Twitter unveils digital hub to combat online exploitation of children
#NotForSale: A Safer Twitter, a digital resource hub developed by the social media company and humanitarian organization Plan International Philippines, aims to curb the Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC).
“We have to work together — as parents, educators, tech companies, and government — to create a safer internet for all and be firm in showing that our children and young people are #NotForSale,” said Ana Maria Locsin, Plan International Philippines country director.
The Philippines was tagged as the “global epicenter of livestream sexual abuse trade of children” in 2020 by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
The country’s English language proficiency, widespread Internet access, and robust money remittance infrastructure have made it a hotspot for these crimes.
Netizens can visit the #NotForSale: A Safer Twitter hub at bit.ly/TwitterNotForSalePH to access resources on digital parenting, digital citizenship, and Twitter safety features.
“Parents should not stop learning, just because they have difficulty understanding something,” said Ara Alliana I. Ocampo, a youth advocate and former president of the Mariveles Youth Alliance Poblacion, an organization in Mariveles, Bataan, that focuses on child protection, women empowerment, and gender equality. “[They] should learn how to use social media and build good relationships with their children so they can express when they feel unsafe.”
Ms. Ocampo, in a Feb. 8 discussion on Twitter Spaces, pointed out the ease with which any type of information can be found on the Internet. A friend of hers, she said, joked about not needing to go to porn sites for sexually explicit materials because they’re readily available on mainstream social media.
“It’s disturbing to know that perpetrators are using online platforms for crime when it’s supposed to be a safe place for people,” Ms. Ocampo said.
Local interventions for child protection include the SaferKidsPH consortium, which partnered with telecommunications firm PLDT, Inc. in 2021 to curb OSAEC in places like Cagayan de Oro, and the Municipal Council for the Protection of Children (MCPC) in Mariveles, whose work includes creating online support systems for the youth.
Twitter has a zero-tolerance policy against child sexual exploitation. The platform detects and removes tweets with harmful content, and its Help Center also has a page for submitting cases of online child exploitation.
“We know there is a lot of work to be done in creating a more open, better and safer Internet; and we cannot do it alone,” said Monrawee Ampolpittayanant, Twitter’s head of public policy, government, and philanthropy for Southeast Asia. “We are very pleased to be a partner [in the] launch of the #NotForSale campaign to raise awareness among Filipinos and to help them navigate the online world safely.” — Patricia B. Mirasol
