Paedophiles using sites like Facebook to prey on children of 3
ALL social media platforms with live video tools could be used by paedophiles to abuse children, the Internet Watch Foundation warns today.
A chilling report by the charity urges parents to be vigilant about what their children are doing online – amid fears loved ones are being targeted under their noses.
Children are ‘groomed, coerced and blackmailed’ into producing their own sexual abuse from their bedrooms, simply by picking up a mobile phone or tablet, the organisation warned, adding that its findings were ‘terrifying’.
The sophisticated scheme, described as a ‘serious threat to children’, is happening on sites such as Facebook and Twitter-owned Periscope.
It sees young people broadcast footage where they undress or touch themselves. Victims believe they are interacting with someone their own age – but the person at the other end of the screen is, in fact, a paedophile.
In three months, the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) unearthed 2,082 images and videos of live- streamed sexual abuse. Live-streaming means a person records themselves doing something in real time while others watch. Viewers are able to comment and egg a child on, coercing them to produce more and more explicit imagery. The trend also sees paedophiles pose as other young people – goading those they communicate with to undress in return for online ‘likes’.
Of the images found by the charity, 98 per cent featured a person aged under 13. Almost a third were ten or younger and one victim was just three. Alarmingly, 96 per cent of the footage was filmed in a home environment.
The IWF would not name sites where the abuse was taking place but warned it could happen on any platform which allowed a person to live-stream video. This means web giants such as Facebook, Instagram, Periscope and Live.me are all giving paedophiles a place to carry out their horrific abuse.
The IWF’s Sarah Smith said: ‘This could be happening to your own child, essentially, when you think they are safe in their bedroom.’
Chief executive Susie Hargreaves added: ‘The study suggests that any legitimate internet platform could be abused by offenders intent on contacting children. This makes any platform offering live-streaming a potential target for offenders. All parents and carers need to be vigilant and know the technology your children are using.
‘This form of grooming is complicated and only possible because of the “anonymity” the internet offers.
‘An offender may be, for example, a 40-year-old man. But by
‘All parents need to be vigilant’
abusing a legitimate internet site to create a false profile, he could appear online as a 12year-old schoolgirl.’
She added: ‘We know that this information will be terrifying for most parents. That’s why we are trying to warn parents, carers and professionals working with children, about the potential abuse of live steaming technology by offenders.’
Footage seen by IWF shows children being groomed by paedophiles on their tablets – as their unwitting parents chat outside. Groomers even make money from the sick content, selling the graphic imagery to other perverts.
Andy Burrows, of the NSPCC, said: ‘ Live- streaming sites present clear risks, because they provide new ways for groomers to abuse children and produce child abuse images of the very worst kind.
‘Too many children are abused on social media platforms, and it is time for industry to take responsibility and do more to tackle abuse at its source.’
A Facebook spokesman said: ‘We have zero tolerance for child exploitation and work aggressively to prevent and remove any content that co-ordinates it. We’ve spent the past decade partnering with safety experts including the IWF to develop powerful tools to keep this illegal activity off Facebook.’
A spokesman for Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, said: ‘We have zero tolerance for child exploitation.’
Periscope said: ‘Keeping people safe on Periscope is our top priority. Our committed team works around the clock to ensure the content on our service meets our community guidelines. In particular, and as stated in our guidelines, we have zero tolerance for any form of child sexual exploitation on Periscope, and anyone who violates our strict policies will be permanently banned.
‘This includes directing inappropriate comments to minors during a broadcast.’
The Home Office said: ‘ The prevalence of online child sexual exploitation, revealed by the Internet Watch Foundation, demonstrates why we have nearly doubled the NCA’s capabilities with a further £20 million until 2020 to investigate these heinous crimes and the use of indecent imagery. This is leading to around 400 arrests each month and safeguarding around 500 children.’