Paedophiles use Twitter for vile fantasies
TWITTER was in the dock yesterday for allowing self-confessed paedophiles to peddle their vile fantasies online.
Hundreds of men use the social media platform to discuss their sexual preference for children, openly discussing which ages they lust after most.
In some cases, they claimed that their ‘AoA’ – or ‘age of attraction’ – was as young as five, the Sun reported.
Many of the paedophiles use Disney characters and other cartoon images in their profiles, potentially boosting their appeal to youngsters. However, Twitter has refused to do anything about them because the men claim they do not act on their impulses.
The men call themselves ‘non-offending, Media and Technology Editor anti- contact MAPs’ – short for ‘minorattracted person’. Many of them claim having a sexual preference for children is no different to being gay or bisexual, and – astonishingly – paint themselves as a persecuted minority. Alarmingly they share stories about their contact with youngsters.
One middle-aged man calling himself Robert West said: ‘I have volunteered to help out with activities for children at an event. I will be helping to keep several children entertained. I helped out last year. It should be fun!’
The social media giant has refused to do anything about the worrying posts. A spokesman said yesterday the men had neither acted illegally nor broken Twitter’s rules. ‘As we make clear in our Twitter rules and policies, we have zero tolerance for child sexual exploitation on Twitter,’ said the spokesman.
‘This specific set of issues is one we were recently made aware of, and have discussed with law enforcement. While it appears none of this activity is illegal, nor in breach of our policies - and absolutely no content is being shared - we are always reviewing our policies to ensure we are one step ahead of bad actors on our platforms.’
Politicians and charities lambasted Twitter and called for urgent action.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said: ‘All companies should have a zero tolerance approach to content that promotes or facilitates the sexual abuse of a child, even if the content is not directed at them. There are laws which cover this, and we would expect companies to enforce this and respond to reports of disturbing content.’
Labour MP Yvette Cooper, who chairs the Commons home affairs committee, said: ‘This is very disturbing. How does this fit with Twitter’s community standards?
‘Twitter should not be allowing accounts that defend or normalise the sexualisation of children. They can’t just shrug their shoulders and pretend it’s none of their business.’
Kath Stipala, of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood, said: ‘Child abusers are manipulative. Twitter has been woeful. It needs to get a grip.’
Tory MP Andrew Bridgen added: ‘Twitter must suspend their accounts.’