Sexual violence against childrenLivestream from the children's room: klicksafe accompanies STRG_F report on cybergrooming on Likee

STRG_F's research impressively demonstrates the risks for children and young people associated with the use of apps such as Likee and livestreams in particular. According to the NDR press release, Apple announced to STRG_F that it would remove Likee from the App Store. And Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser also announced her intention to take further measures to protect children against cybergrooming.

The protection of children against cybergrooming is a task for society as a whole. It requires political measures, effective protective measures on the part of online services and effective investigation methods in order to provide safe surfing and communication spaces for young people. In addition, preventative education and training is needed for all those involved with adolescents in their daily lives. Parents and legal guardians as well as educational professionals have a special role to play here.

Likee is a video platform based in Singapore which, like TikTok, focuses on the creation of short videos. users can also start livestreams on Likee. This offers the opportunity to interact with others in real time - via a comment column, by direct message or by inviting them to a joint livestream (so-called "fights"). According to Likee's general terms and conditions, the live streaming function may only be used by users over the age of 18. If users state that they are under the age of 16 when registering, a restricted mode has been set automatically since the end of 2020. Users can then only watch videos and share them on other social media platforms. In the context of the CTRL_F test setup, however, it became clear how easy it is to create a profile with the wrong age on Likee. This makes it easy to bypass the age restriction for live streams.

The STRG_F research team came across several cases of cybergrooming in the Likee app. Two children's room backdrops were set up for the test setup, from which the journalists from STRG_F and funk were to stream into the Likee app on three evenings and nights. klicksafe accompanied the test setup in order to classify various cybergrooming strategies professionally. The following rules of conduct applied to ensure that the test setup was implemented within a legal framework and that sexual solicitation was not provoked:

STRG_F editorial team's rules of conduct

1. "We do not make contact ourselves, we only reply. And we only reply to users who state that they are of legal age." 
2. "Our female colleagues clearly state that they are 12 and 13 years old." 
3. "There is no flirting, seduction or provocation." 
4. "We respond naively to explicit sexual requests with 'I don't know...' or 'I'm shy'." 
5. "More revealing photos are only sent after repeated insistence." (Note: The photos were taken in advance. A 30-year-old man posed for them in a bikini and with his upper body exposed, not the female journalists. The photos were then edited several times to make them look realistic.

At the beginning of the "pretend child experiment", it becomes clear how livestreams on Likee work. As both protagonists have not been active for long, a lot of bots are flushed into the comments of the livestream - always the same comments and emoji sequences that are supposed to encourage Mia and Luisa to keep streaming. The app displays tips on how the two can reach more viewers. After a few minutes, their livestreams receive a "boost", which shows the livestream to more users . Whenever someone joins, they are shown a small animation. This waves, shows the user's name and encourages them to say "hello".

During the trial period, some users joined the two livestreams alternately and wanted to get in touch with Mia and Luisa. A conspicuous number of compliments are made about their appearance. Both repeatedly receive sexually harassing comments and various forms of cybergrooming quickly emerge:

• Requests to take off their clothes
• Requests to send intimate or explicit photos
• Requests to perform sexual acts on themselves
•  Offering gifts in return for intimate photos or sexual acts in front of the camera
• Sending explicit images (for example "dick pics")
• Masturbation in front of the camera
• Initiating real meetings

In cybergrooming, perpetrators usually try to switch to private communication channels after making initial contact. This was also the case in the experiment. The majority of perpetrators ask Mia and Luisa to continue the communication on WhatsApp, Instagram or Snapchat. In almost all cases, sexual assault occurs directly there. Only one of the perpetrators, with whom the contact is initially continued on Likee and later on WhatsApp, strategically prepares the sexual abuse slowly in order to gain trust first. Among other things, he uses supposedly humorous allusions to the long distance between their homes to test whether a meeting could take place offline. Unlike many perpetrators, this one reveals his real name, place of residence and place of work, a day nursery.

All of the perpetrators who had an effect on Mia and Luisa in the experimental setup were male, mostly over the age of 20. Contact was immediately broken off with perpetrators who claimed to be minors. Even if there were indications (e.g. through the writing style) that the person was probably an adult.

Children and young people need adults who can competently guide them in dealing with the digital world, strengthen their media skills and orient themselves to their living environment. klicksafe offers support with a wide range of materials for young people, parents and educational professionals.

Sexual violence on the internet, including in the form of cybergrooming, is a reality in the everyday lives of many children and young people today. They are using social networks and online games independently at an increasingly early age. Unlike offline, it is normal for children and young people to come into contact with people they do not really know online. Adolescents therefore need to know how to recognize cybergrooming and how to defend themselves against it.

• Keep in regular contact with your child about their media experiences. We show you how you can have good conversationsin this article.
• Children quickly come across unsuitable content on the internet that they are not yet able to deal with. Therefore, give your child access to age-appropriate surfing areas depending on their age and stage of development.
• Make security settings on the devices your child uses. Free parental control programs such as JusProg can help to ensure that your child can only use online services that are suitable for their age. You should also agree rules with older children about which services can be used and to what extent.
• Find out exactly what online services and platforms your child wants to use. Learn about the respective protective measures there and set these together with your child (e.g. privacy settings). Show them the blocking and reporting functions.
• Your children should know what risks may be associated with their media use. Explain about unwanted contact, sexual harassment and sexual abuse on the internet. Don't scare your child, but support and empower them:
  • set their own boundaries if they feel uncomfortable online
  • recognize warning signs
  • to be able to stop and report unwanted contact
  • get help if they have experienced sexual violence online
• If your child is affected by sexual violence and tells you about it, it is important to stay calm. Listen carefully and take the right measures, such as taking legally compliant screenshots or recordings for evidence. Seek legal advice, for example from HateAid, and psychological help from the sexual abuse help portal. Then file a report with the police.

• The "Sexual Abuse Helpline" is the nationwide, free and anonymous contact point for those affected by sexual violence. It is available for relatives and people from the social environment of children, for professionals and for all interested parties. It is a contact point for people who are looking for relief, advice and support, who are worried about a child, who have a suspicion or a "funny feeling", who are unsure or want to ask questions about the topic.
  Phone: 0800-30 50 750 (free of charge and anonymous)
• The Sexual Abuse Help Portal is a service provided by the Independent Commissioner for Child Sexual Abuse Issues. It provides lots of information on the topic and helps you to find help and advice services locally - but also online or by telephone.
• The Nummer gegen Kummer e.V. offers anonymous and free telephone advice for children, young people and parents. Children and young people can also contact the em@il counseling of the "Nummer gegen Kummer".
  Children's and young people's helpline: 116 111, Mon to Sat from 2 to 8 p.m.
  Parents' helpline: 0800 - 111 0 550, Mon to Fri from  9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays until 7 p.m.
• JUUUPORT is a nationwide advice platform where young people can help each other if they have problems on or with the internet. Whether it's cyberbullying, rip-offs, data security or technology - young people can ask questions on all web topics at www.juuuport.de.
• Anyone affected by cybergrooming can report these assaults to  ZEBRA . The report will be checked by the NRW Media Authority and forwarded to the North Rhine-Westphalia Central and Contact Point for Cybercrime. There is a handout on the reporting form for educational professionals.