FACEBOOK and apps owned by Facebook were used in more than half of online grooming cases where police disclosed which method predators used, an NSPCC investigation reveals.
In the first nine months of a new offence of Sexual Communication with a Child, there were 1,628 crimes recorded in England and Wales, and police revealed what platform was used in 956 cases.
Facebook and apps it owns, Instagram and Whatsapp, were used in 52% of those cases, with Facebook being the most-recorded site overall.
Essex Police recorded 27 crimes for Sexual Communication with a Child over the first nine months of the new offence being in force, and the youngest child contacted was aged just 10 years old.
Social media sites used to target children in Essex were Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Whatsapp, Skype, and Facetime, as well as less well known apps Kik, Musical.ly, Dischord, Scout.com and Wikia.Dom.
Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has heralded the end of the Wild West Web1, and the NSPCC is urging him to follow through by bringing in a regulator to force social networks to keep children safe.
Figures from Freedom of Information requests show the shocking number of cases where groomers used Facebook, and apps owned by Facebook. The youngest victim recorded was aged just two years old.
Where the method of communication used by predators was logged by police:
• Facebook was used in a third (32.6%) of cases
• Facebook-owned apps Instagram and Whatsapp were used in nearly a fifth (19.8%) of cases
• The second most-used app was Snapchat – 176 cases
