Alarm Bell: The Internet, a Playground for Predators

Cybercrime is at an alarming level. In addition to economic criminals, there are also other types of predators, much more dangerous to the physical and mental integrity of potential victims. Children under 10 years old are increasingly targeted by pedophiles on the internet, according to a report by an online content monitoring group. The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) recorded a total of 392,660 reports of possible abuse images posted on various websites in 2023, of which it was found that 275,655 contained such materials. Of these, in 107,615 (39%) of cases, there were images of children under 10 years old, compared to 64,753 pages with such materials out of a total of 255,580 recorded in 2022, an increase of 25%. Each of these internet pages can contain hundreds or thousands of abusive images. A total of 254,070 (92%) of the pages reported in 2023 contain so-called self-generated images, where children have been tricked or forced to take pictures or film themselves in obscene poses. About a fifth of these self-generated materials are from the most severe category, IWF mentioned. "A shocking number of images obtained by deception or force from primary school children end up on the most extreme websites specializing in pedophilia. (...) What starts in a child's bedroom, via a webcam, is distributed, marketed, and exploited by fierce sexual predators," lamented IWF Executive Director Susie Hargreaves. She also reproached technology giants like Meta and Apple for not taking effective measures to stop this phenomenon.