An attractive sum of money, a gift, or a favor in return only Sending an erotic photo or video to a stranger. 2.5% of young Spaniards say they received this type of offer at some point while they were minors. This means one in 40 young people. And 15% say they know of cases where minors have participated in such activities. Social media is increasingly filled with these lures and easy advertisements, websites and platforms that whitewash sexual exploitation and child pornography, prompting an alert from the NGO Save the Children.
In the report we are publishing today, not only are worrying figures presented regarding the growing number of victims of these practices, but a reality that should not be underestimated is also made clear: in many cases, the teenagers themselves do not identify as victims. Behind a deceptive consent ("I am the one who decides to expose myself"), unequal power dynamics and pressure are often hidden... all of which are often difficult for the victim to detect.
On the one hand, the dark side of social media highlights how much work still needs to be done to improve information and education for teenagers so they can detect and protect themselves in these kinds of situations. Sex and relationship education must evolve to address these new risks, which are already affecting thousands of young people in digital environments, as evidenced by the Save the Children survey.
Responsibility for minors must also extend to families so that awareness of these dangers is much greater. What happens when you share your images? What repercussions can it have? At home, this task—not only monitoring and control but also guidance in the use of digital environments—must be a priority. And this is also true in schools, of course. Regardless of whether or not there are mobile phones in the classroom, what is clear is that students inevitably interact with these online environments.
Furthermore, the report's findings should send a clear message to institutions, which also bear a significant responsibility in this fight to prevent these messages, traps, and crimes from running rampant on networks and platforms with impunity. The bill for the protection of minors in digital environments currently being processed in Congress is more urgent than ever, and it would be good—although these are not good times for majorities and consensus—if the approval of this law were not delayed any longer. Control over these platforms is paramount to limiting their reach, ending the sense of impunity in some cases, and bringing those behind these crimes to justice.
The law presents an opportunity to better regulate access to these environments. It introduces parental controls and age verification systems which, while not technically perfect, may also compel technology companies to be more proactive in monitoring the content they make accessible to minors—something that is not currently happening. Furthermore, the new law clarifies the new crimes that social media has given rise to (and proliferated) and proposes harsher penalties for perpetrators. All of this is a collection of regulations that are already overdue in addressing a reality that, as the Save the Children report warns, is claiming more victims every day.
