Online child sex abuse reports surge as kids spend more time on computers amid coronavirus
4 years, 7 months ago

Online child sex abuse reports surge as kids spend more time on computers amid coronavirus

LA Times  

City Hall is reflected on the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters in downtown Los Angeles. Law enforcement officials in Los Angeles and across the country have been overwhelmed in recent months by a surge in tips about online child sex abuse, with social media platforms and other service providers flagging explicit content and suspicious interactions at an alarming rate. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, a global clearinghouse that disseminates tips to law enforcement, took in 4.1-million reports of child cyber abuse in April, a fourfold increase over April 2019, said John Shehan, head of the center’s exploited children division. The Los Angeles Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children unit, which processes tips from Shehan’s organization for five area counties before referring them to local agencies, received nearly 3,000 tips in April, up from 1,355 in March, said Lt. Anthony Cato, the unit commander. “Child abuse thrives in secrecy, it thrives in anonymity, it thrives in being unknown.” Kozakiewicz said parents and guardians should make it clear to their kids that they can come to them with concerns about things that happen in their online worlds, regardless of whether mom and dad seem stressed out at this time themselves, and without having to fear punishment — like having their devices taken away.

Law Enforcement Children Kids Parents Coronavirus Abuse Sex Enforcement Online Child Content Los Angeles Officials Reports Tips Lapd Law Enforcement Officials Shehan Kozakiewicz  abuse  kids  children  surge  officials  content  child  computers  tips  online  sex  reports  coronavirus  amid  parents  enforcement  spend

History of this topic

Australia’s social media ban won’t protect kids – it’ll put them more at risk
2 weeks, 4 days ago

Australia’s social media ban won’t protect kids – it’ll put them more at risk

The Independent  

It’s hard to know what to gift teenagers at Christmas. Beyond the ongoing debate over TikTok’s future in the US, Australia has recently made the decision to ban children under 16 from social media – a policy which the government will enforce via untested age verification technology. The AV technology to be used on social media platforms in Australia is …

Parents urged to be vigilant about children’s online safety over Christmas
1 month ago

Parents urged to be vigilant about children’s online safety over Christmas

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Parents have been urged to remain vigilant about their children’s online safety over …

Dangers still lurk for young social media users in chatrooms like Roblox
1 month, 1 week ago

Dangers still lurk for young social media users in chatrooms like Roblox

ABC  

MIKE LORIGAN, REPORTER: It’s a platform millions of kids use every day. MIKE LORIGAN: In September, a predator contacted this UK mother’s nine-year-old daughter on Roblox. This is the most important thing you’re going to hear all day to keep you safe on the game, okay, if you treat Roblox like it’s a giant shopping centre, if someone asks you …

JUST SPAMMING | Can social media be kept out of the child's reach?
1 month, 1 week ago

JUST SPAMMING | Can social media be kept out of the child's reach?

Deccan Chronicle  

The latest news from down under is rather baffling. The Online Safety Amendment Act 2024 passed by the Australian Senate last week seeks to ban children below the age of 16 from using social media apps like TikTok, Facebook, Reddit, Snapchat, Instagram and X. Because in the Indian context, 70 per cent of the children access social media from their …

Australian father of teen sextortion victim backs banning young children from social media
1 month, 1 week ago

Australian father of teen sextortion victim backs banning young children from social media

Associated Press  

MELBOURNE, Australia — Wayne Holdsworth became an advocate for banning Australian children younger than 16 from social media because his son took his own life after falling victim to an online sextortion scam. “There is no evidence that banning young people from social media will work and to make it law in the form proposed is highly problematic,” X said. …

Australian father of teen sextortion victim backs banning young children from social media
1 month, 1 week ago

Australian father of teen sextortion victim backs banning young children from social media

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Wayne Holdsworth became an advocate …

Is a “digital duty of care” enough to protect young people from social media’s harms?
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Is a “digital duty of care” enough to protect young people from social media’s harms?

ABC  

Since the start of November, the Australian government has made two significant announcements aimed at addressing the harms that social media platforms are causing to the mental health of adolescents: that it will legislate a minimum age of 16 for access to social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X; that it will legislate a minimum age of 16 …

Does India Need Inspiration From the EU’s Proposed Regulation to Combat CSAM?
1 month, 4 weeks ago

Does India Need Inspiration From the EU’s Proposed Regulation to Combat CSAM?

The Quint  

Countries around the world, including India, face increasing pressure to address and control online child sexual abuse. The scope of the problem is broad, involving various forms of exploitation and abuse, including the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material, online grooming, and live-streaming abuse. In 2022, the National Centre for Missing & Exploited Children received more than 31 …

How early, unsupervised social media exposure harms children
1 month, 4 weeks ago

How early, unsupervised social media exposure harms children

India Today  

Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese, on November 7, announced that children under the age of 16 will be banned from using social media as part of efforts to protect the mental health of the young. Several child and teen suicides or accidents have been recorded globally due to following social media trends, such as the ice bucket challenge, planking, blue …

AI-generated child sex abuse content increasingly found on open web – watchdog
2 months, 3 weeks ago

AI-generated child sex abuse content increasingly found on open web – watchdog

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy AI-generated child sexual abuse content is increasingly being found on publicly accessible areas …

Seven in 10 children exposed to harmful content online – research
4 months ago

Seven in 10 children exposed to harmful content online – research

The Independent  

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Other harmful online experiences reported by children in this age group include coming across hate …

I was sexually groomed online at age 12 - here's what I experienced that parents and kids must know
4 months ago

I was sexually groomed online at age 12 - here's what I experienced that parents and kids must know

Daily Mail  

A victim of online grooming has come forward to share a warning to parents and kids about the dangers of the internet. But the stranger soon began exposing him to pornography and videos of self-harm Above, Haynes today attending a a protest at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California. As a 20-year-old college student, Haynes has come forward to tell his …

4 Mistakes Parents Make When Posting Their Kids' First-Day-Of-School Photos
4 months, 1 week ago

4 Mistakes Parents Make When Posting Their Kids' First-Day-Of-School Photos

Huff Post  

Illustration:Jianan Liu/HuffPost; Photo:Getty Images Every time you share a photo of your child on social media, you create a potential cybersecurity risk, experts warn. “Now people know not only what your child looks like, but where she goes to school,” said Mark McCreary, a Philadelphia-based lawyer at Fox Rothschild who co-chairs the firm’s privacy and data security practice. “Anytime you’re …

Senate passes bill to protect kids online and make tech companies accountable for harmful content
5 months, 1 week ago

Senate passes bill to protect kids online and make tech companies accountable for harmful content

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation Tuesday that is designed to protect children from dangerous online content, pushing forward with what would be the first major effort by Congress in decades to hold tech companies more accountable for the harm that they cause. “It is past time to act.” The legislation is about allowing children, teens and parents “to …

Instagram 'is profiting from AI-generated child abuse images': Charity lawyers target social media giant Meta for 'not tackling' a 'new frontier of horror' that sees paedophiles advertise websites sel
5 months, 2 weeks ago

Instagram 'is profiting from AI-generated child abuse images': Charity lawyers target social media giant Meta for 'not tackling' a 'new frontier of horror' that sees paedophiles advertise websites sel

Daily Mail  

Instagram is facing a legal challenge over claims it profits by allowing users to advertise AI-generated child sex abuse images. In what campaigners say is a 'new frontier of horror', paedophiles are using artificial intelligence software to generate thousands of sexualised images of children, which they brazenly market on Instagram, telling users to click on their sites to buy even …

Campaign to protect children online
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Campaign to protect children online

China Daily  

Campaign to protect children online China's top internet regulator has launched a two-month campaign to protect children online during the summer vacation, targeting e-commerce predators and inappropriate content. The crackdown follows a controversy last year that occurred when China Central Television exposed e-commerce platforms selling nude scale model toys to children age 7 to 14. A report on juvenile internet …

Teenagers driven to suicide and online child abuse reported every SECOND... how a retired detective is leading a team of Scottish experts in the fightback against criminal gangs targeting children in
6 months, 1 week ago

Teenagers driven to suicide and online child abuse reported every SECOND... how a retired detective is leading a team of Scottish experts in the fightback against criminal gangs targeting children in

Daily Mail  

Eleven years ago, when 17-year-old Daniel Perry decided his least dreadful option was to take his own life, the online crime of ‘sextortion’ was little understood in Scotland. Murray Dowey, left, and Daniel Perry took their own lives after being targeted Retired detective Paul Stanfield has seen lives ripped apart by the sexual exploitation and abuse of children online ‘He …

A law to protect kids online? It might just happen now.
6 months, 2 weeks ago

A law to protect kids online? It might just happen now.

Raw Story  

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer seems to have overcome a major roadblock in his own party who’s holding up legislation designed to protect children from online harm. “The majority leader and I have exchanged new text that looks like an improvement to me,” Sen. Ron Wyden exclusively told Raw Story at the U.S. Capitol. While the new KOSA …

AI is creating a new frontier in 'revenge porn', and experts say online misogyny is fuelling the problem
6 months, 3 weeks ago

AI is creating a new frontier in 'revenge porn', and experts say online misogyny is fuelling the problem

ABC  

Libby Payne was in Year 8 when she experienced image-based abuse, which is often referred to as "revenge porn". In the case of the Bacchus Marsh students, their faces were purportedly taken from social media sites before being manipulated using AI to make "obscene photographs", police said. Ms Payne also says young people are responding to a culture of masculinity, …

Prioritise children’s online safety at election to tackle ‘hidden pandemic’ of sexual abuse, experts urge
7 months ago

Prioritise children’s online safety at election to tackle ‘hidden pandemic’ of sexual abuse, experts urge

The Independent  

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Experts warning of a “hidden pandemic” of online sexual abuse have …

More than 300 million children a year face sexual abuse online, study suggests
7 months, 1 week ago

More than 300 million children a year face sexual abuse online, study suggests

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. This is on a staggering scale that in the UK alone equates to forming a line of …

Children to be taught to ration the time they spend online in new sex education guidance for schools
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Children to be taught to ration the time they spend online in new sex education guidance for schools

The Telegraph  

Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, said: “Parents rightly trust that when they send their children to school, they are kept safe and will not be exposed to disturbing content that is inappropriate for their age. “I will always act swiftly to protect our children and this new guidance will do exactly that, while supporting teachers to teach these important topics …

Shocking survey into online predators prompts warning to parents about sharing photos of kids online
8 months, 1 week ago

Shocking survey into online predators prompts warning to parents about sharing photos of kids online

ABC  

In short: A new survey has found online predators are targeting parents who share photos of their children on social media. Australians posting photos of their children on social media are being targeted by online predators, with some even offering payments to try to encourage parents to send sexual images to them. "Australians are increasingly sharing more of their personal …

Children, three, manipulated into sending predators sexual pictures, report claims
8 months, 2 weeks ago

Children, three, manipulated into sending predators sexual pictures, report claims

Daily Mail  

A new report has found that children as young as three are being manipulated into sending predators sexual pictures and videos. A new report has found that children as young as three are being manipulated into sending predators sexual pictures and videos Susie Hargreaves, chief executive of the IWF, said: 'The opportunistic criminals who want to manipulate your children into …

Report urges fixes to online child exploitation CyberTipline before AI makes it worse
8 months, 2 weeks ago

Report urges fixes to online child exploitation CyberTipline before AI makes it worse

Associated Press  

A tipline set up 26 years ago to combat online child exploitation has not lived up to its potential and needs technological and other improvements to help law enforcement go after abusers and rescue victims, a new report from the Stanford Internet Observatory has found. “Almost certainly in the years to come, the CyberTipline will just be flooded with highly …

Simple ways to protect young people from online abuse including 'sextortion' and grooming
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Simple ways to protect young people from online abuse including 'sextortion' and grooming

ABC  

There are two questions sexual predators ask children when they are grooming them online. "We're inviting offenders into bedrooms if we allow children to take their devices there," Detective Inspector Toohey said. "What it may look like is a child having an unsolicited contact on a platform, a social media platform or something online, from a person they don't know," …

Encountering violent online content starts at primary school – Ofcom
9 months, 3 weeks ago

Encountering violent online content starts at primary school – Ofcom

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Children first see violent online content while still at primary school and describe …

There Are Dark Corners of the Internet. Then There's 764
9 months, 3 weeks ago

There Are Dark Corners of the Internet. Then There's 764

Wired  

WIRED collaborated with Der Spiegel, Recorder, and The Washington Post on this reporting. A reporting consortium including Der Spiegel, Recorder, The Washington Post, and WIRED has unearthed a sprawling ecosystem that has targeted thousands of people and victimized dozens, if not hundreds, of children using some of the internet’s biggest platforms. Law enforcement believes the “com” network encompasses a swath …

Instagram’s Pedophile Problem
9 months, 4 weeks ago

Instagram’s Pedophile Problem

Slate  

As the debate around child safety online rages on, an investigation by The New York Times found a seedy world of pedophiles interacting with child influencer accounts, often run by their parents, on Instagram. Meta sent a statement that said, in part: “Child exploitation is a horrific crime and online predators are determined criminals. We use sophisticated technology, hire child …

Majority of boys aged 11-14 ‘exposed to online content that promotes misogyny’
11 months ago

Majority of boys aged 11-14 ‘exposed to online content that promotes misogyny’

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Every parent knows being online …

Three of the biggest porn sites must verify ages to protect kids under Europe’s new digital law
1 year ago

Three of the biggest porn sites must verify ages to protect kids under Europe’s new digital law

Associated Press  

LONDON — Three of the world’s biggest porn websites face new requirements in the European Union that include verifying the ages of users, the 27-nation bloc said Wednesday, expanding the reach of its digital law designed to keep people safe on the internet. Pornhub, XVideos and Stripchat have now been classed as “very large online platforms” subject to more stringent …

Police warn child pornography users in effort to prevent worse
1 year, 1 month ago

Police warn child pornography users in effort to prevent worse

Dutch News  

Police have issued personal warnings to dozens of people who have downloaded child pornography on their computers in effort to deter them from becoming further embroiled in the trade. These people are not guilty of sharing material, or downloading new material, police said and although downloading child pornography is an offence, they were not arrested. Early intervention can break that …

How safe is the online space for children in India? | In Focus podcast
1 year, 1 month ago

How safe is the online space for children in India? | In Focus podcast

The Hindu  

The National Human Rights Commission released a set of guidelines last month for the Central and State governments to tackle the problem of Child Sexual Abuse Material or CSAM on the internet. The NHRC says, that according to the Cyber Tipline 2022 statistics, of the 32 million reports received about child sexual abuse material, 5.6 million reports were uploaded by …

European lawmakers try to balance protection and privacy with law on explicit images of children
1 year, 1 month ago

European lawmakers try to balance protection and privacy with law on explicit images of children

Associated Press  

BRUSSELS — Seeking to strike the right balance between protecting children and protecting privacy rights, European Union lawmakers on Tuesday adopted a series of amendments to a draft law that is intended to keep sexually explicit photos and videos of minors from circulating online. The draft position adopted overwhelmingly by the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home …

AI-generated child sexual abuse images could flood the internet; UK watchdog calls for action
1 year, 2 months ago

AI-generated child sexual abuse images could flood the internet; UK watchdog calls for action

The Hindu  

The already-alarming proliferation of child sexual abuse images on the internet could become much worse if something is not done to put controls on artificial intelligence tools that generate deepfake photos, a watchdog agency warned on Tuesday. In a written report, the U.K.-based Internet Watch Foundation urges governments and technology providers to act quickly before a flood of AI-generated images …

AI-generated child sexual abuse images could flood the internet. Now there are calls for action
1 year, 2 months ago

AI-generated child sexual abuse images could flood the internet. Now there are calls for action

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — The already-alarming proliferation of child sexual abuse images on the internet could become much worse if something is not done to put controls on artificial intelligence tools that generate deepfake photos, a watchdog agency warned on Tuesday. If it isn’t stopped, the flood of deepfake child sexual abuse images could bog investigators down trying to rescue children …

No child sexual abuse material on platform: YouTube
1 year, 2 months ago

No child sexual abuse material on platform: YouTube

The Hindu  

YouTube said on Monday that it did not detect any child sexual abuse materials on its platform nor evidence of such from the regulators. We are committed to work with all collaborators in the industry-wide fight to stop the spread of child sexual abuse material," the spokesperson added. Our child safety policy expressly prohibits “sexually explicit content featuring minors and …

YouTube, X and Telegram receive notices on child sexual abuse material
1 year, 3 months ago

YouTube, X and Telegram receive notices on child sexual abuse material

The Hindu  

YouTube, Telegram and X have been told to proactively filter child sexual abuse material out “on the Indian Internet”, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said on Friday. In a statement, a YouTube spokesperson said: “We have a zero-tolerance policy on child sexual abuse material. The Stanford Internet Observatory said in a report in June that it ran PhotoDNA, …

‘Shocking’ rise in number of children falling victim to sextortion, charity says
1 year, 3 months ago

‘Shocking’ rise in number of children falling victim to sextortion, charity says

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. We have written to Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally, to urge him to ensure child safety is …

A worrying number of Instagram, TikTok challenges are harming children
1 year, 3 months ago

A worrying number of Instagram, TikTok challenges are harming children

The Hindu  

Risky challenges that trend on social networks are not new. One recent example is the viral ‘Egg Crack Challenge’ where adults call their unsuspecting children to the camera under the pretext of cooking or baking with them, only to break an egg on their forehead. The ‘Egg Crack Challenge’ was immediately criticised by parents who claimed it would teach children …

Sex offenders are using virtual reality to ‘groom and abuse children’
1 year, 4 months ago

Sex offenders are using virtual reality to ‘groom and abuse children’

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Offenders are using virtual reality to groom and sexually abuse …

Social media firms told to block under-13s or face ‘humongous fines’
1 year, 4 months ago

Social media firms told to block under-13s or face ‘humongous fines’

The Telegraph  

Social media firms must deactivate underaged children’s accounts or risk “humongous” fines, the Technology Secretary has warned. “Because otherwise the mental toll and the ramifications for these young people is unimaginable and we’re just storing up a bigger problem for tomorrow in terms of the long-term impact that we are going to face.” Ms Donelan said the bill would “potentially …

Internet Watch Foundation confirms first AI-generated child sex abuse images
1 year, 5 months ago

Internet Watch Foundation confirms first AI-generated child sex abuse images

The Independent  

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The organisation – which works to identify and remove online …

Lack of awareness about abuses a key driver of rising cybercrimes involving children
1 year, 8 months ago

Lack of awareness about abuses a key driver of rising cybercrimes involving children

The Hindu  

Lack of uniformity in cybersecurity-enabled devices, absence of actionable parental concern, and lack of awareness among children about cyberabuses are key drivers of rising cybercrimes involving children in India, cautioned Shamini Murugesh, Chief Mentor, WNS Cares Foundation and Creator of CyberSmart, a free-for-all, gamified portal for children, that teaches ways to stay safe online in a fun way. Cyberstalking, cyberbullying, …

'Child porn content in UK doubled in two years, children below 2 most affected'
1 year, 8 months ago

'Child porn content in UK doubled in two years, children below 2 most affected'

Firstpost  

According to the study, 81% of the pictures of abuse that were found were of young infants under the age of two. While the remainder contained 17% of those aged eleven to thirteen, 20% of those aged seven to ten, and 50% of those aged three to six London: An internet watchdog has discovered that criminals are commercialising the sexual …

This Meta-backed software removes explicit images, videos of minors from internet. Check Details
1 year, 10 months ago

This Meta-backed software removes explicit images, videos of minors from internet. Check Details

Hindustan Times  

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, America's leading child protection organisation, has come up with a tool called ‘Take It Down,’ allowing users to remove sexually explicit images of minors from the internet. We cannot go back and change what happened, but we can help you move forward,” said Gavin Portnoy, Vice President, Communications and Brand, NCMEC. Here …

‘Take It Down:' a tool for teens to remove explicit images
1 year, 10 months ago

‘Take It Down:' a tool for teens to remove explicit images

Associated Press  

“Once you send that photo, you can’t take it back,” goes the warning to teenagers, often ignoring the reality that many teens send explicit images of themselves under duress, or without understanding the consequences. Or somebody extorted you and they said, ‘if you don’t give me an image, or another image of you, I’m going to do X, Y, Z.’” …

Paedophiles are abusing children in the METAVERSE, police say
1 year, 10 months ago

Paedophiles are abusing children in the METAVERSE, police say

Daily Mail  

Paedophiles are exploiting virtual reality environments like the metaverse to abuse children, an NSPCC investigation has revealed for the first time. West Midlands police recorded five instances of metaverse abuse and Warwickshire one, while Surrey police recorded two crimes — including one that involved Meta's Oculus headset, which is now called the Quest. Disturbing: Paedophiles are exploiting virtual reality environments …

Surge in paedophiles using virtual reality tech in child abuse image crime
1 year, 10 months ago

Surge in paedophiles using virtual reality tech in child abuse image crime

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Paedophiles are starting to use virtual reality headsets to view child abuse images, …

Number of teenage boys calling national helpline over sextortion increases rapidly in five years
1 year, 11 months ago

Number of teenage boys calling national helpline over sextortion increases rapidly in five years

ABC  

Distressed teenage boys who have become victims of online sexual extortion are calling a national helpline at increasing rates, with 78 per cent of calls about the issue coming from young males over the past five years. Key points: Reports of sextortion to Kids Helpline have been increasing since 2017, with 78 per cent of calls from young males There …

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