More than half of online child sex crimes are committted over Facebook-owned apps, data from the NSPCC suggests, as the charity called for more to be done to tackle abuse in private messaging.
Facebook has previously revealed plans to make messaging across its apps, including Instagram and Facebook Messenger, end-to-end encrypted like another of its services - WhatsApp - to boost user privacy.
But the NSPCC argued these figures, gathered through Freedom of Information requests to police forces, show that Facebook’s encryption plans will leave children at greater risk and accused the social media giant of “turning back the clock on children’s safety”.
The children’s charity said the data it received showed 9,477 instances of sexual or indecent image offences against children were recorded by police between October 2019 and September 2020 where the communication platform was known, with 52 per cent taking place on Facebook-owned apps.
The figures showed that Instagram was used in more than a third of all instances, more than any other Facebook platform including Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.
Comments
Post a Comment