Developed by the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation and the AFP’s ThinkUKnow program, the Gaming, Devices and What You Need to Know safety guide is designed to provide easy steps to help protect children online.
AFP Commander at the ACCCE Hilda Sirec said tech was on many children’s Christmas wish lists this year.
“This guide has been launched to help parents and carers minimise the risk of inappropriate contact and online child sexual exploitation on popular devices,’’ Commander Sirec said.
“One of the best gifts parents and carers can give children is safety and protection. Don’t give an offender the chance to connect with your child this holiday season.”
Commander Sirec said many popular devices had safety features that parents and carers could use to help minimise the risk of inappropriate contact.
Strategies include checking privacy settings on devices and turning off location settings, setting profiles to private, and turning off chat functions.
“This is a busy time for parents and carers; however, it’s important to be aware of how your children will use these devices — especially ones that connect to the internet.”
Commander Sirec said even if parents or carers were not buying tech for their children this Christmas, the resource could still be used for the devices already at homes.
Online offenders use the privacy and anonymity of the internet to identify and target children. They often use a direct message function to first approach a child and convince them to move to an image sharing platform to elicit child abuse material.
The ACCCE Child Protection Triage Unit usually experiences spikes in reporting of online child exploitation incidents after holiday periods. Last financial year, the unit received more than 22,000 reports.
For more information visit thinkuknow.org.au