CTV News: Pinterest identifies 1,403% more child abuse material in 2022, but majority of reports come from Facebook. “Major social media sites and digital platforms reported a nine per cent increase in suspected child sexual abuse material in 2022, with 85.5 per cent of all 31.8 million reports coming from Meta platforms Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.”
Bloomberg: Instagram, Google See Surge in Reports of Online Child Abuse. “Reports of child exploitation online increased at many of the biggest tech and social media firms over the last year, including Meta Platforms Inc.’s Instagram and Alphabet Inc.’s Google. TikTok, Amazon.com Inc.’s Twitch, Reddit Inc., and the chat apps Omegle and Discord Inc. also saw increases, according to a Tuesday report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.”
NBC News: A 13-year-old boy was groomed publicly on Twitter and kidnapped, despite numerous chances to stop it. “Heather and Ken McConney, the boy’s parents, told NBC News that they believe the kidnapping was preventable. It came after a series of missed opportunities over the span of nearly a month, where, they said, Twitter and law enforcement failed to effectively intervene despite an abundance of information posted online. They’re demanding answers.”
NBC News: Senators seek answers from Pinterest following NBC News investigation. “Days after an NBC News investigation revealed how grown men on Pinterest openly create sex-themed image boards filled with pictures of little girls, the company says it has ‘dramatically’ increased its number of human content moderators. It also unveiled two new features enabling users to report content and accounts for a range of violations.”
NBC News: Men on Pinterest are creating sex-themed image boards of little girls. The platform makes it easy. . “Aggregating individually innocuous images of minors into potentially sexually suggestive collections is a practice experts describe as awful, but in many cases, lawful, meaning platforms have no legal obligation to take action. Yet Pinterest isn’t just allowing this to happen on its website — its recommendation engine is making it easy.”
Reuters: Australia tells Twitter, Google to give information on handling online child abuse. “An Australian regulator has sent legal letters to Twitter and Google telling them to hand over information about their efforts to stop online child abuse, drawing them into a crackdown that has already put pressure on other global tech firms.”
The Tennessean: Firm named to create Southern Baptist Convention database of ministers accused of abuse. “A Southern Baptist Convention leader announced details Monday of the creation of a database containing names of ministers credibly accused of sexual abuse, a major milestone in the denomination’s effort to implement abuse reform.”
Chicago Sun-Times: Feds’ child porn sweep on Telegram app leads to arrest of Chicago man, more than a dozen others. “The work of Homeland Security Investigations in Arizona, dubbed Operation Swipe Left, led to Norris ‘Nick’ Stauffer. It also resulted in criminal charges against more than a dozen people elsewhere — including at least two with political ties — amid allegations of livestreamed abuse, kidnapping threats and the production and distribution of child pornography.”
NBC News: Twitter blocks hashtags used to promote child sex abuse material after NBC News review. “NBC News found that a series of hashtags on the platform related to the file-sharing service Mega served as rallying points for users seeking to trade or sell CSAM. NBC News observed the hashtags over a period of several weeks, and counted dozens of users who collectively published hundreds of tweets daily.”
NBC News: On Musk’s Twitter, users looking to sell and trade child sex abuse material are still easily found. “Twitter accounts that offer to trade or sell child sexual abuse material under thinly veiled terms and hashtags have remained online for months, even after CEO Elon Musk said he would combat child exploitation on the platform.”
New York Times: Her Child’s Naked Dance Killed Her Google Account. New Appeals Path Restored It.. “… after reporting by The New York Times, Google has changed its appeals process, giving users accused of the heinous crime of child sexual exploitation the ability to prove their innocence. The content deemed exploitative will still be removed from Google and reported, but the users will be able to explain why it was in their account — clarifying, for example, that it was a child’s ill-thought-out prank.”
Los Angeles Times: Who’s protecting social media’s child stars? Inside the explosive lawsuit against one YouTuber’s empire. “The lawsuit offers an unsettling glimpse into a largely unregulated world of social media, where children spend long hours cranking out videos and branded content. Kids can make millions of dollars and become online celebrities, but because the content is made in the privacy of their own homes, child labor laws — which do apply to social media influencers — are not consistently enforced.”
Ars Technica: Musk faces fines if Twitter’s gutted child safety team becomes overwhelmed . “Three people familiar with Twitter’s current staffing told Bloomberg that when 2022 started, Twitter had 20 team members responsible for reviewing and escalating reports of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM). Today, after layoffs and resignations, there are fewer than 10 specialists forming what Bloomberg described as ‘an overwhelmed skeleton crew.’”
CNET: Twitch Expands Measures to Thwart Child Predators. “Twitch said Tuesday that it’s implementing a series of new safeguards to address child grooming on its streaming platform.”
Reuters: Crypto exchanges enabled online child sex-abuse profiteer. “The sums involved in buying and selling images of sexual abuse remain small compared to other criminal activities, such as the drugs trade. But the figures are increasing. While in the past offenders typically traded child abuse imagery among themselves in small communities, the darknet has become a breeding ground for sites like Dark Scandals that charge in crypto. And the damage is far-reaching.” This story is important but it’s also horrifying and has all kinds of disturbing content. PLEASE read with caution.
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