Calls for more regulation after spike is seen in grooming children online

A CHILD protection charity has called for more social media regulation following a huge spike in online child grooming offences.

Crimes involving communicating a sexual message to a child have increased by more than 80 per cent in five years in Scotland, the

NSPCC revealed.

Figures it obtained using Freedom of Information laws show 651 offences of communicating indecently with a child were recorded by Police Scotland in the last year, compared to 354 crimes in 2014/15 – an increase of 84%.

There was a 12% rise in the year to April 2020, with the NSPCC warning there could be a sharper increase as a result of the unique threats posed by coronavirus.

The child protection charity is now calling on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to urgently press ahead with legislation to help prevent offenders from using social media to target children.

An analysis by the NSPCC of data of an equivalent crime from police forces in England and Wales revealed Facebook-owned apps were used in 55% of cases, from April 2017 to October 2019, where police recorded information about how a child was groomed.

This data was not available from

Police Scotland.

In February, UK digital minister Matt Warman promised to publish an Online Harms Bill during the current parliamentary session following proposals set out in a White Paper.

This would see independent regulation of social networks with potential criminal sanctions if tech directors fail to keep children living in the UK safe on their platforms.

However, frustration is growing at delays to the legislation.

The NSPCC is now calling on the Prime Minister to deliver an Online Harms Bill, that sets out a duty of care for tech firms to make their sites safer for children, within 18 months.

It wants Mr Johnson’s Government to publish a roadmap that sets out the timescales for a world-leading Bill to go through Westminster as a matter of urgency.

Chief Executive Peter Wanless spoke to Mr Johnson at a “hidden harms” round table last week and highlighted how coronavirus has created a perfect storm for abusers.

He urged the Prime Minister to ensure there is no unnecessary delay to legislation.

Mr Wanless said: “Child abuse is an inconvenient truth for tech bosses who have failed to make their sites safe and enabled offenders to use them as a playground.

“Last week the Prime Minister signalled to me his determination to stand up to Silicon Valley and make the UK the world leader in online safety.

“He can do this by committing to an Online Harms Bill that puts a legal duty of care on big tech to proactively identifysafety risks.

“Now is the time to get regulation done and create a watchdog with the teeth to hold tech directors criminally accountable if their platforms allow children to come to serious but avoidable harm.”