SICK paedos are allegedly sharing twisted images of children on private Facebook groups, an investigation has found.
It has been claimed that paedophiles are swapping snaps of children on the site including one image showing a girl of 10 or 11 in a vest with the caption “yum yum”.
It is also alleged a number of innocent pictures of children stolen from other locations were accompanied by obscene posts.
The investigation by the BBC said it reported 20 images to Facebook – which has a “zero tolerance for child exploitation” – and of those, some were taken down by users, but only four were removed by the company, leaving half of them online.
Facebook claimed these examples did not breach community standards, the BBC said.
When approached, a spokeswoman for the social media giant claimed it could not comment “because we have not been provided with any information on the groups in question.”
It claimed that it will investigate fully and remove groups “once we confirm they are against our rules”.
Groups set up on Facebook can have one of three settings - public, closed or secret.
A secret group is only for those who are members of the group to see what content is posted.
An NSPCC spokesman called on Facebook to carry out an urgent review of what is allegedly being shared in such groups.
He said: "It beggars belief that paedophiles have been able to set up secret groups to share images of children and discuss their sick fantasies on the world's largest social network.
"We have said before that social media companies need to take more responsibility for the content on their sites.
Facebook needs to urgently review what is being shared through these groups, use its technical expertise to identify anyone who could pose a threat to children's safety, and share this intelligence with law enforcement agencies."
A spokeswoman for Facebook said: "We have zero tolerance for child exploitation on Facebook.
“This illegal behaviour is rare on Facebook but it is immediately removed and reported to relevant law enforcement agencies when it is detected.
"We believe that our comprehensive reporting system and community standards help make Facebook one of the safest places for people on the web.
“We urge people on Facebook to use the reporting tools available on every page so we can investigate and take swift action."
Blogger Comment
Facebook Comment