In pictures — ten years Finnish girl. She is dressed in tight leggings and halter top. Posted in Instagram the photo was taken c stretched up his hands, the girl looking at the camera with wide eyes and sticking out his painted red lipstick lips.
Although such images are fertile ground for pedophiles and sexual harassment, these issues are no one intervenes.
“If in social networks appear pictures of half-naked children, the police does not intervene. We do not have time to go through them and find out what the children were doing,” says senior Commissioner of police South-Eastern Finland Jukka Lankinen (Jukka Lankinen).
Such images are increasingly common in applications for sharing photos. The children did not admit to publish them themselves, but say they’ve seen similar photos on the pages of their friends. In their opinion, with these pictures all want to attract attention.
Associate Professor, faculty of social Sciences of the University of Helsinki, a specialist in communications, Matikainen Janne (Janne Matikainen) this phenomenon is very disturbing.
“Too bad they don’t realize what they are doing. They take the example of the illustrated editions that define the adult world. This world is reflected in movies, pop culture, evening. It has been observed for a long time,” says Matikainen.
Children 11 and 13 years old get drunk online
Facebook and Instagram were created c age barrier of 13 years. In U.S. law, age barriers are indicated, but in Finland they are not taken seriously. Applications can be used at any age, and nothing happens.
The failure of the police to watch out for are age restrictions due to the fact that Finnish law does not prohibit a minor while to register, for example, in Instagram.
“The responsibility lies with the parents. The situation changes if the child is starting to come suspicious messages from strangers, or when there are suspicions that a child is subjected to sexual harassment, and his photographs are discovered in someone’s computer. With some cases we understood,” says senior Commissioner Yucca Lankinen.
On Midsummer day the police had to deal with the case when girls are 11 and 13 years of age drank and took off for the online broadcast of the application Periscope.
The link to the online stream was in Facebook and provoked a lively discussion. Some participants reported the accident to the police and child protection authorities, after which the stream was interrupted.
Create an account in the application, Periscope can even a small child. Account you can later delete if someone will report that the service user is under 13 years of age. However, trouble can occur and up to this point.
Pictures of the naked teenager was sent throughout the school
The police of the region of Western Uusimaa was obtained in the spring of this year, the message that 15-year-old sent his photo into the Nude the man who started send it over the Internet to other users. Photos quickly spread throughout the school and throughout the region.
In some cases the photos are laid out openly, along with the name and contact details, for example, Instagram, ASKfm, or on the forum Ylilauta, where they can see thousands of people.
Using these images, the young people are often blackmailed
“At home and in school young people should explain what sent the picture already never will disappear. We should think twice before posting on social networks, or even when you send it only to a friend of mine,” recalls the chief constable of the police district of Western Uusimaa MIA Louhelainen (Mia Louhelainen).
There were cases when young people meet in social networks, and later, their correspondence was acquired intimate nature. One of the participants of the correspondence asked for pictures in the Nude, and later began to circulate on social networks, or blackmailed them another.
Distribution of photos in the Nude is a crime.
The consent of the mother or father
EU law on data protection will take effect in Finland in may 2018. At the same time will set the national age limit for users of social networks. While the threshold age has not been determined.
“The data protection act set the age limit at 16, but at the national level it can be defined in the range of 13-16 years,” said adviser to the Ministry of justice of Finland Anu Talus (Talus Anu).
Visit Tietosuoja.fi (“data Protection”) States that the objective of the law is to protect children from coercion to spread personal information about themselves, which can have bad consequences.
In practice, the introduction of the law means that in the future from a minor user of social networks will require the consent of the mother, father or guardian.
The data protection act, in particular, implies the responsibility of the application or social network that the user is in a specific age category. According to the Ministry of justice of Finland, the age barrier is not tied to age, which begins criminal responsibility (in Finland the minimum age of criminal liability is 15 years).
“It would be good to stick to age ranges that exist in the international practice”, — says adviser to the Ministry of justice Anu Talus.
The working group of the Ministry of justice of Finland in mid-June suggested the adoption of a new law concerning data protection that would complement the overall relevant EU law. The law will come into force in may 2018.
Instagram requested information
Instagram representatives did not respond to the request of Yle interview. However, on the official page of Instagram users are encouraged to report inappropriate photos and accounts. The decision on inadmissibility of photos or accounts remains the prerogative of the application.
Instagram promises to delete accounts of underage users if their age is set. However, to prove the age of the user is very difficult, because the application doesn’t request personal data. In Facebook fake accounts to conduct more difficult as suspicious profiles in social network is closely monitored and if necessary blocked.
It is not necessary that the child will tell the parents about your presence in different social networks or on suspicious messages that come to him. But on some phones you can install the system, which prevents login to the application without parental consent.
According to the Union of parents of Finland, social networks do not give a threatening way, because then the child may not be willing to tell the truth about looming problems. The Union recommends that you talk about the use of social networks with other friends parents.
“If in a circle of friends there are General rules of use of social networks, possible kinks and problems will be easier to identify, and certain rules will be easier to stick together,” — said the head of the Union Seemes Ulla (Ulla Siimes).
Researcher: age Limit — not the best method of control
According to Professor Janne Matikainen, the consent of the parents of certain age groups on the opening of the account in social networks in many respects is a controversial issue.
“This is a difficult question. Some border should be conducted, but age restrictions are not the best starting point. Many families, for example, use the app Whatsapp to communicate with each other, although it has an age limit of 16 years”.
The age limit is a controversial issue because children and young people develop at different rates. It will also restrict the rights of children and young people.
“We need to look at the question from the perspective of a child, because we are talking about his later life. If the child will slavishly abide by the age restrictions and the children of other parents will be free to use social networking, it may become an outcast among his comrades.”
According to Matikainen, predictive control is a bad idea. He believes Facebook is quite safe social network.
“Of course, many countries have sought to control the use of social networks by children and young people, but North Korea is not a good example in this matter. Forbidden fruit is sweet. Children should have the right to privacy in accordance with their age.”
The development of media education
Matikainen believes that the answer can be found in mediasoitin. This way more difficult than the introduction of age restrictions, but more reliable. Matikainen reminds us that social media will not disappear.
“With the help of mediaspelare it would be possible to develop common sense. The technical skills of the young are on top, and media literacy lags behind. And not always the best role models are the adults. All would have to be put in school, including Ministers”.
The Union of parents of Finland also underlines the importance of media education.
“Media-upbringing should be carried out not only in family but also in kindergarten and school. Adults should ensure that their ability to work with social networks and the ability to ensure security keeps pace with the times. In this issue we, adults, have a lot to learn,” — said the head of the Union of parents of Finland Ulla Siimes.
Associate Professor Janne Matikainen reminds that media education will require teacher training.
“Thus, we come to the financial question — are municipalities funds for learning”.
