Access to social media, porn causing social problems among kids - cops

 

Easy access to social media, especially sexual content, causes social problems among children, said the police’s Criminal Investigation Department director Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain.

“Children want to explore something. They look at people having sex so they want to do it because access (to pornography) is too easy and they are exposed to a lot of negative things,” he said.

He cited a nine-year-old girl involved in a gang rape and said this was a case of online sexual exploitation.

“The incident happened last year and, for this case, we opened an investigation paper because this is a new trend in the new generation. Based on our investigation, the girl consented to it as she wanted to repay a debt,” he said.

Mohd Shuhaily said the girl broke an eraser she borrowed from a classmate and consented to sex as a means of compensation after she did not have enough money to buy a new one.

“She needed to pay for the broken eraser lent from a friend, but she did not have money to buy one. Instead, she offered her body as a means to compensate,” he said.

Criminal Investigation Department director Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain

He said this after attending the International Regulatory Conference titled “Significance of Effective Policy, Regulatory, and Technological Solutions for a Safer Online Space” as a panellist in Kuala Lumpur today.

Shuhaily said aside from bringing down pornography, the police are also responsible for preventing the spread of sexual content.

“Platform providers and regulators have a big task and responsibility,” he added.

Protecting children

During discussion sessions, Unicef Malaysia chief of Child Protection Saskia Blume said around four percent of children, equivalent to 100,000 children aged 12 to 17 years old in Malaysia, have been subjected to online sexual exploitation.

“We really see skyrocketing cases such as being blackmailed, engaging in sexual activities, and essentially sharing images without permission or being coerced to engage in sexual activities for promises,” she said.

She shared the results of research by Unicef on what youths hoped to see regarding this issue.

“Three main complaints from young people: the first is safety by design and child-centred features, followed by very concrete demands and ideas.

“Second, digital literacy as well as for parents, carers, and teachers, and lastly, child-friendly reporting mechanisms,” she said.

Meanwhile, CelcomDigi CEO Idham Nawawi said 2023 was the most extreme year of child sexual abuse online.

“I think, because a lot of what happens today no longer happens on the ground… in the streets, hotel rooms, but this happens in their bedrooms because all of us have access to the technology platform,” he said.

He added that it is important for all parties to work together to prevent this issue.

The ICT policy director of the Cambodian Post and Telecommunications Ministry, Sodany Tan, said her country’s child online protection guidelines are developed, monitored, implemented, and evaluated to ensure businesses prevent their networks or online services from being used in ways that cause or contribute to violations or abuses of children’s rights.

- Bernama