Each summer, thousands of pictures of children in a swimsuit are posted on the networks. What seems to be a vacation memory can become equipment for pedocriminals. Child protection associations sound the alarm.
Holiday memories … within the reach of predators
During this summer period, social networks are filled with photos of children playing in the sand, laughing in the waves or current in a swimsuit. If these scenes seem innocent, they are not always once posted online. Child protection associations, such as Mouv “children or chameleon, call parents to vigilance.
Behind a cliché shared with love, sometimes hides an insidious danger. The Office of Minors (OFMIN) reveals that 50 % of the photos exchanged on the pedocriminal forums come from social networks, often published by the parents themselves. A freezing statistic, which recalls that pedocriminals do not only prowle in the shade: they scrutinize, record and archive the images put online.
Predators do not sleep: your children can be in their viewfinder
“”Each summer, children’s photos in a swimsuit are a boon for pedocriminals“, Mouv’fantes alert. And the danger is not limited to the simple diffusion. Eglantine Cami, of the Caméléon association, explains that these images can be exchanged for sexual purposes, but also diverted thanks to artificial intelligence.”We will, for example, take the face of a child and stick it on a bare body“, she warns.
The risk goes even further. These images give valuable information: location, habits, frequented places … A simple post can allow a predator to choose a target and follow it. According to the association, 40 % of people who consulted pedocriminal content then seek to get in touch with a child.
How to protect your children online?
Faced with this observation, associations recommend several simple but essential gestures. First, avoid publishing this type of content online. If the desire to share memories is strong, favor private shipments, via messaging, to confidence.
If parents still want to publish on networks, configuring their accounts in private mode is imperative. It is also advisable to blur the faces or to hide them with an emoji, do not give personal information (first name, place, school, etc.), and especially to sort it in your contacts: the less spectators, the less risks.
Finally, it is crucial to educate those around him. A photo shared by a grandparent or a precautionary friend can have the same consequences.
Before publishing an image of a child, do we ask ourselves: “What if a stranger made it misuse?”
Prevention begins with this awareness.