Instagram SHAME as paedos use ‘toddler bikini’ hashtags to steal photos for sick porn sites
Shocking app design lets paedos make off with hundreds of thousands of pics of bikini-clad youngsters
PAEDOS are using Instagram to track down "toddler bikini" photos to share on sick porn sites.
Instagram has failed to clean up hashtags that help share hundreds of thousands of pics featuring underage girls in swimsuits and bikinis.
A child safety expert at the NSPCC told The Sun that Instagram shouldn't allow "clearly inappropriate" hashtags – and said the Facebook-owned site needs to do better.
The twisted trend was first revealed by Australia's , which revealed that images of child models from Instagram were "ending up on porn sites and paedophile-fantasy chat rooms".
The Sun discovered two hashtags that directed users to "tweens" (someone aged between 10 and 14) and toddlers in bikinis.
When you search for the those hashtags, Instagram produces more than 200,000 photos – revealing the enormous scale of the problem.
Many of the images appear to be legitimate modelling photos, or normal pictures posted by proud mums and dads.
But pervs can easily access these photos en masse, and some of them have been "shared on a porn site and other chat rooms".
Speaking to 10 Daily, one "mumager" named Nicole – who manages her young daughter's social media page – said she's inundated with inappropriate messages and pictures on Instagram.
"Monitoring the direct messages is like a full time job, deleting penis photos, marriage proposals, all sorts of disgusting comments."
Her daughter, who has "only just become a teenager", has more than 150,000 followers.
And she said that there's an industry-wide problem with youngster models online.
"I've seen mums at photo-shoots and they are the ones who are unbuttoning their 10-year-old daughter's tops and telling them what to do."
She said mums are "desperate to get their daughter's noticed" on Instagram.
Nicole also said that one photographer ";convinced her" to take a photo of her daughter with her pigtails covering her naked chest.
She said: "I felt sick about it.
"I ended up telling him that I thought it was inappropriate and the photo has never been shared or published thankfully."
The fact that Instagram makes it easy to track down thousands of photos of toddlers in bikinis is disturbing.
Especially given that Instagram's own rules prohibit 13-year-old users.
However, Instagram doesn't prevent adult users uploading photos of their children – which is seemingly benefiting paedophiles.
Speaking to The Sun, an NSPCC spokesman said: "This shows just how easy it is to lose control of a picture once it is online.
"We cannot stress enough how important it is that adults and young people know how to use privacy settings so that they can stay safe online, and there is lots of help and advice on our website.
"Ultimately, we expect social media sites to keep their platform safe for children.
"These hashtags are clearly inappropriate and Instagram needs to be more proactive in dealing with this sort of content."
The NSPCC is campaigning for the UK Government to make the internet safer for young people.
For instance, YouTube disables comments on videos that are perfectly innocent but may attract inappropriate comments.
The Sun understands that the NSPCC wants other social media sites – like Instagram – to follow this lead.
How to talk to your kids about online safety
Here's official advice from the NSPCC...
- Talk to your child about what 'personal information' is - such as email address, full name, phone number, address and school name - and why it's important
- Explain simple ways to protect privacy. For example, avoiding usernames like birthdates or locations that give away too much information
- Discuss images and photos, and what might be appropriate. Help your child understand how photographs can give people a sense of your personality, and that sharing the wrong kind of image can give the wrong impression
- Explain that it isn't easy to identify someone online. People aren't always who they say they are, so don't share personal information. If it's someone who genuinely knows your child, they shouldn't need to ask for personal information online
- Tell your child that if they're in any doubt they should talk to you first
In a statement, an Instagram spokesperson told The Sun: "We are committed to the safety of our community, and we continue to develop tools and resources which protect people on Instagram.
"These include the ability to make your account private so you have control over who can see your content, reporting tools to flag any posts that make you uncomfortable, and a global team who review content 24/7 and take swift action when it violates our guidelines.
"In addition, our community guidelines make it clear that you have to be 13 or over to use Instagram, and any account reported to us and identified as belonging to someone under-age is removed."
But this isn't the first time The Sun has exposed dodgy antics on Instagram.
Earlier this year, we reported on dangerous "eating disorder hashtags" that were circulating on Instagram without any warnings.
And in July, a Sun Online investigation found that secret sex hashtags were being used to share hundreds of smutty videos.
The popular image-sharing app has a strict "zero tolerance" policy on sexual content – but had failed to crack down on porn hashtags that help users find smut online.
The Sun tracked down more than a dozen different hashtags that lead directly to smut.
We found hundreds of inappropriate posts in a matter of minutes, just by entering rogue hashtags easily searchable online.
Some videos depicted full sex with genitals in clear view, while others showed oral sex or masturbation.
One clip even showed a bestiality scene involving an adult woman and a horse – which is illegal to distribute in the UK.
Others didn't necessarily depict nudity, but included male ejaculation or close-up crops on hardcore sex scenes – leaving genitals just out of shot.
Do you think Instagram needs to clean up its act? Let us know in the comments!
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