Record numbers of children are being groomed online as offenders exploit “risky design features” to communicate with children, a charity has warned.
According to figures obtained by the NSPCC, online grooming crimes recorded by police increased by almost 70% in the last three years.
The charity, which is calling on the government to introduce tougher measures in its Online Safety Bill, said where the platform is known – Facebook-owned apps were responsible for almost half of recorded offences.
Facebook described the abuse as “abhorrent behaviour”, saying they work closely to find abuse and grooming content and report incidents to the relevant authorities.
In a statement, Facebook said: “We also block adults from messaging under 18s they’re not connected with and have introduced technology that makes it harder for potentially suspicious accounts to find young people.
Facebook described the abuse as ‘abhorrent behaviour’
“With tens of millions of people in the UK using our apps every day, we are determined to continue developing new ways to prevent, detect and respond to abuse.”
Between April 2020 and March 2021, there was 5,441 Sexual Communication with a Child offences recorded, an increase of 69 % from 3,217 in 2017/18.
Andy Burrows, Head of Child Safety Online Policy at the NSPCC, said: “Year after year tech firms’ failings result in more children being groomed and record levels of sexual abuse.”
Mr Burrows said the nature of grooming evolves with new technology and said the government must respond to “the size and complexity of the threat” by ensuring that the Online Safety Bill, due to become law next year, “does everything necessary to prevent online abuse”.
He said: “Safety must be the yardstick against which the legislation is judged and ministers’ welcome ambition will only be realised if it achieves robust measures to keep children truly safe now and in the future.”
The charity also urged social media platform, Facebook, to invest in technology that would ensure end-to-end encryption does not stop the site from “identifying and disrupting” abuse.
This is something that Mared welcomes.
Now 25, she was groomed online when she was just 14 years of age and says it took her a long time to recognise it was abuse.
“Back then it didn’t feel like grooming, it felt like just talking to any other guy that was a little bit older,” says Mared.
Mared was groomed when she was just 14 years old
But these conversations quickly become more sinister, as the man involved manipulated Mared into sending sexually explicit photos of herself – when she was just a child.
“I thought they actually liked me. That’s the dangerous part that kind of hooks you in, because you’re so young. You’re so naive you don’t realise it.
“You know, at 14 or 15 years old, you’re kind of on the cusp of feeling like I’m a woman now but also you’re technically still a child.
“I was just trying to convince myself that it was fine.”
Mared says unlike some of her friends, she never met with her abusers in person, but says in the ten years she was abused, social media has evolved dramatically, with many sites offering features that allow for messages to disappear instantly.
“Social media was only kind of beginning at the time and it was exciting, it was new.
“Whereas now I think everyone who’s a teenager has grown up with it and it’s a big part of life, which makes it a million times easier for these groomers to target them. It’s really scary.”
The government has insisted keeping children safe is one of its highest priorities.
In a statement, it said: “If social media companies do not properly assess or take action against the risks their sites pose to children, they will face heavy fines or have their sites blocked.
“The Bill will further make tech companies accountable to an independent regulator.
“We are clear that companies must continue to take responsibility for stopping the intolerable level of harmful material on their platforms and embed public safety in their system designs, which is why the Bill will also compel them to consider the risks associated with all elements of their services and take robust action to keep their users safe.”