Call for 'swift' action over online child sex abuse

A children's charity has called for tech companies to take swift action after a man was jailed for sexually messaging two young teenagers on Snapchat.

Thomas Weller, 33, from Faygate, near Horsham, was sentenced to 34 months in prison after he admitted sending "truly revolting" explicit texts.

A spokesperson from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) said: "He used Snapchat to contact these young people - a social media platform that is used in a large proportion of online grooming crimes because it has features that have not been designed to keep young users safe."

In a statement, a Snapchat spokesperson said: "Any sexual exploitation and abuse of young people is horrific and illegal and our hearts go out to the victims in this case."

The NSPCC is also urging Ofcom to "significantly strengthen" its approach to tackling child sexual abuse through "effective enforcement" of the Online Safety Act.

The charity said: “We're calling on tech companies to take swift and ambitious action to address what is currently happening on their platforms."

The mother of a 13-year-old girl who exchanged nearly 300 messages with Weller said she thought her daughter had been "scarred for life" and lost trust in everyone.

The court also heard how the social worker, who posed as a 20-year-old man, exchanged more than 200 Snapchat messages with a 15-year-old boy and offered for him to come to his home.

The former social worker pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual communication with a child and misconduct in public office in July.

Ofcom says its proposed online safety codes, which will be finalised by the end of 2024, will be "game-changing" in creating a safer life online for children.

Under the codes, tech firms would be required to introduce measures to protect users from illegal online content, including child sexual abuse material and grooming.

Ofcom said if platforms failed to protect children it would have a range of enforcement powers to ensure they were held accountable.

"We’re already looking at how we can further strengthen our codes as our evidence grows, such as using AI to detect harmful child sexual abuse content."

Snapchat said it "immediately" takes down content it finds or gets reports about. It also disable the sender's account and report the activity to the authorities.

The spokesperson said: "We also make it difficult for young people to be contacted by strangers.

"We keep friend lists private and don’t allow teens to be messaged by someone they haven’t added as a friend or don’t have in their phone contacts."

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