It could be as simple as a child undressing and it could also be actual sexual act with another adult or child,” she said.