By Dennis D. Estopace & Oliver Samson
Part Two
ONE click.
That’s all that it takes to scar a child for life.
According to cyber-security consultant Angel T. Redoble, it’s when children click on a button to accept a “friend” request on social-networking sites that the torturous journey of exploitation begins.
Some cyber criminals target children who openly express on social-networking sites, like Facebook and Instagram, their ambition to become clothing models, Redoble, president of non-governmental group Philippine Institute of Cyber Security Professionals (PICSPro), told the BusinessMirror.
Disguised as modeling agencies, cyber criminals develop friendship with kids, he said
“Once the trust is built, the kids are enticed into showing their ‘modeling’ talent,” he said. “The cyber criminal will then tell their targets that they have promising lingerie modeling career and the payoff is very attractive.”
According to Redoble, the child will be sweet-talked into getting videoed to “show what he or she got.”
“Unmonitored by parents and the kids totally clueless, the cyber criminals are making money from the video clips, which can be converted into photos.”
When the victim finally realizes his or her videos and photos are circulating on the Web, he or she undergoes depression, Redoble explained. Some may commit suicide, he said, sans citing statistics.
Web hosting
ONE of the worst cybercriminals belongs to those operating online pornography, according to Rosalie Dagulo of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
Others are just plain abusive, Amelia Gowa, an independent cyber-security policy analyst specializing in child online protection (COP) issues, said.
According to Gowa, 23.8 percent of children observed cruel behavior on Twitter, 92.6 percent on Facebook, 17.7 percent on MySpace and 15.2 percent on Instant Messenger. Seventy-five percent of victims were female, she said during a conference on COP in Quezon City in September.
Gowa said the Philippines is the fifth-largest population in Southeast Asia that is into online social media with 47 percent of respondents saying they have social-media accounts and are active in these platforms. These are monthly active users on the most active social network in the country, compared to total population.
The highest number, at 69 percent of its population, is Brunei Darussalam, Gowa said, citing data from an International Telecommunications Union (ITU) research in November last year.
Data from the COP revealed that six out of 10 children view pornographic links by way of social media. Two in 10 online bullies use false identity and three out 10 children post personal information, conference documents revealed.
Gowa revealed that the United States remained the biggest source of commercial and noncommercial web sites providing child sexual abuse materials (CSAM).
Commercial refers to web sites hosting or giving access to CSAM, which require payment for further access. Noncommercial refers to free access. The US has 59 commercial web sites and 25 noncommercial web sites hosting CSAM, Gowa said.
Morally wrong
ONLINE child pornography most of the time is elicited by poverty, according to Redoble.
“Some parents pimp their kids to strip naked in front of a camera for $100 an hour,” he said. “Intense explicit sexual acts are paid higher amount.”
The conference on COP cited the case of a 22-year-old mother in Cordova, Cebu, who was reported arrested on July 30 for allegedly selling online videos and photos of her two children ages 5 and 2 to foreigners.
The case could be qualified trafficking, which is a nonbailable offense, Redoble said when told about this.
The mother was reported by the police to have transacted with no less than 70 foreign clients.
In a statement on June 7 this year, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) has expressed alarm over the growing reported cases of child pornography in the Philippines.
During the conference on COP in September, Unicef Representative Lotta Sylwander revealed that children in the Philippines earn as much as P150 per appearance in webcam shows.
Live streaming of COP in the country is getting alarming, Sylwander said citing a survey that involved 400 children age 18 from the cities of Manila, Davao, Angeles and Cebu. The Unicef placed the Philippines as the No. 1 source of child pornography.
“We need to raise awareness and vigilance of this issue, so that parents and others understand that child abuse—in any form—is not just morally wrong, it is also extremely harmful to children’s health and development,” Sylwander said.
Privacy challenges
ACCORDING to Ginno Corral of nongovernment group End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism (Ecpat) Philippines Inc., they have experienced difficulties in identifying victims in the community “because no one is willing to report.”
Corral, Ecpat community development officer, pointed to the lack of knowledge and capacity of children and community members on how to report as a reason for this problem.
Likewise, there is also difficulty in the accessibility of reporting mechanism, he added.
“Children and communities are also not aware of the ‘red flags’ in Osaec [online sexual abuse and exploitation of children],” Corral said during the conference.
He added that it also doesn’t help encouraging reports if the investigation of a case is more focused on the offender.
Patdu said this is related to the law that protects personal data privacy, even of an accused. However, this is not the case in online child abuse, exploitation and child pornography.
“Online child abuse, exploitation and child pornography are not protected activities, and are recognized limitations on freedom of expression and right to privacy,” Patdu said. “Under the Data Privacy Act, law-enforcement activities will not be unduly restricted, subject to requirements of due process. Existing laws safeguard the privacy of victims of child abuse and impose obligations on different sectors to cooperate in law enforcement investigations.” To be concluded
Image credits: Nonie Reyes, AP/Bullit Marquez