Part 2 The dark web: A hidden marketplace for child abuse

BBC News has found that creators can share content and then arrange payments through alternative providers, in violation of company guidelines. One of the most popular is Cash App, which allows users to transfer money by mobile phone. But child porn images from her account have already been leaked all across the internet.

MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Jack immediately shared a list of child porn video packages after being greeted. The prices vary, namely IDR 30,000 gets 50 gigabytes, IDR 50,000 gets 150 gigabytes, IDR 100,000 gets 500 gigabytes, and IDR 150,000 gets 1.5 terabyte. “Take It Down,” a website run by a US non-profit organization, will assign a unique identifier or digital fingerprint to these images or videos. This is then shared with online platforms that take part in the service to see if copies are circulating. “Dark net sites that profit from the sexual exploitation of children are among the most vile and reprehensible forms of criminal behaviour,” said US Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski.

Library and Information service

Sometimes children who have been exposed to sexual situations that they don’t understand may behave sexually with adults or with other children. They may kiss others in the ways that they have seen on TV, or they may seek physical affection that seems sexual. Sometimes adults will say the child initiated the sexual behaviors that were harmful to the child. Legally and morally, it is always the adult’s responsibility to set boundaries with children and to stop the activity, regardless of permission given by a child or even a child’s request to play a sexual game. Children cannot be responsible to determine what is abusive or inappropriate.

• They may justify their behavior by saying they weren’t looking for the pictures, they just “stumbled across” them, etc.
• The boys had used an artificial intelligence tool to superimpose real photos of girls’ faces onto sexually explicit images.
• Earlier this year, Philippine police set up a new anti-child abuse centre in the country’s capital, Manila, to fight the growing problem, helped by funding and training from British and Australian police.
• More than 200 Australians have collectively paid more than $1.3 million to watch live streamed child sexual abuse filmed in the Philippines.
• AAP is known to have joined a WhatsApp conversation group with 400 account members.
• Hundreds of these videos are offered freely via social media and payment is via digital wallet or bank.

Getting Help for CSAM Viewing

Because the reports were provided to the BBC without any identifying details of the children or OnlyFans accounts in question, we were unable to provide the platform with account names. As a part of the investigation, we also spoke to schools, police forces and child protection experts who told us they are hearing from under 18-year-olds whose experiences on the site have had serious consequences. BBC News was told the account was reported to police in the US in October 2020 but had not been removed until we contacted OnlyFans about the case this month. According to his friend Jordan, Aaron didn’t have his own account, but instead “got sucked into” appearing in explicit videos posted by his girlfriend, Cody, who was a year older than him.

Researcher Jessica Taylor Piotrowski, a professor at the University of Amsterdam, said that, nowadays, measures such as age restriction alone have not been effective. This issue was also raised by researcher Veriety McIntosh, an expert in virtual reality. In her presentation, Taylor Piotrowski pointed out that the internet today has a higher degree of complexity and that there are resources that children still do not fully understand. Prosecutor Priscila Costa Schreiner of the Federal Prosecutor’s Office cybercrime unit said that in addition to the increase in reports, there has also been an evolution in the tools used by criminals.

In many states reports can be filed with child protection authorities anonymously which means you can file without providing identifying information about who you are. If you have questions about filing you can call a confidential helpline such as Child Help USA or the Stop It Now! If you file with an authority which is not best suited to take the report, ask them specifically who you should contact to file. Typically reports should be filed in the area where you believe the abuse took place, not necessarily where the people involved are right now. The government says the Online Safety Bill will allow regulator Ofcom to block access or fine companies that fail to take more responsibility for users’ safety on their social-media platforms.

“Most children see porn first on Twitter – and then on Snapchat, as well as accessing the porn companies,” Dame Rachel told Today. But there are concerns about how long it will take for the law to come into effect and whether the deterrent is sufficient for wealthy tech companies. The NSPCC says there is no accountability placed on senior managers, unlike the regulation of financial services where directors of companies can be criminally liable.