JOHANNESBURG – Police say they cannot specify whether there’s an increase in crimes related to child pornography in the country. Some church congregations are now regularly being warned to watch out for signs of online child sex abuse. One teenager, Jhona – not her real name – told the BBC that as a child she and a friend were sexually exploited by the girl’s mother. Reports of suspected cases of online child sex abuse across the world have soared from just over 100,000 five years ago to more than 18 million last year, figures from the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children suggest. Two-thirds of children forced into online sex abuse videos in the Philippines are exploited by their own parent or family member, it is claimed. The police usually take on the investigation of cases where the person offending has a non-caretaking role – family friend, neighbor, acquaintance, or unfamiliar adult or youth.

Excuses such as “they’re smiling so they must be okay” ignore that these children and youth are being told what to do by adults, may be threatened to do this, and are not legally able to consent. Having CSAM available online means that children are re-victimized each time it is viewed 1. The dataset was taken down, and researchers later said they deleted more than 2,000 weblinks to suspected child sexual abuse imagery from it. Hundreds of these videos are offered freely via social media and payment is via digital wallet or bank.

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• The prosecutions come as child advocates are urgently working to curb the misuse of technology to prevent a flood of disturbing images officials fear could make it harder to rescue real victims.
• The Justice Department says existing federal laws clearly apply to such content, and recently brought what’s believed to be the first federal case involving purely AI-generated imagery — meaning the children depicted are not real but virtual.
• Some adults form ‘friendships’ with minors online with the intention of eventually meeting to sexually abuse them.
• “He was elated that they were making such an amazing amount of money for just having sex on camera for other people to watch,” says a woman who has known Aaron for many years.
• But using the term ‘child pornography’ implies it is a sub-category of legally acceptable pornography, rather than a form of child abuse and a crime.

In another case, federal authorities in August arrested a U.S. soldier stationed in Alaska accused of running innocent pictures of real children he knew through an AI chatbot to make the images sexually explicit. Law enforcement agencies across child porn the U.S. are cracking down on a troubling spread of child sexual abuse imagery created through artificial intelligence technology — from manipulated photos of real children to graphic depictions of computer-generated kids. Justice Department officials say they’re aggressively going after offenders who exploit AI tools, while states are racing to ensure people generating “deepfakes” and other harmful imagery of kids can be prosecuted under their laws. With the recent significant advances in AI, it can be difficult if not impossible for law enforcement officials to distinguish between images of real and fake children.

US: Alaska man busted with 10,000+ child sex abuse images despite his many encrypted apps

BBC News has discovered that under-18s are also appearing in explicit videos on accounts run by adults in violation of OnlyFans’ guidelines. Caitlyn says it was stated “everywhere” on other online accounts that her daughter was 17. There is no obligation for a website to investigate, but OnlyFans told the BBC it checks social media when verifying accounts. According to Firman, it is not only users and the government who must strive to minimize negative content and harmful effects on digital platforms. Platform providers are also responsible for ensuring that their services are friendly and safe for all people. Child pornography videos are widely circulating on social media, closed groups, messaging applications, and the dark web.

Dark web child abuse: Hundreds arrested across 38 countries

Childline counsellors have come across a number of cases in which under-18s, some of whom are vulnerable, reference their use of OnlyFans. The deputy head asked to be anonymous to protect the identities of the children. In its response, OnlyFans says all active subscriptions would now be refunded. It said it is now liaising with the police, but had not previously been contacted about the account.