Encryption makes it easy to harass children.. British criticism of Facebook

 

kids and facebook

Encryption makes it easy to harass children.. British criticism of Facebook

With children becoming addicted to the internet and navigating various social media sites, it's easy for them to fall prey to predators, exposing them to harm and sexual assault.

The UK's National Crime Agency has accused Facebook of endangering children's lives after a sharp decline in reports of child sexual abuse.

Especially after official figures revealed that Facebook saw a drop in the number of reports of child sexual abuse on its platform through its global crime reporting system in 2024, by about 6.9 million cases compared to 2023, a 40% drop from 18 million to 11.1 million.

National Crime Agency (NCA) directors blamed Mark Zuckerberg's decision to introduce end-to-end encryption on Facebook for this sharp decline in reports, according to The Telegraph.

For his part, Alex Murray, the agency's director of threat management, emphasized that the decline on Facebook contrasts with other major social media companies, which increased their detection and reporting during the same period.

 He added that the introduction of encryption prevented Facebook from detecting illegal behavior on its platform, hindering the agency's ability to collect evidence, conduct investigations, protect children who have been sexually abused, and apprehend perpetrators.