You wouldn’t think that hashtags like #pottytrain, #naptime, #splishsplash and #kidsswimwear used in captions of innocent photos parents share in social media should be avoided, but they should because they attract child predators and pedophiles.
A republished story in Good Morning America today includes a list curated by a non profit child advocacy groups of over 100 hashtags that parents should avoid using in social media. The list was initially released in January as part of the group’s @kidsforprivacy campaign that launched in 2018.
Child Rescue Coalition is an organization that aims to protect all children from sexual exploitation.
One way they do that is through the Child Protection System (CPS) — “technology that provides the most comprehensive view of where child predators around the world are downloading and sharing explicit content online -— leading to direct action,” according to the web
“To a normal person and normal friends photos picture on the beach that’s cute to us cute to us might be seen very differently by predators,” CEO and founder, Carly Yoost told GMA. “Child predators not only use the Internet to distribute pornography, but also to stalk children, share information, and trade tips and techniques on how to seduce and lure them into sexual encounters.”
Find the list here and here and a step-by-step guide for adjusting privacy settings can be found here.
The ones I mentioned above, I would never think would be creepy but the following seem obviously the type to attract criminal creeps:
#nakedkidsclub #nakedkidsagain #nakedkidsarehappykids #cantkeepclothesonhim #nakedkids #nakedbaby #nakedkid #nakedkiddos #nakedchild #nakedchildren #nakedtoddler #nakedkidseverywhere #nakedtoddleralert #sexykids #sexychildren #nudechild #nudekids #skinnybabybooty #peeingkid #nappyfree #diaperfree #babypeeing
Child Rescue Coalition recommends that parents ask themselves the following questions before posting an image of their child:
1. Why am I sharing this?
2. Would I want someone else to share an image like this of me?
3. Would I want this image of my child viewed and downloaded by predators on the Dark Web?
4. Is this something I want to be part of my child’s digital life?
“The point is not to scare parents from sharing photos of their kids on social media,” Yoost said. “It’s to help them do it in a safe way.”