Police Scotland reports over 3,000 child sex abuse crimes in five years, spotlighting dangers of online platforms.
The numbers have been rising recently. Over 700 crimes happened each of the last two years. 2023/24 saw 748 crimes, while 2022/23 was slightly worse, at 765.
NSPCC wants better protection for kids online, focused on private messaging apps. Half of these crimes happened on Snapchat. Meta products saw a quarter of the crimes, with Instagram having 11%, Facebook 7%, and WhatsApp 6%.
Aoife shared her story to help. She was exploited online at age 15. The man used Yubo to find her, pretending to be a teen her age.
He got her to download Telegram next and asked her for pictures of herself. Later, he blackmailed her with them, threatening to send them to her friends. He wanted to control what she did.
Aoife was afraid and remembered CEOP, the Child Exploitation unit. She reported the images to them. Her school and parents learned what happened and helped her report it to the police. The man got sentenced in 2022.
Aoife urges kids to avoid risks. “Don’t share explicit images online,” she said. “You don’t know who that person really is. It is not worth the risk.”
“If threatened, tell someone you trust,” Aoife continued. It could be a parent, teacher, or neighbor. “It’s not your fault,” she said to victims. “You have been taken advantage of. Don’t blame yourself for making a mistake.”
Several charities sent a letter to the government. NSPCC, and others voiced their concerns. They wrote to Yvette Cooper and Peter Kyle, worrying about Ofcom’s new code.
The charities think kids lack protection, especially on private messaging, despite the Online Safety Act. Ofcom only requires removal of illegal content when “feasible”. This loophole allows some services to avoid basic protections.
Police data shows many crimes on private messaging apps. Perpetrators use this secrecy to harm children and hope to avoid getting caught.
NSPCC urges the UK Government to act. They want Ofcom to strengthen its codes and want safeguards on private messaging sites that prevent abuse.
End-to-end encryption helps ensure private communication. Outsiders, even service providers, lack visibility, which can let child abuse material slip through.
The NSPCC Chief is alarmed by the image crimes. These crimes cause huge harm and distress. Chris stated tech companies disregard the issue and often fail to prevent illegal material.
Separate rules exist for private messaging. This lets companies avoid protecting children. Crimes thrive, even with the new Act.
The Government needs to take action now. They must hold companies responsible, with the goal of keeping children safe online.
Childline’s data also highlights the problem. Blackmail over images rose by 7% last year as youngsters are being targeted and threatened via private messaging apps.