How Kids’ Pics Are Going From Social Networks to Porn Sites

Internet Watch Foundation
A new study found that 88% of sexual or suggestive images — taken and uploaded to social networks by children and young people themselves — are ending up on porn websites.

The Internet Watch Foundation spent 47 hours (over four weeks) monitoring sexually explicit images and videos uploaded to the Internet by children and young adults. During the period, the Internet safety organization logged 12,224 images on 68 various “social network sites.”

Before long, almost 11,000 of those photos had been mined by pornographic “parasite websites” — sites created with the sole purpose of exploiting sexual images of underage males and females.

The study also showed the dangerous level of naivety and ignorance children (and even some adults) have when it comes to Internet property rights.

“Young people have to realize that once they take a digital image, once it is uploaded, it essentially becomes public property and is virtually impossible to remove,” Sarah Smith, technical researcher at IWF, says. “The clear message is that if you post this content you are going to lose control of it.”

Safe Havens, International

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