Dangerous cyber-terrain for our children

Over two decades ago, a dear friend of mine had a daughter who had a tragic end. It began with what is now termed as “online grooming,” a form of child exploitation done via social media and/or telephony.

“Online grooming” is what abusers do to exploit trust and manipulate expectations of what safe behavior is and “leveraging fear and shame to keep a victim silent” or complacent.

My friend’s daughter was then in her early teens. She disappeared one day after telling my friend, her mom, that she would just be going out for a while to meet up with a friend. The poor child’s lifeless remains were found months later as she fell victim to an unspeakable evil.

Tragically, the case remains unsolved to this date.

Such crimes hit an especially sensitive nerve in my being. As a social science educator and consumer rights and welfare advocate working with the consumer group Bantay Konsyumer, Kuryente at Kalsada (BK3), I note with great anxiety the rise of a contemporary and complex social issue which is an untoward by-product of the increasing digitalization of modern life — the online sexual abuse and exploitation of children or OSAEC.

OSAEC is an issue — a social problem. It requires a social response and not merely individual action.

We must put things in perspective and see OSAEC as citizens of a now-digitally borderless world.

The first step is to be digitally ready, and this entails knowing how to safely interact in online spaces especially for our children.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical role that the internet plays in our professional and personal, everyday lives. Today, an online presence is no longer “nice to have” but a “must have.”

Unfortunately, the exponential rise of online activities has created a borderless hunting ground for online criminals such as those who engage in OSAEC. These miscreants who prey on internet users were a problem even before the pandemic; the COVID-driven lockdowns only magnified their prevalence and reach. In fact, the government revealed last year that transaction reports related to online sexual exploitation rose from 19,000 in 2019 to 47,937 in 2020 when mobility restrictions were imposed to halt the pandemic. Notably, the median age of those involved in these transactions is 11.

We must act decisively and swiftly on this issue.

In the past few years, the once-lamentable internet situation here in our country, specifically in terms of speed, has been improving. There have also been mounting calls for the government to work closely with the private sector in building digital infrastructure. These are all encouraging developments. But these are in no way the end-all and be-all of our efforts at digital readiness.

A July 2021 UNICEF study showed that free online connectivity and the widespread use of cellphones, coupled with the irresponsible use of technology and insufficient computer literacy of children and their parents, pose threats of exposure to OSAEC-related activities. Our country is an OSAEC hotspot.

Indeed, there are existing laws that punish cybercriminals. Still, OSAEC-pertinent policies in the country continue to be weak because of conflicting provisions that make it easy for cybercriminals to escape arrest. We need prompt action and thorough implementation of the legal tools available to ensure that more young Filipinos do not fall prey to unscrupulous online elements.

Each OSAEC case that arises takes a lot from our society and weakens it in profound ways even across generations.

As an educator and student of the social sciences, for over two decades now, I am well aware of the natural scientific and social fact that the negative effects of maltreatment, including what we now term as the OSAEC, can stay with a child, even beyond the years that they were exposed to these dangerous acts.

So, what, in concrete terms, can we do?

In broad strokes, what was mentioned earlier as acting collectively against OSAEC means first, encourage interventions from the private sector which promote digital citizenship, online safety, and the responsible use of technology.

Secondly, the government needs to collaborate with the private sector including civil society organizations in educating and empowering Filipinos to protect themselves online, and to set in motion an optimal strategy to address the OSAEC problem.

At the level of the individual, we must remain vigilant netizens as the threat of online criminal activity is only bound to grow more menacing. To be more direct, each of us has the duty to report suspicious sites or online activities that instigate and encourage irresponsible, if not criminal, behavior.

At the level of policy (and the 2021 UNICEF study on OSAEC bears these as key recommendations), we need rules that would exempt OSAEC cases from the Anti-Wiretapping Act, or else sinister minds would be able to continue their dark deeds unhampered, and even protected by the law. Moreover, the country’s laws also need to require financial institutions and remittance centers to act on OSAEC-related transactions.

With all these, we can do something to prevent these cyberspace predators from harming our people, especially our children.

Louie C. Montemar is a professor of Sociology and Political Science, and a fellow for Education at the Stratbase ADR Institute.