Moreover, in its annual report for 2024, Association Meter identified over 8,000 links to pedophilic content, with U.S.-based servers hosting half the links.

Online predators use social media, games, chat apps, and messaging platforms to groom, manipulate, or exploit children and teens. Prevention works best through open conversations, strong privacy habits, supervision, and knowing when and how to report. Official guidance from DHS Know2Protect, the Department of Justice, FBI, and NCMEC emphasizes the same core practices. Tips for parents and caregivers Start ongoing, two-way conversations early and keep them going. Discuss privacy, healthy vs. unhealthy relationships, grooming tactics (flattery, gifts, secrecy, isolation, pressure for photos or private chats), and that a child will not be in trouble for coming to you. Review every app, game, and site before use. Pay extra attention to those with private messaging, video chat, file sharing, anonymity, or end-to-end encryption. Set devices, apps, and accounts to private. Turn off location services except for family-tracking apps you control. Use parental controls, time limits, and device check-ins. Keep devices in common areas when possible. Know who is on friend lists and remove strangers. Only allow real-life friends. Never let a child move a conversation off a game or platform with someone they do not know in person. Teach that anything posted or sent can last forever and be shared. Do not share full name, address, school, age, photos that reveal location, or other identifying details with strangers. Watch for behavioral changes: secrecy about devices, sudden mood shifts, new unexplained gifts or money, withdrawal, age-inappropriate sexual language, or obsession with a new online “friend.” Tips for kids and teens Set every account and app to private. Accept friend or follow requests only from people you know in real life. Remove strangers. Do not respond to messages from people you do not know. Never leave a game to chat on another app with a stranger. Do not share personal information, photos, or videos that could identify you or your location. Assume everyone online could be lying about who they are. If anything feels uncomfortable, secretive, or pressuring (requests for photos, meeting up, keeping secrets from parents), stop, block, save evidence (screenshots, usernames), and tell a trusted adult immediately. Do not delete messages. Trust your instincts. You have the right to say no, leave a chat, and ask for help. A safe adult will not ask you to keep secrets or ignore your boundaries. Red flags of grooming or predation Someone asking to move to a private chat, requesting secrecy, showering intense compliments or gifts, asking for photos or personal details, refusing video calls while claiming to be your age, or becoming controlling or threatening. Fake profiles often have few photos, incomplete information, or inconsistencies. Newer threats include sextortion (threats to share images) and violent online networks that coerce self-harm or explicit content. Never pay or comply with blackmail; report instead. If something happens Save evidence on the device. Do not delete or forward explicit images. Report immediately: NCMEC CyberTipline: report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678 FBI: tips.fbi.gov Local law enforcement or 911 if there is immediate danger NCMEC’s Take It Down service can help remove explicit images of minors. Seek support for the child; it is not their fault. Resources like NCMEC NetSmartz (videos and guides by age) and DHS Know2Protect offer age-appropriate materials for continued conversations. Consistent habits plus a trusted adult relationship remain the strongest protections.

Thanks to a recent FBI investigation, Charlotte child psychiatrist David Tatum was convicted of producing child porn – and you won’t believe how he did it.

Online predators are people—most often adults—who use the internet, social media, games, messaging apps, and other digital platforms to target others for sexual exploitation or abuse. The term is used most commonly for those who seek out children and teenagers. They exploit the anonymity and reach of online spaces to make contact that would be harder or riskier in person. The goal is typically sexual: soliciting images or videos, engaging in sexualized conversation, coercing victims, or trying to arrange in-person meetings. Some also use threats or blackmail (sextortion). A smaller share of cases involve financial motives or broader violent networks that combine sexual exploitation with other harms. There is no single “look” Predators do not fit a simple stereotype. They can be any age, background, or occupation and often appear ordinary or even well-liked in their communities. Studies and law-enforcement data consistently show the large majority are male. Ages vary widely, with many in their 20s to 40s, though younger and older offenders also exist. Some have prior records; many do not. A portion have themselves experienced abuse. They frequently lie about their age or identity. Most child sexual abuse overall still involves someone the victim already knows. Online cases often begin with a stranger who then works to become a trusted contact. Scale The problem is large and growing with the spread of social platforms, gaming, and messaging. Organizations such as the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) receive tens of millions of reports each year through their CyberTipline covering child sexual abuse material, online enticement, and related crimes. Estimates of active online predators targeting children run into the hundreds of thousands on any given day, though exact numbers are hard to pin down. Victims are frequently in the 12–15 age range, though younger children and teens of all genders are targeted. What this is not The term is sometimes applied loosely to any unwanted or aggressive online behavior. In child-protection and law-enforcement contexts it specifically refers to sexual targeting and exploitation of minors (or, less often, vulnerable adults). Not every person who chats with a minor online is a predator; the defining element is the intent to exploit. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, contact local law enforcement. For suspected online child sexual exploitation in the U.S., reports can be made to NCMEC’s CyberTipline (cybertipline.org) or the FBI. Resources such as Take It Down can help remove explicit images of minors. Prevention centers on open communication with children about online contacts, privacy settings, and never meeting strangers from the internet without trusted adult involvement.

AI putting children at risk online

A former West Michigan orthodontist has been sentenced to 60 years in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.

Texas filed a landmark lawsuit against Discord, claiming it deceived parents about safety while children faced predators and extremist content on its servers.

A Virginia man was sentenced today to 22 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) while on supervised release for almost ...

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Texas filed a landmark lawsuit against Discord, claiming it deceived parents about safety while children faced predators and extremist content on its servers.

Texas filed a landmark lawsuit against Discord, claiming it deceived parents about safety while children faced predators and extremist content on its servers.

Texas filed a landmark lawsuit against Discord, claiming it deceived parents about safety while children faced predators and extremist content on its servers.

YouTube video by Ten10 Visuals Network™

YouTube video by Ten10 Visuals Network™

YouTube video by Ten10 Visuals Network™