Live data from Hacker News

How Facebook and Instagram became marketplaces for child sex trafficking

theguardian.com

61–70 of 82 posts

Re: How Facebook and Instagram became marketplaces for child sex trafficking

#61
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed! While we're at it, we should also put cameras and microphones in every street corner, every public place, every household, every toilet. Everyone who refuses to do so should be considered a terrorist for refusing to cooperate with the authorities who, we all know, are infallible, only have children's interest at heart, and would never abuse their power for their own gain. We should not stop until every inch o…

Is there nothing in between? While surveillance is indeed bad, also free pass is bad. So what should we do about the crimes already happening, as few as they might be?

Did the last 5x times we did something help?

How many "save the kids" bills have we passed that haven't worked?

Repeal those and let's talk.

Re: How Facebook and Instagram became marketplaces for child sex trafficking

#62
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is an excuse that makes no sense. As the article makes clear, this is not happening only on private chat: > It could, for instance, be investing more to develop better tools to “flag suspicious words and phrases on unencrypted parts of the platform – including coded language around grooming,” he said. “This is, fundamentally, not a technological problem, but one of corporate priorities.” (There is a separate deb…

None of this is Meta's problem though. Requiring platforms to monitor user activity is unreasonable. The main issue here is one of education. By 12 years old, a person should have learned enough about sexual exploitation in school that if a stranger asks them for nude photos, they would call the police.

I think the early generation of internet kids had trouble with this and other things like the permanence of Facebook, etc. Today, my kid and her friends are highly sensitive to "creepers," who might be lurking and their tactics. They are well aware of the pitfalls of posting on social media and all that. It seems society has adapted.

Re: How Facebook and Instagram became marketplaces for child sex trafficking

#63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's what happens when parents restrict kids instead of teaching them about the dangers.

Americans believe children are pure innocent creatures who should not be told about sex. Hilariously churches are hotbeds of pedophilia. And the Republican party advocates child marriage.

I guess I'm missing the joke... what's hilarious about pedophilia?

Re: How Facebook and Instagram became marketplaces for child sex trafficking

#64
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is an excuse that makes no sense. As the article makes clear, this is not happening only on private chat: > It could, for instance, be investing more to develop better tools to “flag suspicious words and phrases on unencrypted parts of the platform – including coded language around grooming,” he said. “This is, fundamentally, not a technological problem, but one of corporate priorities.” (There is a separate deb…

None of this is Meta's problem though. Requiring platforms to monitor user activity is unreasonable. The main issue here is one of education. By 12 years old, a person should have learned enough about sexual exploitation in school that if a stranger asks them for nude photos, they would call the police.

> Requiring platforms to monitor user activity is unreasonable

That is absurd. Facebook spends billions algorithmically sorting their post, and they could spend a tiny fraction filtering them, just like they already do when required by law.

Re: How Facebook and Instagram became marketplaces for child sex trafficking

#65
post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

None of this is Meta's problem though. Requiring platforms to monitor user activity is unreasonable. The main issue here is one of education. By 12 years old, a person should have learned enough about sexual exploitation in school that if a stranger asks them for nude photos, they would call the police.

I think the early generation of internet kids had trouble with this and other things like the permanence of Facebook, etc. Today, my kid and her friends are highly sensitive to "creepers," who might be lurking and their tactics. They are well aware of the pitfalls of posting on social media and all that. It seems society has adapted.

> It seems society has adapted.

Apparently not, going by the article.

Re: How Facebook and Instagram became marketplaces for child sex trafficking

#66
post #60

Not to absolve Facebook or instagram but it’s clear that the entire model of unrestricted access to global internet is ripe for abuse of vulnerable demographics. Also see scamming elderly with fake profiles of relatives claiming they’ve been kidnapped and so on. I wouldn’t claim to know the solution. But our starting point is platforms built to provide strangers with unsupervised digital time spent with other strange…

>One of those parties may be perverts and predators and the other may be children or teenagers. I don't know if it matters, but this is generally replicated in a public park, playground, library, store, subway, etc. The people on social media are the same people walking around everyday.

Kids are generally monitored in parks and such. You cant easily creep on them without another adult or kid noticing.

And Instagram is like a mall for a predator. Its literally just walls of selfies to anonymously scroll through, and then an instant way to DM anyone you want. Thats not like a park at all.

Re: How Facebook and Instagram became marketplaces for child sex trafficking

#67

why did a 12yo child have unmonitored access to the internet?

It's unusual if they didn't have unmonitored access to the internet. Helicopter parenting takes a lot of energy and technical parents can only do so much. A 12yo without a phone is a social pariah. What is odd to me in the story was the absence of a moral compass of the child and lack of knowledge of the internet as a potentially hostile place.

"A 12yo without a phone is a social pariah."

If I give a kid that young a phone, then I'd probably want it to be a dumb phone, no camera, etc for emergencies only.

Re: How Facebook and Instagram became marketplaces for child sex trafficking

#68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's what happens when parents restrict kids instead of teaching them about the dangers.

Yes, just like the “Just Say No” campaign completely stopped children from using drugs and parents telling children to “save themselves until marriage” stop children from having sex.

I agree with both you and the parent. Early on it's good to have restrictions, then phase them out as they're ready. At some point they need to be prepared to function on their own. Otherwise you might end up with 18 year olds acting like 12 year olds.

Re: How Facebook and Instagram became marketplaces for child sex trafficking

#69
post #60

Not to absolve Facebook or instagram but it’s clear that the entire model of unrestricted access to global internet is ripe for abuse of vulnerable demographics. Also see scamming elderly with fake profiles of relatives claiming they’ve been kidnapped and so on. I wouldn’t claim to know the solution. But our starting point is platforms built to provide strangers with unsupervised digital time spent with other strange…

>One of those parties may be perverts and predators and the other may be children or teenagers. I don't know if it matters, but this is generally replicated in a public park, playground, library, store, subway, etc. The people on social media are the same people walking around everyday.

Incidentally, in the late 20th century we had a moral panic about exactly this fact and stopped letting kids outside the home unsupervised (in the US anyways)

Re: How Facebook and Instagram became marketplaces for child sex trafficking

#70
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ignore the illegal spying by US intelligence agencies on American citizens on American soil (past and/or whatever is still ongoing). Is this an example where the US may "let" a friendly nation spy on US citizens and then just gets that information from them? So rather than the NSA hoovering up US phone call content, which they almost certainly have the capability of doing, they just let the UK do it for them?

That happened. Can’t recall the source however the UK was spying on US citizens and passing to the US through a “Five-Eyes” agreement.

Yes Five Eyes is what I was thinking of just couldn't remember the name.
Post reply on HN