ATLANTA — Researchers at Georgia State University are calling on digital platforms to strengthen protections for children online after a new study found one in six young people encountered sexual exploitation or abuse online over a one-year span.
Georgia State public health professor Dr. Greta Massetti says children whose parents stay actively involved in their digital lives are more likely to report possible abuse.
“Who are you talking to? Who are you connecting to? Who are you hearing from, and really leaving those lines of communication open,” Massetti said.
The study found only about half of the young people exposed to sexual exploitation online ever told someone about it.
Massetti said parents often ask children questions before they go to parties or social events, but do not always approach online activity the same way.
“Where are you going? Who’s going to be there, are so-and-so’s parents going to be there?” Massetti said. “Oftentimes what happens with parents and digital technology is that they don’t ask those same questions to their children.”
Researchers also say digital platforms should build stronger safeguards directly into their systems instead of adding protections after problems occur.
“Safety by design, thinking about it and building it into the infrastructure of the platform is really what’s needed,” Massetti said.
Massetti says platforms now have the ability to better protect young users through default privacy protections and stricter limits on adult-to-child contact online.
WSB Radio’s Veronica Waters contributed to this story.