Facebook algorithms help paedophiles find children
SvD and Aftonbladet have revealed that tens of thousands of Facebook users are members of Facebook groups centred around the rape of children. Also, Facebook’s own algorithms encourage Swedish men to contact young girls in Asia.
The police know of 15,000 Swedes who have downloaded pictures and videos involving the sexual molestation of children – on open websites – in the last year alone. According to the police, this figure is only the tip of the iceberg. The Swedish Police Authority’s IT Crime Unit, part of the National Operations Department (Noa), states that the Darknet and encrypted communications are the most common ways of sharing abusive materials.
But we can now reveal that the world’s most used social network, Facebook, is also used as an interface for those who want to watch or offer abuse. We have also seen that in some cases, by the way the algorithms work, Facebook encourages Swedish men to contact young girls in Asia.