Social media platforms allow everyone, including children, to stay in touch with people they know and make connections with new people. When done with the appropriate safeguards these platforms offer great opportunities, but they are regularly exploited by those who intend to harm or exploit others. They can also be used in a way that causes harassment and distress.
In most places the law applies equally to conduct on and offline, so if someone behaves inappropriately you may be able to report this to the police. Even if the behaviour is not criminal, you can still report it to the platform itself, which allows the company to take action. You can report to the platform and the police.
If you are aware of exploitative activity in connection to children, including the presence or sharing of child sexual abuse material, you should report this to an INHOPE portal or the police in your country. You can report to the platform and an INHOPE portal at the same time.
Below are the links to block and report on some of the most used platforms.
Facebook allows users to connect with people and share content.
Facebook has 2.9 billion active users.
TikTok is a video-sharing app that allows users to create and share short videos on any topic. TikTok has 1 billion active users.
Twitter allows users to communicate in short messages ('tweets'). Twitter has 463 million active users.
Instagram is a photo and video sharing platform, available on both iOS and Android. Instagram has 1.4 billion active users.
YouTube is a video sharing platform. YouTube has 2.3 billion active users.
Snapchat allows the exchange images ('snaps'). Snapchat has 538 million active users.
Messenger is a messaging feature of Facebook. Facebook Messenger has 1.3 billion active users.
Reddit is a social news aggregation and discussion platform. Reddit has 430 million active users.
Pinterest is a platform using images, and videos in the form of 'pinboards'. Pinterest has 454 million active users.
Roblox is an online platform where users go to play one of a collection of 50 million games. Roblox has 202 million active users.
WhatsApp is a messaging app allowing video/voice calls, and text/picture messaging. WhatsApp has 2 billion active users.
Kik is a messaging app, available on both iOS and Android. KiK is free to use and is similar to WhatsApp. Kik has 15 million active users.
Perpetrators of Child Sexual Abuse:
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