On popular online platforms, predatory groups coerce children into self-harm | Hacker News Reader

On popular online platforms, predatory groups coerce children into self-harm

washingtonpost.com

15 pointsgaryrob5 comments

Good lord, this is a terrifying story. What’s puzzling to me is that it seemingly downplays a lack of action by the police. Multiple times it seems the platforms reported the members of this cult for CSAM and police only seemed to act when a more severe crime occurred? Like that killing in Romania. Is this just a result of bureaucracy slowing things down? It’s hard to blame Discord when they try to do something but the law doesn’t help.

It's puzzling that the police aren't active in it, or it's puzzling that the washington post downplays their inaction? Because I find both very consistent with the history and incentives of these institutions.

Police being unwilling to get involved in internet crime, especially harassment and abuse, has been well known for decades now. Originally when the internet was new it was "how will police respond to online crimes" and then it gradually shifted to "why won't police respond to online crimes."

Both, I suppose. From some of the things I've read about crimes related to minors over the years, I usually at least was heartened to see the people responsible were often arrested in a relatively timely manner. Pedophilia-related crimes seemed like ones that saw regular attempts at prosecution or even arrests. But now it's to the point where it's the internet trying to cooperate and the police is woefully slow.

We all love, love to kvetch and say spare us our E2EE - stick to older methods of investigation. And I agree! But the old methods take time. More importantly, we want thoroughness. Simply cutting off the leader and throwing him in jail for 8 decades does little for the next kid that gets caught up with the followers.

So if we want one big bust at pretty well the same time to get everyone and avoid letting the hydra re-grow, that means quietly (very quietly) infiltrating the groups, building cases with federal-levels of inescapability, then moving.

It's not like they can even just arrest everyone on one server, either: TFA calls out how it contains both victims and monsters, and that hardly leads to an airtight case anyways

So the FBI trying to keep their investigation out of the news makes sense. It taking awhile to try to get everyone, even if they occasionally move faster for egregious acts, makes sense. Not getting much help from local forces makes sense - this pretty decidedly crosses state lines, and a county sherriff isn't likely to have anything they won't have or can't get ahold of.

Moving slowly is horrifying for the parents of the additional victims that needn't be victims. But being thorough could pay pretty rewarding dividends.

IT industry: This is what we've built; it's our techno-utopia.

The article says there is no liability for platforms, even for hosting groups abusing children and murdering people live. That is absurd; I'm all for freedom, but obviously there are some limits. You can't yell 'fire' in a crowded theater, and you can't broadcast child abuse and homicide.

Obviously, if they wanted to, the platforms could shut it down. They don't need to be wide open and uncontrolled; those are their technical and business choices.

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