Social Media Platforms Threat To Child Safety, Children Being Manipulated: NCPCR

Social media platforms are threatening the safety of children, NCPCR advises parents to keep a close watch on their children's online activity.

New Delhi: The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) said that social media platforms are creating new challenges for child safety mostly because of grooming, phishing and cyber-bullying, according to an IANS report. 

"Children are being manipulated on social media platforms, technically known as grooming and these agencies are not ready to cooperate. The government wants these companies to give parents the right to access to accounts of children on social media," said Priyank Kanoongo, chairperson of NCPCR, IANS reported. He asked parents to be extra cautious over their child’s online activity.

Claiming that these platforms remain ignorant over issues like grooming, phishing and cyber-bullying Kanoongo said, "We are not asking them to give the rights to strangers and therefore their dilly-dallying over engaging parents to monitor the social media use of their children is shocking and unacceptable," reported IANS

He mentions that sexting and the exchange of self-shared pornographic material are emerging as the most common crime.

Stating how “filthy the online world can be”, he advised parents to educate themselves about social media platforms to keep their children safe from risky situations.

"The world of the deep web and dark web is filthier than they can even comprehend. They must educate themselves to save their children from risks. We have had scores of examples, linking allurement of young girls and boys on social media with trafficking networks," he was quoted as saying by IANS.

"Recently, a young girl from Kolkata, who posted her songs on Instagram, was lured by someone posing as a music director. The girl was rescued from near Indore," the NCPCR chairperson cited an example.

Kanoongo also spoke about NCPCR’s achievements over the past few years and mentioned how around 1.45 lakh children were rescued and brought back to their homes.

"Some of the few things which make my work extremely satisfying include being able to undertake a social audit of all child homes in the country. Then, the commission has been able to reunite over 1.45 lakh children with their own homes. We have been able to formulate a policy for street children and push for admission of children from economically weaker sections into schools”, he was quoted by IANS.