What for some people are normal photos, elsewhere serves unimaginable fantasies. Experts strongly advise not to share children’s pictures publicly.
Hanover – Uploading photos of children to social media has now become the standard for many parents. However, not all legal guardians understand the danger behind this. Because what are harmless vacation photos for friends and acquaintances of the family also attracts people who have other things in mind. For example, pediatric criminals.
| society | German Child Protection Association |
| Members | 50.000 |
| founding | 1953 |
| Chair | Heinz Hilgersjo |
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They steal photos in social media and upload them again – on dubious portals, on which simple pictures of children are placed in a sexual context. Especially in the summer, when parents upload images of beaches and outdoor pools.
Photos of children on the Internet – how parents inadvertently supply pedagogical criminals
As soon as photos are public, you give up control over them. “It is understandable that parents and grandparents show photos of their children and grandchildren – they want to share their joy. Unfortunately, the Internet is the worst place to do this, ”says the board member of the Child Protection Association, Joachim Türk. According to Türk, the pedophile crime scene is huge and very active. The stolen photos would be made available for purposes “which we do not want to imagine”.
However, in order to draw attention to the problems, Türk describes: “Imagine that the pictures end up on the websites of pedophile offers, and strangers comment in detail on how exactly they would like to do sexualized violence to your children. You hope that not even references to your apartment have been stolen. ”In the past, there have been several cases in which the incidents have shifted from the Internet to real life.
The police are appealing to parents not to share children’s photos publicly on the Internet.
© dpa / Monika Skolimowska
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Pedophile crime: YouTube also affected
But not only dodgy portals cause child and youth protection concerns. Even on YouTube, users can use the playlist function to put everyday pictures of children in a sexual context, as the internet guardians of “Jugendschutz.net” recently reported. Sexualization occurs through the names of the playlists or through the compilation of the videos, according to the 2020 annual report of the experts who advocate the protection of children and young people on the Internet as a joint competence center of the federal and state governments.
So you hope that not even references to your apartment have been stolen.
“Using a combination of sexualizing adjectives (sexy, cute, hot, horny) and inconspicuous terms about age, size or
For physical activities (young, small, gymnastics), such playlists were found using the YouTube search function, ”says the report. Videos of minors in swimwear or sportswear would be combined with erotic videos of adults.
Experts: adjust video settings beforehand
Scenes with minors in swimwear or in gymnastic bodies would be combined with erotic adult videos. This makes it easier for pedophiles to access such representations and makes minors victims of sexualization. As a safe countermeasure, the experts recommend configuring the default settings so that videos are not distributed indiscriminately. “It is useful, for example, to exclude the possibility of your own videos being added to others’ playlists.”
Cyber criminologist: Do not divulge information about children
The police also repeatedly warn against sharing children’s content on the Internet. But the head of the institute for cyber criminology at the University of the Police of the State of Brandenburg, Thomas-Gabriel Rüdiger, also does not consider it right for parents to spread “vulnerable information” about children. Where do you eat regularly? What does your apartment look like? What pets do they have? “In the worst case, this contextual information can also be used to identify children by perpetrators and possibly also to address them directly,” says the expert.
A chief detective sits in front of a computer looking for child pornography and cases of sexual abuse.
© dpa / Arne Dedert
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Photo book instead of internet gallery
For Joachim Türk, the danger behind unsuspectingly disseminated images of children does not begin outside of his own social sphere, but often within a much narrower circle. “All studies say that sexual violence against children is mostly carried out in so-called social areas. From family, relatives, friends. And I’m not talking about “so-called” friends, as they are everyday on Facebook, Instagram and Co., ”says Türk, who rather than using chat groups recommends a digital picture gallery on the tablet at home or a self-made photo book. “Photos are often used as admission tickets or souvenirs for access to pedophile meeting places on the Darknet, and they are available online with just a click of the mouse.”
New technology exacerbates problems
Thomas-Gabriel Rüdiger is already thinking into the future and sees an additional source of danger in the constant improvement of smartphone technology. The ever better resolution of images, for example, already ensures that biometric data such as fingerprints can be read out today. “In addition, facial recognition software is constantly improving and there is also artificial aging software, also for private users,” says the expert. A picture of a child that is publicly shared today can therefore lead to the child being able to be found “fully automatically” even in old age. “It can happen that the child is already deprived of the opportunity to develop their own digital identity or not at all.”
As a result, it can happen that the child is deprived of the opportunity to develop his or her own digital identity or even no digital identity at all.
All of this is just the current state of the art, says Rüdiger, whose prognosis for the future does not sound optimistic: “What can be read from the existing images in the future is not yet apparent.” * Kreiszeitung.de is a offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
Rubriklistenbild: © dpa / Monika Skolimowska
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