Technology

59974 readers

3693 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

Follow the lemmy.world rules.
Only tech related content.
Be excellent to each another!
Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
Politics threads may be removed.
No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

132

On These Apps, the Dark Promise of Mothers Sexually Abusing Children (www.nytimes.com)

submitted 1 week ago by [email protected] to c/technology

34 comments fedilink hide all child comments

After confirming the authenticity of the Bigo livestreamer with the authorities, The Times searched the Apple and Google app stores for other video chat apps. Reporters identified a sample of more than 80 apps that advertised children before stopping the search. They later contacted Homeland Security Investigations, the government’s main law enforcement group for international exploitation, for comment.

“The number one customer base paying for this abuse is in the United States,” the agent said. “It’s not like they are abused once a day. It’s 50 men getting 50 separate shows. They’ll wake up these kids in the middle of the night to be abused.”

Asked about The Times’s sample of offending apps, Mr. Sainz said a majority had been detected during the company’s standard review process, with an additional 20 taken down after an internal investigation in response to The Times’s findings.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 38 points 6 days ago (1 children)

A Florida man, Christopher John Streeter, has been serving life in prison since 2021 after sending roughly $130,000 over a decade to people in the Philippines to direct the rape of children as young as 12.

He paid a premium if the video depicted girls losing their virginity or suffering injuries because of the sexual violence. Court records show Mr. Streeter’s victims were particularly vulnerable “due to poverty and illness.”

Holy shit that’s dark.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Why are people like this?

[–] bcgm3 9 points 5 days ago

The phrase "hurt people hurt people" immediately comes to mind, but I still have no idea what Streeter's story was, even after reading way more than I would have liked to. But I think yours is an important question for people to be asking, if they ever hope to prevent abuse (as much as could ever be prevented, I guess).