It is scary to think that our children can use their cell phone to record themselves or photograph themselves naked or in erotic positions with a friend. And panic, imagine that then upload the images to social networks.
Well as the National Police warns, 'the sexual selfie' is a very widespread reality among children aged two to thirteen, to achieve the highest number of likes. And they are not aware that it is about "cannon fodder for pedophiles and for cyberbullying".
In Babies and more The risks of sexting: an increasing practice among children and adolescents110 children identified in Spain
For the first time, the Police have developed a macro-operation known as 'Operation Liberi' (child in Latin), against the online dissemination of sexual material uploaded to social networks by the children themselves, with total ignorance of their parents.
Inspector Cecilia Carrión, of the Child Protection Group, explains that they have identified 110 children from two to thirteen in videos uploaded to the Internet. And he adds that in the case of the little ones, there is behind some adult from the family environment, although without criminal motivation. That is, he recorded his naked or half-naked children and hung them on the internet, not knowing that he was exposing him to danger.
For this reason, he proposes in the Twitter account of the National Police, some guidelines to be followed by parents, so that minors can navigate safely on the Web.
Identified 110 minors who shared in their profiles in #RRSS images of sexual content to get more likes.
- National Police (@policia) April 27, 2019
Inspector Cecilia Carrión of the Child Protection Group proposes these guidelines for minors to navigate safely in the #Red pic.twitter.com/v5U0Z7GfP4
Although the self-recorded material is not pornographic nor is there any type of sexual exploitation, the Police ensures that the images are inappropriate for the ages of the children and, therefore, free material for pedophiles.
Police explain that these minors were reached thanks to an alert from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) of the United States, an entity with which Spain collaborates and that warned of an increase in distribution of these materials in social networks from early 2018. And they are still pending for 20 other children involved.
In Babies and more, seven tips to keep our children away from Internet pornographyThe operation has also uncovered, explains the inspector, who older children took advantage of intimate moments in the bathroom, in your room or alone with friends to record these images in order to upload them to your Instagram, Periscope, Twitter or YouTube profiles and thus increase the number of followers and likes.
The police also warn that among the minors identified is there any case in which an adult has contacted them posing as an equal in exchange for gifts as a recharge of a video game console.
You have to take precautions
In most cases, parents were unaware that their children had been recorded or uploaded to the internet, although they did know they were social media users.
Therefore, the Police remember the importance of educating and preventing children and adolescents in safe guidelines for surfing the internet and offers different tips.
Never share private or compromising images through social networks because taking erotic pictures and sharing them is always a mistake that can lead to sexual or school cyberbullying.The parents, insists the inspector, "They must create a climate of trust for their children to tell them about their behaviors and they in turn can explain the consequences of providing people with data to other people, even if they are their friends."
Photos | iStock
