Facebook has launched a campaign in the Philippines to raise awareness about online sexual exploitation of children.
People should stop sharing photos and videos that show child abuse, Malina Enlund, Facebook Trust and Safety manager for Southeast Asia, told an online forum on Wednesday. People should instead report content to report content where kids are harmed, she added.
A study conducted by Facebook from October to Nov. 2020 showed that nine of 10 child exploitative content that were shared or reshared had been reported earlier.
“Copies of just six videos were responsible for more than half of the child exploitative content we reported in that time period,” Ms. Enlund said.
Out of 150 Facebook accounts that shared malicious content, more than 75% did so without malice and were just for humor, she said.
Facebook is “cooperating closely with law enforcement to protect children and improve our approach,” she added.
The Justice department said cases of online sexual exploitation of children rose by almost four times to 279,166 last year from 2019.
The agency is working closely with Facebook to collect evidence against perpetrators, Yvette T. Coronel, executive director of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, told the same forum.
The campaign was launched in other countries a week ago, Ms. Enlund said, adding that they would soon find out how effective it has been. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago