On May 5th, on the occasion of the national day against pedophilia and child pornography established with law no. 41 of 2009, to raise public awareness of the serious phenomenon of child abuse, the Postal Police – a specialist branch of the State Police responsible for preventing and combating cybercrime – has prepared an agile dossier which illustrates the main and most current phenomena, counteractions, the state of partnerships with the private sector, as well as prevention and awareness initiatives for users: 28,355 sites analyzed at a national level by Postal specialists in 2023, of which almost 2800 included in the blacklist of sites that contain representations of sexual exploitation of minors. Over 1100 people identified and reported for downloading, sharing and exchanging photos and videos of sexual abuse against minors. Sexual extortion is on the rise and online solicitation is on the rise, although it mainly involves the 10-13 year old age group.
Collaborations continue with important players who share projects, values and objectives with the Postal Service and the prevention initiatives that the Postal Police conducts to spread the culture of digital security and stem the continuous challenges that in the virtual world are renewed and intensified every day, even through the official portal of the police station online.
Following this anniversary, the Operational Center for Cyber Security of the Postal Police for Tuscany has released data relating to the activities carried out during the 2023: 42 cases of possession and dissemination of child pornography, whose perpetrators were identified and referred to the judicial authorities, 3 of them under arrest; 18 cases of online solicitation, with the perpetrator identified and reported to the AG; 2 reports of technologically mediated sexual violence against minors under the age of 14; 1 case of sexual acts with minors under the age of 14, with the perpetrator identified; 14 cases of sexual extortion against minors between 14 and 17 years old.
Furthermore, in 2023, at a regional level, 5 cases of cyberbullying were reported to the Postal Police, following which 6 minors were identified as responsible and referred to the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Juvenile Court.
Also worth highlighting is the first warning proposal from the Police Commissioner pursuant to art. 7 of ln 71/2017 (containing provisions for the protection of minors for the prevention and fight against the phenomenon of cyberbullying), formulated by the Operations Center of the Postal Police of Florence, following the reporting of repeated threats through telematic tools by a minor aged over fourteen, to the detriment of a peer.
Hundreds of thousands of child pornography files (images and videos) seized during 2023, with over 200 sites monitored, 50 of which were blacklisted.
During the first four months of 2024, there are already: 12 cases of possession and dissemination of child pornography material, the perpetrators of which have been identified and referred to the judicial authorities, one of whom is under arrest; 21 cases of online solicitation, 9 of whom responsible were identified and reported to the AG; 3 cases of sexual extortion against minors between 13 and 17 years old, one of the perpetrators of which was identified and referred to the AG; 2 cases of CD. “revenge porn” with victims between 14 and 17 years old and perpetrators reported to the AG
The prevention activity is carried out daily by the Postal Police for Tuscany during meetings with students of all levels, within schools or during the itinerant training campaign “A social life”, of which 7 stages involved the Tuscan territory in 2023.
Overall, during 2023, no. 55 meetings in Florence and its province and n. 285 meetings in the other Tuscan capitals, which involved around 20,000 students, 3,000 parents and 2,500 teachers.
Advice from the Postal Police for parents and children
Tips for parents:
– Avoid publishing photos of your children on social media and any other useful information to make known their habits, the sports they play, their hobbies, the school they attend;
– Set your social profiles in “private” mode, allowing access to the contents you publish only to the list of “friends” whose identity you are certain of;
– Install antivirus and firewall on the devices used by you and your children and always keep the programs updated to guarantee the protection of the devices;
– Try to keep up to date on the apps most used by young people, on the social networks they prefer and on new online trends;
– Activate parental controls on your children’s devices and in any case avoid giving smartphones to young children;
– Always check the minimum age required by the various social and instant messaging platforms before allowing your children to create their own profile;
– Try to establish a maximum time for using internet connections straight away, later it will be more difficult to set limits;
– However, try to participate too, expressing your interest in the contents that interest them most, so as to share the use of the Internet as much as possible, providing useful suggestions and advice to your children;
– If your children were victims of an online crime, try to show empathy, without judging them. Help and availability will help make them open up and feel understood and safe, preventing them from acting on impulse. Offer your support and contact the Postal Police together;
– The portal managed by the Postal Police www.comissariatodips.it provides information, advice and useful updates on the most recurring phenomena and how to protect yourself. It allows you to send, even anonymously, requests for help or simple information support;
– Report all suspicious cases to the Postal Police on www.comissariatodips.it.
– Set your profiles in “private” mode and use effective and always different access passwords;
– Never accept “friend” requests from people whose identity you are not absolutely certain of. Often, behind photos of peers hide false identities of adults, who try to gain your trust with various types of gimmicks, to then blackmail you and put you in difficulty; Avoid sharing personal information, which could allow any malicious person to know what you do and the places you usually go;
– Avoid sharing personal, intimate or sexually explicit images, even in the context of an emotional relationship. Remember that, once placed online, multimedia contents are no longer controllable and often quickly become viral;
– If inappropriate photos or videos involving you have been published online, ask the platform concerned to remove the compromising content. If you have difficulties, contact the Postal Police for the necessary support;
– Remember that, beyond the screen, there are real people, kids like you and that words can be very painful if used inappropriately. Therefore, try to behave when using the Internet as you would in the real world: respect for others, empathy and good manners are absolutely fundamental. You can report offensive or inappropriate content to the Postal Police via the website www.comissariatodips.it. Individual platforms also offer the possibility of directly reporting the contents to be removed;
– Be very careful when using online gaming platforms: they are an “environment” often used by adults to lure minors and then involve them in activities of exchanging intimate or sexually explicit material;
– If someone talks to you about sex unintentionally, threatens you or makes you feel uncomfortable, talk to your parents, teachers or caregivers. You can also contact the Postal Police via the website www.comissariatodips.it;
– Never agree to meet people you meet on the Internet without first notifying your parents or a reference adult;
– If you become aware of crimes committed against minors, do not remain indifferent and report it to a reference adult;
– If you are the victim of an online crime, remember to preserve possible evidence: do not delete the messages, images or videos and do not close the social profiles on which you were contacted before providing this information to the police (take screen shots of conversations and the profile identifying URL);
– If you are a victim of sextortion, don’t pay. Stop contact with the blackmailer immediately and do not react to the messages;
– If you use file sharing circuits to share music, films or anything else, always check the material you receive. Some files may be illegal. If you come across suspicious material, notify your parents immediately and consider together whether to report it to the police;
– Make a report to the police immediately: timeliness in these cases is essential for investigations;
– Anyone over the age of 14 can file a complaint, even independently, in any police office. Before this age, it is still possible to do it with your parents;
– Remember that anyone who contributes to spreading sexual and violent images involving minors is committing a crime: report it to the Postal Police via the website www.comissariatodips.it.
Source: Florence Postal Police
