There is no end to the number of cases in which children fall victims to crimes through websites on the internet that enable them to interact with strangers. It is necessary to create an environment in which children can use the internet safely.
The number of children under 18 who have fallen victims to crimes linked to their use of social media such as Twitter reached a record high of 1,813 last year. Most of the cases involved such crimes as sexual misconduct and child prostitution. Those who have been victimized were predominantly junior high and high school students.
There was also a case in which a third-grade primary school girl, aged 8, was made to send nude photos of herself to a perpetrator. This is a serious situation.
The use of smartphones has spread even among young children. Social media is convenient as a communication tool but there is a possibility of its users becoming implicated in crimes. It is necessary to teach children the dangers involved with internet use both at home and at schools anew.
It is problematic that internet filtering is not being widely used. Filtering programs restrict users from viewing harmful sites.
According to the National Police Agency, 90 percent of victimized children had not used internet filtering tools. Their parents told the police, for instance, that they trusted their children. It can be said that low vigilance against harmful information has allowed such problems to occur.
Use filters as 1st step
Filtering programs have lots of loopholes, making it impossible to completely block harmful sites. Although parents must not be overdependent on them, installing a filter is a minimal protective measure. The use of such software must also prompt family members to talk about how smartphones should be used.
The reasons children have been coaxed to meetings with perpetrators are not only to receive money or gifts. There have been plenty of cases in which children cited such reasons as strangers "being kind" or "responding to requests for advice." In an incident in which nine bodies were found in Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture, last year, the victims had been targeted because of their internet posts about wanting to commit suicide.
How should the barrage of cries for help by children online be dealt with? This is a huge task.
Social media operators also carry a grave responsibility.
Among social media sites through which children have fallen victims to crimes, the largest number of such incidents involved users of Twitter. The NPA believes that perpetrators have misused such services because multiple accounts can be obtained anonymously and users can search for specific information using keywords suggestive of prostitution, for instance.
An organization comprising social media companies worked out in April guidelines aimed at preventing children from being victimized.
With the rules of usage, such acts as inducements to suicide and violations of regulations and laws such as child prostitution are to be prohibited. Monitoring of what users post on social media is to be reinforced. The guidelines urge operators to be diligent. Although they have no binding power, the guidelines signify one step forward.
When some operators reinforced their regulations, malicious users drifted to other websites with less stringent rules. To stem this kind of activity, the industry as a whole must work to implement effective countermeasures.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 21, 2018)
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