Not all children receive consistent supervision, despite the tech firm providing parents with increased control over their online activities
Child protection and anti-sex trafficking organizations argue that the recently introduced parental supervision tools by social media giant Meta offer inadequate protection to the most vulnerable children, shifting the responsibility of user safety away from the company.
Meta introduced new features on Tuesday to enhance parental awareness of their children’s activities across its platforms. For Messenger, the private message service, parents now have the ability to access their child’s contact list, receive updates, and monitor viewers of their child’s posted stories. On Instagram, a new notification has been implemented to inform parents if their child has blocked someone.
However, experts caution that the effectiveness of these new measures in protecting children may be limited, as they rely on the involvement of engaged families. This means that children who lack consistent parental or guardian supervision, such as those in the child welfare system or living in group homes, may not receive adequate protection.
Rani Govender, the senior child safety online policy officer at the UK-based child protection charity National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), emphasized that an approach solely relying on parents and carers for safety is insufficient. She stated, “Many young people, especially those in care, may not have the opportunity to discuss online concerns with a parent. Additionally, many parents lack the technical expertise or time to effectively supervise their child’s social media usage.
According to a 2020 report by the Human Trafficking Institute (HTI), which provides up-to-date statistics on child trafficking through social media, Facebook emerged as the most frequently utilized platform for recruiting and grooming child trafficking victims (65%). Instagram and Snapchat followed closely as the second and third most used platforms, respectively. It is important to note that child sex trafficking involves the sexual exploitation of minors as part of commercial transactions, and under US law, individuals under the age of 18 are unable to consent to their own exploitation.
Lisa Goldblatt Grace, co-founder and director of My Life My Choice, a non-profit organization in Boston that supports survivors of child sex trafficking, highlighted the shift in the methods used by exploiters to target children. She stated, “Exploiters now seek children online whereas in the past they would target them at malls. They establish a connection with the targeted individuals and build a relationship with them.”
Goldblatt Grace also shared concerning statistics regarding the children served by the organization in 2022. She mentioned that 84% of the trafficked children were under the care of the child welfare system. Furthermore, the National Foster Youth Institute estimates that as much as 60% of all child sex trafficking victims in the United States have previously been in foster care or group homes.
Highlighting the vulnerability of young individuals, Goldblatt Grace emphasized, “When it comes to the commercial sexual exploitation of children, it is evident that those without supportive and committed parents are at a significantly higher risk.
Despite Meta’s cost-cutting efforts, which involved multiple rounds of layoffs since November and the elimination of approximately 21,000 jobs, the company has made cuts within its content moderator teams. These teams are responsible for identifying and reporting instances of child sexual abuse material, as well as other explicit and abusive content found on Meta’s platforms.
Lianna McDonald, the executive director of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, a charity dedicated to child safety, expressed concern over the approach taken by digital platforms. She stated, “Instances of harm occurring on digital platforms are often addressed by emphasizing increased user responsibility and parental intervention, rather than implementing substantial systemic changes.
Goldblatt Grace emphasized that Meta holds a crucial obligation to examine its websites and algorithms. She mentioned, “Ensuring child safety online can be an arduous struggle, even for highly engaged parents. Meta bears the responsibility of making its social media platforms safer for children.
