Child exploitation is a dehumanizing, terrible crime. Meta has publicly announced a collaboration with Childhelp to introduce an educational program to prevent online exploitation of teenagers.
Previously launched on Safer Internet Day, this new program is designed to safeguard young people from dangers like sextortion and grooming, which is a typical scheme utilized by child molesters.
Funding for the curriculum is paid by Meta and accessible at no cost for educators, parents, and other entities engaged in the positive welfare of impressionable young people surfing the internet. Meta’s social media platforms include the ownership of Facebook and Instagram.
Antigone Davis, Meta’s Global Head of Safety, emphasized the importance of equipping students with knowledge to avoid online dangers. “For the first time, educators around the country will have a detailed, expert-backed curriculum – for free – to help students feel equipped to avoid sextortion and other forms of online exploitation,” she said.
The program was developed with input from child safety experts including the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), Thorn, the Department of Homeland Security, Purdue University, and the Crimes against Children Research Center. It features lesson plans and interactive activities designed to teach middle schoolers about safe online practices.
Michael Medoro, the Chief of Staff at Childhelp, conveyed his appreciation for the assistance provided by Meta in the development and implementation of this preventive module. He reiterated the positive impact it has on enabling youth to actively raise awareness about potential risks they may encounter online.
Enhancing the new roll out to enhance online safety for teens LifeSmarts will customize the program to cater to high school students, who will subsequently deliver the content to middle school students across the country.
This innovative strategy aims to not only offer leadership opportunities for older students but also to promote learning among younger individuals through engaging peer interactions.
Adele Taylor of Thorn highlighted the involvement of young people in shaping solutions for their safety. “Young people are at the center of the digital world we all live in,” she said.
“This effort builds on previous campaigns by Meta targeting sextortion scams on platforms like Instagram. The company continues to implement safety features designed to combat these threats effectively.”
The all-new curriculum builds on the recent anti-sextortion PSA campaign, working with NCMEC and Thorn to develop an educational video that helps teens recognize signs that someone may be a sextortion scammer. The video was shown directly in the Instagram Feeds of millions of teens and young people in the US, Canada, Australia and the UK.
Online Child Exploitation Epidemic
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Online child exploitation and abuse has reached epidemic proportions and threatens the safety of children globally.
In 2023, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received more than 36 million CyberTipline reports of suspected online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA), which amounts to an exorbitant 360 percent increase over the number of reports received 10 years ago.
According to the 2023 “WeProtect” Global Threat Assessment, the volume of child sexual abuse material has increased globally by 87% over the past five years.
“All of us, working together, must protect our children from the heinous and growing crime of online child sexual exploitation and abuse. The tragic reality is that, as young people spend more time online, predators around the world increasingly target them through manipulation and deceit,” said then-Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas in announcing a new safety program called “Know2Protect.”
“Know2Protect is a first-of-its-kind national initiative to raise public awareness and prevent these horrific crimes from happening in the first place. Public-private partnerships and targeted training are essential to raising awareness and educating the public; identifying, protecting, and supporting victims; and bringing perpetrators to justice. By partnering with national sports leagues, youth-serving organizations, and gaming, technology, and other private sector organizations, Know2Protect will help educate the public, save lives, and prevent tragedies.” On another note, If an online user has a private image or video that may be distributed without their consent and if the person is at least 18, there are measures to take to prevent an image or video from spreading by contacting StopNCII.org.
Safety Features for Safer Internet
Meta has developed a wide range of safety features designed to relentlessly fight sextortion scammers at every step.
The following include:
- Meta will remove scammers whenever they become aware of them, and notify people who interacted with an account on Instagram that Meta removed for sextortion.
- Meta will also take precautionary steps to help prevent sextortion in the first place, such as preventing potentially scammy accounts from interacting with teens, and letting teens know if they’re chatting with someone who’s based in another country.
- The nudity protection feature is programmed to blur nude images shared in DMs and warns people about the risks of sending sensitive photos. Meta will remove the person’s ability to screenshot or screen record a view once photos and videos are placed inappropriately in DM and Messenger, thus helping prevent those images from being misused.
A safer Internet aims to not only create a safer internet but also a better internet where everyone is empowered to use technology responsibly, respectfully, critically and respectfully.
Houston NewsToday & NewsBlaze Reporter C. Walker can be reached at newsjournalist360@gmail.com
