NSPCC reveals worrying figures about grooming on social media

NSPCC reveals worrying figures about grooming on social media

In a new report from the NSPCC they reveal that Facebook and apps owned by the social network were found to have been used in 52% of grooming cases investigated by the police. The children’s protection charity is now urging culture secretary, Matt Hancock, to bring in stronger regulations to tackle this issue.

Worryingly, the study found that victims as young as two were being targeted online via these networks and apps. Facebook and apps owned by Facebook were used in more than half of online grooming cases where police disclosed the method used by predators used according to an NSPCC investigation. In the first nine months of Sexual Communication with a Child being a criminal offence, there were 1,628 crimes recorded in England and Wales, with police revealing what platform was used in 956 cases. Apps such as Instagram and Whatsapp, which are owned by Facebook, and Facebook itself were used in 52% of those cases to contact young people, with Facebook being the most recorded site overall.

In the South West of England, police forces recorded 188 crimes for Sexual Communication with a Child over the first nine months of the new offence being in force, and the youngest child contacted was aged just seven years old. Apps and sites used by paedophiles to target children in the South West included Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Kik, Facetime, Omegle and the chat features on the game, Minecraft.

Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has heralded the end of the Wild West Web, and the NSPCC is urging him to follow through by bringing in a regulator to force social networks to keep children safe.

Figures from Freedom of Information requests to police forces across England and Wales show the shocking number of cases where groomers used Facebook, and apps owned by Facebook. The youngest victim recorded was aged just two years old.

Where the method of communication used by predators was logged by police:

  • Facebook was used in a third (32.6%) of cases
  • Facebook owned apps Instagram and Whatsapp were used in nearly a fifth (19.8%) of cases
  • The second most-used app was Snapchat – 176 cases

At present, the department of Digital, Cultural, Media and Sport has plans to introduce a voluntary code for social networks, which sites could choose to adhere to, or ignore. For the past 10 years social networks have been allowed to self-regulate, and yet they have consistently failed to take the necessary action needed to keep not just children, but also data safe and sites like Twitter have consistently come under fire for allowing accounts to insight racial hatred, with difficulties in freedom of speech law being cited as reasons why some accounts cannot be taken offline.

The NSPCC is calling on Mr Hancock to go further than this and bring in a mandatory code to regulate social networks so that grooming can be prevented, rather than relying on police to intervene after harm has already been done.

As part of its #WildWestWeb campaign the NSPCC is calling for Mr Hancock to bring in:

  1. An independent regulator for social networks with fining powers.
  2. A mandatory code which introduces Safe Accounts for children; grooming alerts using algorithms; and fast-tracking of reports to moderators which relate to child safety.
  3. Mandatory transparency reports forcing social networks to disclose how many safety reports they get, and how they deal with those reports.

Peter Wanless, NSPCC Chief Executive, said: “Culture Secretary Matt Hancock has a golden opportunity to put an end to the Wild West Web and force social networks to protect children online. Facebook has shown it is happy to use data for commercial purposes but has failed to harness data in a way that can be used to prevent grooming. Facebook should be leading the way, but instead, it has demonstrated time and again that self-regulation isn’t working and social networks can’t be left to mark their own homework. Mr Hancock could be the person who makes the internet a safer place, for every child now and in the future. We hope he seizes the chance to do that.”

This is yet another blow to Facebook’s reputation, how do you feel about your children using social networks? Should it be down to the parents to make sure their children are using them safely or is it the network’s responsibility – let us know your thoughts, ironically, via social media.

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