S\u00e3o Paulo, Feb 6 (EFE).- Human rights NGO Safernet reported a 77.13% increase in images depicting child sexual abuse and online exploitation in 2023, the highest number it has recorded in its 18 years monitoring such crimes, according to a press release issued Tuesday.<\/p>
In 2023, Safernet, an organization that combats internet crime in partnership with Brazil’s Prosecutor’s Office, recorded 71,867 new reports of child pornography and other related crimes.<\/p>
According to the NGO’s records, the previous historical high was in 2008, when Brazilian users reported 56,115 instances of this type of content on the Google-owned social network Orkut, which became popular in Brazil in 2007.<\/p>
During a forum in S\u00e3o Paulo for Safer Internet Day, Safernet’s founder and director, Thiago Tavares, spoke regarding the increase and said it could not be explained as an isolated problem, as it is the result of a “combination of factors.”<\/p>
Among these factors are the use of artificial intelligence for the “industrial-scale creation” of this type of content and the sale of images generated by teenagers, sometimes using tools that take normal photos to generate sex or nudity content.<\/p>
Tavares also attributed this increase to the mass layoffs of content moderators and security teams within tech companies.<\/p>
Safernet observed a 125% increase in help requests in cases related to pedophilia and online grooming, where adults attempt to gain minors’ trust through the internet to sexually abuse them. <\/p>
In addition to the sex related content, Safernet registered 101,313 reports of other types of human rights abuses, including instances of xenophobia or religious intolerances, also a record high. EFE<\/p>
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