Schools urged to warn children about ‘sexting’ as social media told to do more

Time to clean up social media

SCHOOLS SHOULD do more to teach children about the dangers of sharing sexual content online, a think-tank report has recommended.

The scale of the problem means police and other law enforcement agencies should focus on those carrying out the abuse and making images rather than low-level offenders, the report suggested.

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology could also play a key role in tackling the problem of child sexual abuse images (CSAI), the paper by cross-party think-tank Demos said.

In its report, which drew on evidence from experts, including industry watchdog the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), Demos highlighted the growing problem of youngsters “sexting” – producing their own illegal material.

One fifth of reported images in 2015 were “self-generated”, around 16 per cent of young people aged 11-16 have reported sending sexual images in the UK and one in six people reported to the police for indecent images are minors, according to research referenced in the report.

The warning comes as a major survey claims an overwhelming majority of the public believe social media companies do not do enough to tackle bullying, illegal activities and the spreading of extremist content on their sites.

It showed seven in ten people believe social media companies do not do enough to stop illegal or unethical behaviour on their platforms, prevent the sharing of extremist content or do enough to prevent bullying, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer. Ed Williams, chief executive officer of Edelman UK, said: “After a flood of negative headlines in 2017, it’s time these companies sat up and listened. The public want action on key issues related to online protection, and to see their concerns addressed through better regulation. Failure on their part to act risks further erosion of trust and therefore public support.”

SOCIAL MEDIA is an immense force for good, helping to foster friendships and enabling business to reach new markets, which makes it imperative that it is not hijacked by those who cause distress or spread hatred.

The fact that an overwhelming majority of the public believes that social media giants are not doing enough to combat bullying, illegal activities and the spreading of extremist material should act a wake-up call for companies which are making vast profits. They have a clear responsibility to ensure their platforms do not carry such hateful and dangerous content, but have so far done too little.

This has made it necessary for the Government to warn that unless they act, it will compel them to do so.

It is in the interests of everyone that offensive and upsetting content is stamped out, and the focus of social media returns to the good it can achieve.