Safe Settings: A Thomson Reuters campaign to keep kids safe online

The Thomson Reuters Safe Settings campaign provides parents, caregivers and concerned adults with crucial information to keep children safe online.

Real online safety begins and continues with creating a safe environment to talk openly with children about the dangers of online exploitation. It is important to create physical safe environments by sharing age-appropriate resources on how children can navigate safely online, and it is also important to use the built-in safe settings on the websites and platforms that children visit.

Below you will find information and resources to help you understand the risks of online child exploitation, how to take steps to protect children online, and where to get further advice and support if you need it.

We call on everyone to support our efforts.

Our request is simple: we must inform as many parents, caregivers and concerned adults as possible about the dangers of online child exploitation and provide them with the information they need to protect children.

• Help us spread the word and support the Safe Settings campaign
• Follow Thomson Reuters on social media to stay informed and share Safe Settings posts on social media with advice for parents and caregivers (X, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram)

What is the risk?

Tragically, today, a record number of children are being exploited online. No child is immune to sexual abuse.

Online child exploitation can take many forms, including Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM), sextortion schemes, and child sex trafficking. Sextortion is a form of online blackmail where children are tricked online into sending intimate images of themselves to people who then threaten to distribute the sexual images unless the victim complies with their demands, often money or additional explicit images.

• More than 300 million children under the age of 18 worldwide have been victims of online sexual exploitation and abuse in the past 12 months*
• 1 in 8 children worldwide has been a victim of online solicitation in the past 12 months*
• In the US alone, there will be more than 36 million reports of suspected online child sexual exploitation in 2023**
• The increasing use of Gen AI to produce child pornography (CSAM) increases the growing threat to children.

* Childlight Global Child Safety Institute

** U.S. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Where are children at risk?

Children can be targeted online through a variety of websites and platforms, including social media and gaming platforms. The advancement of technology and the variety of platforms available have increased the reach and opportunities of abusers.

How to recognize the signals

Learn to recognize what could be online child exploitation

• Someone who sends friend requests to multiple children in the same location to appear to have a mutual friend once one of them accepts the request
• Someone who tries to build a bond through compliments and shared interests, also known as grooming
• Someone who focuses on children with limited adult supervision
• Asking a child for sexually explicit images
• Someone who pretends to be a young person in order to make contact with a child
• AI-generated images of child sexual abuse are being shared to extort real images of children
• Financial sextortion, where children are tricked into sending intimate photographs of themselves to people who then threaten to distribute the sexual images if the victim does not comply with their demands, often with money or additional explicit images.

Be aware of the red flags to look for in children’s behavior that may indicate online exploitation.

• At home, they often close their door when using technology.
• They hide their screen activity from adults.
• The time spent on digital media is increasing noticeably.
• They share less information about their interactions or activities online.
• They become increasingly possessive of their phones or other devices and become irritated or anxious if anyone tries to access them.
• Unexplained sadness, fear, or anxiety.
• Significant changes in eating and sleeping habits.

Teach children what red flags to look for when interacting online

• Profiles with little to no information, only one photo, few friends or followers
• Choppy chat language
• Someone who requests personal information
• Ask them to switch to a different communication method or app
• Offers of incentives such as gift cards, alcohol, drugs, accommodation, transportation or food
• Asking them for sexually explicit images

Approaching Online Safety with the Children in Your Life

1 – Set ground rules for online activities

Set boundaries that work for you and the children in your life around their internet use. Cell phones, tablets and all connected devices should have child privacy protections and be monitored by guardians.

2 – Don’t rely solely on the device settings

Time, attention and active conversations are the best way to keep children safe online.

3 – Understand where your child is online

Show genuine interest in the technology platforms so you can better understand what the children in your life are doing online and who they are talking to online.

4 – Limit internet access

Taking away internet access rarely solves the problem. Instead, limit access so that children are not isolated from friends, family, and other support systems.

5 – Keep the discussion going regularly

Show that you are willing to listen and respond calmly by talking about what is happening online in a face-to-face conversation.

Steps children can take to protect themselves online

• Do not share your location online
• Make their profiles private
• Don’t accept friend requests from people they don’t know
• Remember not to delete any chats or photos as they can be used as evidence later.
• Tell a trusted adult to contact the police if he has any concerns or suspicions.
• Do not pay or send additional images if you believe you are a victim of sextortion
• Explain the importance of children’s privacy settings on devices.

Where can you get further support and advice?

Resources on how to get images removed if they’ve been shared

Resources for reporting online child sexual exploitation. This includes online enticement of children for sexual acts, sexual abuse of children outside the family, child pornography, child sex tourism, child sex trafficking, unsolicited obscene material sent to children, misleading domain names and misleading words or digital images on the Internet.

Sources for additional safety advice and information

About the Thomson Reuters Safe Settings campaign

At Thomson Reuters, we are focused on leveraging our technology and expertise to address this pressing issue. We all have a responsibility to keep children safe online.

As well as providing information to parents and carers, we also aim to encourage collective action within a wider community of organisations, including businesses, the public sector and NGOs. Together we can have a collective and ongoing impact to end child exploitation online.