Children are being added to WhatsApp groups with pornographic content. PJ gives advice to parents

On Tuesday, judicial police warned that contacts of children and young people from primary and secondary schools are being added to WhatsApp groups where pornographic content is being shared, and asked parents to pay special attention to this.

In a published statement, the National Cybercrime and Technological Crime Unit of the Judicial Police (PJ) warns that this is a “new and widespread” practice that constitutes the crime of child pornography.

As he explains, the “way of working” is to create groups on the WhatsApp messenger, to which contacts of children and young people from schools in different parts of the country are added.

The sole purpose, it emphasizes, is to “expose minors to adult pornography, images and videos depicting the abuse and sexual exploitation of children, or depicting sexual practices between adults and children.”

Once joining these groups, children and young people are encouraged to add their contacts, presumably to solve the problem of grouping as many items together as possible.

To prevent the harmful effects of this reality, PJ asks parents and guardians to be sensitive to their children’s use of WhatsApp, especially children under 16 (the minimum age to use the app in the European Union), warning them to refuse invitations from unknown contacts.

It is also recommended to block invitations from strangers in the WhatsApp settings.

If you find that your children are or have been part of these types of groups, PJ suggests taking screenshots of conversations within the group, showing the contact details of the relevant administrators and shared content, and reporting it to the authorities.

It also urges teachers and school group directors to inform parents and guardians whenever they discover situations of this nature and report them to the authorities.

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