Abusers openly use ‘disgraceful’ Instagram
Police investigating after more than 100 convicted sex offenders found on Facebook-owned network
‘Facebook failing to follow their own rules underlines why an effective Duty of Care is urgently needed’
INSTAGRAM has been branded a “disgrace” by Britain’s most senior child protection police officer, after a Sunday Telegraph investigation found more than 100 convicted paedophiles openly using the social network.
Chief Constable Simon Bailey accused social media companies of putting profit before their “social and moral responsibility” to protect children with known abusers following children and posting topless selfies of themselves.
A number of paedophiles uncovered on Instagram, which allows users as young as 13, were the most serious offenders, including two serving 20 years in jail for raping young children.
Police are now also examining the accounts, with an active investigation under way into at least one suspect.
Mr Bailey, the National Police Chiefs Council’s child protection lead as well as Chief Constable for Norfolk, compares social media sites to a high street shop that invites children in but has paedophiles hiding in the corner.
He says: “The fact that this paper has been able to identify and provide me with the details of 100 convicted sex offenders who have Instagram account contrary to the company’s policy speaks volumes about their commitment to policing their own site.”
The investigation uncovered numerous accounts with the same name and photo as paedophiles who have been convicted and jailed for serious offences over the last decade. Among them was an account for Allen Cain from Chester, who was 29 in 2019 when he was jailed for 20 years for raping a 12-year-old girl, whom he claimed had “seduced” him.
Another account, linked to Aaron Shelton, from Derby, who was placed on the sex offenders’ register in 2019 aged 19 for trying to groom children on social media, was found following more than 1,300 other people on Instagram, including young schoolgirls.
One convicted offender even described himself as a “social media marketer” on his profile and followed more than 5,000 people.
In its community rules, Instagram, owned by Facebook, asks users to report paedophiles by submitting links to news or court stories to prove their offence. It said it removed all the offenders the police notified them of, but because the sex offenders’ register is confidential the company often relied on being informed directly by forces when a paedophile is convicted.
Instagram said: “We do not allow convicted sex offenders and have removed the accounts brought to our attention. We consult with specialist UK law enforcement teams to detect and ban accounts which may be used to exploit or endanger children, which includes training for the police on how to report convicted sex offender accounts to us.
“We take down all accounts they raise through this process. We have built industry-leading technology and a team of over 35,000 people to keep our platforms safe … We also report instances of child sexual exploitation to law enforcement via [the US child abuse watchdog] NCMEC.”
The investigation’s findings come just days after the Government outlined plans for a Bill that could see tech giants fined billions or senior executives jailed if they fail to enforce their own rules.
The NSPCC’s Andy Burrows said it highlighted the need for Ofcom to be established as the online watchdog. He said: “Another example of Facebook failing to follow their own rules and it underlines precisely why an effective Duty of Care is urgently needed.”