Teen Porn Channels Exploit Teens’ Trust

When it comes to sharing explicit material online, the Internet can be an inexhaustibly complicated place. Even as messaging apps such as Telegram implement safeguards to keep young people safe, paedophiles still find new ways to exploit young people’s trust and exploit their personal lives.

Telegram’s messaging app Telegram allows users to create groups and channels dedicated to any subject imaginable; some groups focus specifically on adult-themed material. Such channels often host videos of sexual acts, revenge pornography and other sexually-themed material as well as promise regular updates with high privacy levels for members. The Straits Times discovered six such channels and believes more may exist.

Victoria and Sarah did not report the abuse to Telegram because they did not want to lose evidence and didn’t believe it would make a difference; even if photos were removed from one group, they likely would resurface elsewhere and couldn’t be verified, thus rendering police powerless to take any actions against it.

Social media law specialist Emma Sadlier advised parents who allow their children to access Telegram that if the location setting has been disabled it must remain so permanently and can no longer be toggled back on again. She added that Telegram needs to limit group sizes, introduce features like group filters and use AI technology proactively screening private groups for nonconsensual pornography content.

Teenagers easily access these intimate images through various teenage porn channels online, making their law enforcement difficult. Furthermore, these teenage porn channels demonstrate how laws created to punish those who share nonconsensual intimate imagery online can’t keep pace with its dark corners; further complicating matters is their ease of finding and accessing such material by teenagers themselves and public authorities, including police forces.