The COVID-19 pandemic has forced children throughout the world to change normal practices of life into new ways of communicating and socializing, that has largely been made possible through online platforms and applications.
With schools shut down, learning has moved
to online classrooms and e-learning applications. Meeting and socializing with
friends through social media online became a replacement to time spent with
people in person as a means of social distancing. And with entertainment venues
closed throughout the country, online applications that provide interest and
amusement are occupying more of childrenâs time.
While the internet has proved to be a great
resource to allow children to continue learning and developing during the
difficult time of this pandemic, the increased time spent online greatly
exposes them to online risks, such as the risk of sexual exploitation
online.
The use of some online platforms contains
more risks for children than others, and the rise in popularity of these apps
calls for a deeper look into the risks involved and what can be done in order
to ensure childrenâs online experience using them is safe. This piece explores
three of the main online platforms that are popular among children in Cambodia.
TikTok
One of the fastest growing apps rising in
popularity in Cambodia is TikTok, which as of April 2020 is ranked #3 in top
downloads from Google Play store in the country. (https://www.similarweb.com/apps/top/google/store-rank/kh/all/top-free).
What is it?
TikTok is a video-player app that allows
users to upload and share short video clips of themselves, most commonly of
them lip-synching popular songs and following dance moves, while they can
connect and socialize with other users.
The app allows users to upload and comment
on videos, follow other users of interest, private message others, and it also has
a special feature where users can âduetâ with another user where they combine
videoâs they create with videos created by other users.
What are the risks?
According to TikTokâs policy, users must be
over 13 years old in order to download and use the app and children under 18
must have parental approval. However, this can easily be ignored by children by
inserting a fake birthdate during registration.
On the app, children can be exposed to
content which is unfitting of age, including offensive and sexual language,
sexually suggestive videos, and harassment by other users.
In order to gain popularity and raise the
number of âlikesâ and followers they receive, children are sometimes encouraged
to upload videos of themselves where they are lip-synching sexual songs,
dancing in sexually suggestive ways and/or in minimal clothing, often without
understanding that they are uploading content that can be harmful to them.
Child sex offenders take advantage of the
platform in order to seek and follow children of whom they are interested in
exploiting. Offenders are known to groom children through the platform, send
them private messages and request sexually explicit content.
Keeping the account safe
Once opening an account with TikTok, by
default, the privacy settings are set to public and thus allows anyone to see,
comment, private message and follow the userâs account. This can be changed
immediately after opening an account through the privacy settings. Through the
privacy settings, you can control who can see your posts, comment, private
message as well as who can make a âduetâ with you.
It is important to acknowledge that profile
photos, usernames and bios of users will always be public even if the account
is set to private, so they should never contain personal or sensitive
information.
Another feature included is the ability to
control the childâs time spent on the app. This can be done through the
settings under âdigital wellbeingâ, and then turn on the âscreen time
managementâ, and ârestricted modeâ.
Any TikTok user that is acting in an
offensive way can be both blocked and reported by entering their profile and
pressing on the 3 dots on the top of their page and choosing the wanted action.
Specific content can also be blocked and reported by first pressing the share
button on the video and then following the instructions to report the content.
Mobile Legends Bang Bang
Every few months a new online game will
rise in popularity and each involves different features and online experiences
for users. Mobile Legends Bang Bang (MLBB) is currently ranked as one of the
most popular online games played by users in Cambodia, reaching #4 in top
downloads from Google Play store as of April 2020 https://www.similarweb.com/apps/top/google/store-rank/kh/all/top-free
What is it?
MLBB is a competitive multi-player game
where players team-up with other users, and battle against other teams online.
The game was designed for play on a mobile phone, allowing anyone with access
to a smartphone to download the game for free.
What are the risks?
Although there are some benefits known for
children playing MLBB such as increasing strategical thinking and enhancing
teamwork capabilities, there are also many risks involved. Aside from being extremely
addictive, MLBB contains high amounts of violence which are unhealthy for childrenâs
development.
Although MLBB is free for download, it
still contains in-app purchases that can encourage children to accept offers
from strangers to pay for different features in the game, increasing their
vulnerability to exploitation.
The game can be played with strangers met
online and messaging with other players is part of the game. A new feature that
was recently introduced is in-voice chat, allowing players to communicate via
microphone and headphones. Communication between players is known to get toxic
where players insult, harass and use offensive language with each other, or make
sexual and vulgar propositions.
Furthermore, some of the people who
communicate with children via online games are known to do so with bad
intentions. Sexual predators often use online games as an initial point of
access to children as it is easier to initiate communication and gain
childrenâs trust through the game. It becomes easier to send a friend request
on other social media to get closer to the child and communicate in more
private platforms where they try to exploit the child online or request to meet
in person for sexual purposes.
The game also has an option to share your
location in a feature called âstreet rankingâ to compare your achievements with
other players near you. This exposes children to danger with the possibility of
offenders knowing the area where the children live and target them for
grooming.
Keeping the account safe
Usernames and profiles of players are
public and should never include information that can be used to identify who
you are or include personal information that can lead to players finding you on
other social media or knowing more about you. Make sure to disable the function
that shares your location through the settings.
Chatting with strangers in the game can be
disabled through the settings so that only predesigned messages are used to
communicate between the players, preventing the possibility of bad language and
dangerous communication.
Specific players can be âmutedâ to prevent
them from sending unwanted text/voice messages. This will only prevent you from
receiving and reading messages by the player muted, but they will still be able
to read your chat messages.
You can report players by pressing the
report button on the top of the screen, and press the exclamation mark button
next to the player(s) you want to report. Public chats and offensive messages
can be reported as well, by clicking on the offensive content and pressing the
report button.
Facebook
Although Facebook is slowly losing its
popularity among users worldwide, it is still one of the most used online
platforms in Cambodia and as of April 2020 is ranked #6 in the countryâs top
downloads from Google Play store (https://www.similarweb.com/apps/top/google/store-rank/kh/all/top-free).
What is it?
Facebook is a social networking website
that allows users to connect with other people online, and to share and create
content. Each user has their own profile that allows users to upload
information on themselves they want to display. Information can include contact
information, work and education, places you visited, significant life events,
music you like, main interests and more.
With
a Facebook account you can add friends and communicate with them, message and
comment on posts, follow pages of interest, and upload content such as stories,
photographs and videos. Live videos can also be shared through a feature called
âFacebook Liveâ and allows users to broadcast in real time live videos to an
audience of users. You can also join and create groups with other members on
common interests.
What are the risks?
Just as with TikTok, users need to be at
least 13 years old to be able to register for an account with Facebook, however
many younger children are known to open an account under fake birthdates.
The platform encourages users to share
personal information, personal photos and location, and once displayed online
can be taken advantage of by online child sex offenders. Offenders are known to
collect information through Facebook to learn more about the child to connect
with them, gain their trust and groom them for sexual purposes. Unless changed
through the settings, any person can send a friend request to another user even
if they are strangers. Once accepted as friends, the exposure to personal
information and ability to communicate privately rises.
Fake accounts are very easy to create, and
anyone can impersonate as someone they are not by opening profiles with fake
information. For instance, adults can pose as children, or men can pose as
women to become more âtrustworthyâ in the eyes of children, and befriend them.
Some offenders are also known to steal the identity of others by creating an
account using a picture of one of the friends of the children they wish to
groom, to increase their levels of trust.
Another risk is the exposure to harmful
content unfitting of age through the platform. Most of the content uploaded by
users on Facebook is unregulated, especially when sent through private messages
or broadcasted live through Facebook Live. Sexual and pornographic images and
videos are sent to children by offenders, and them requesting or harassing children
to participate and send sexual material of themselves through the platform is
also common.
Keeping the account safe
Once an account is open, privacy settings
should be set in order to control who can see your posts, what pages you like,
who can send you a friend request and send you messages, who can tag you in
photos, and know your location.
Through the settings, you can add people
who are on your friend list to a ârestricted listâ, enabling them to see only
posts you set for public eyes. Blocking can be used to either block specific users,
specific content, groups, event invites, and more to prevent you from seeing
unwanted content and receive unwanted messages. People and content can be
reported through the app if they are being offensive or harmful in any way.
Make sure to avoid posting any sensitive
and personal information or photos that can be used against you, and avoid
adding people you donât know as online friends.
Regardless of what application is used, the
best ways to help prevent sexual exploitation online includes communicating
openly about online activities, discussions between parents and children on the
different risks of online platforms, thinking critically about who is
communicated with online, and making smart and healthy online choices.
If you know a child has been sexually
exploited online, you can leave an anonymous report at www.internethotlinecambodia.org,
or call APLEâs 24/7 hotline 092 311 511
