- NSPCC urges tech companies and MPs to back Online Safety Bill following new research on scale of online grooming
- Primary school children targeted in more than half of online grooming crimes in Scotland since social media regulation was first demanded
More than 3,500 online grooming crimes have been recorded by Police Scotland while children have been waiting for online safety laws, new figures published by the NSPCC reveal today.
Data from Police Scotland shows 593 Communicating Indecently with a Child offences were recorded last year (2022/23).
The new research shows that in Scotland, 1,873 offences took place against primary school children, with under-13s making up more than half of victims.
The new analysis of the scale of child sexual abuse taking place on social media comes ahead of MPs and Lords making final decisions on the Online Safety Bill next month.
The NSPCC first called for social media regulation to protect children from sexual abuse in 2017 and has been campaigning for robust legislation ever since.
The charity said the number of offences is likely to be far higher than those known to police. In response, they are urging politicians on all sides to support the Bill in its final stages and pass this vital legislation.
Aoife (19) from East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, was exploited online when she was 15 by an adult male who pretended to be a teenager.
The man convinced her to send him images of herself and blackmailed her with these to control her behaviour. When his demands became increasingly intense and frightening, Aoife plucked up the courage to tell her mum and teachers, who helped them to report it to the police.
Aoife said: “When I found out I’d been talking to an older man I was petrified. I remember it was 3am and I was sitting in my room, just shaking. I felt like I was the only person in the world and started crying.
“I wanted my mum, and while she was just in the room next door I thought I couldn’t tell her because it’s so embarrassing, but all I wanted was a hug from her.”
A draft Online Safety Bill was published over two years ago but regulation was first promised by Government in 2018 following the NSPCC’s call for action and the launch of its Wild West Web campaign.
The charity has been campaigning for strong legislation ever since, working closely with survivors, Government, Parliamentarians, and other civil society groups to ensure it effectively tackles the way social media and gaming sites contribute to child sexual abuse.
The legislation will mean tech companies have a legal duty of care for young users and must assess their products for child abuse risks and put mitigations in place to protect children.
It will give the regulator Ofcom powers to address significant abuse taking place in private messaging and require companies to put safeguards in place to identify and disrupt abuse in end-to-end encrypted environments.
The NSPCC said these measures are vital to effectively protect children from the most insidious abuse and recent polling shows they are backed by more than seven in ten voters.
Sir Peter Wanless, NSPCC Chief Executive said: “Today’s research highlights the sheer scale of child abuse happening on social media and the human cost of fundamentally unsafe products.
“The number of offences must serve as a reminder of why the Online Safety Bill is so important and why the ground-breaking protections it will give children are desperately needed.
“We’re pleased the Government has listened and strengthened the legislation so companies must tackle how their sites contribute to child sexual abuse in a tough but proportionate way, including in private messaging.
“It’s now up to tech firms, including those highlighted by these stark figures today, to make sure their current sites and future services do not put children at unacceptable risk of abuse.”
As well as winning the commitment to legislate, the NSPCC has helped shape significant gains for children in the Online Safety Bill as it has passed through Parliament, including:
- Senior tech bosses will be held criminally liable for significant failures that put children at risk of sexual abuse and other harm.
- Girls will be given specific protections as Ofcom will produce guidance on tackling Violence Against Women and Girls for companies to follow.
- Companies will have to crack down on so-called tribute pages and breadcrumbing that use legal but often stolen images of children and child accounts to form networks of offenders to facilitate child sexual abuse.
- Sites will have to consider how grooming pathways travel across various social media apps and games and work together to prevent abuse spreading across different platforms.
The NSPCC is still seeking assurances that the legislation will effectively regulate AI and immersive technology and wants an online child safety advocacy body specifically to speak with and for children as part of the day-to-day regulatory regime. They argue that this will help spot emerging risks and fight for the interests and safety of children before tragedies arise.
The charity are asking campaigners to reach out to MPs with personal messages about why they should act to make the online world safer for children and pass a robust Online Safety Bill in the coming weeks.
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