SOCIAL media is unquestionably the prime mover and shaker of communications in the modern world. Over the last five years, it also changed the ways of prostitution, the so-called oldest profession.
It has innovated the global landscape of life and business and has dramatically improved every aspect of human existence. However, just like how it’s advantageous, social media, to a great extent, has also been damaging as it is being used in propagating black market industries such as pornography and prostitution.
The virtual flesh trade, through the years, had adapted to the evolution as well as the need of the changing times. Furthermore, entities behind it had managed to tailor-fit the business to survive and thrive with more innovations on convenience and what’s more, safety.
Surely, social media sites are not oblivious to such illegal practices coursed through their channels. To control these, they have each set in place various protective measures to detect content and police people behind the trade. Still, cyber porn is thriving and more and more people are hooked to the industry either as a supplier or consumer.
According to the Meta guidelines of Facebook, they have set strict policies against the promotion of any form of human exploitation.
As such, Facebook says persons/individuals for sale, escort agencies, commercial sex, live shows for adult entertainment, sexually suggestive services, exhibition, and pornography are among those strictly banned from the site.
Likewise, Twitter promotes zero tolerance for child sexual exploitation, which the site considers “one of the most serious violations” of its rules under safety and cybercrime.
“This may include media, text, illustrated, or computer-generated images. Regardless of the intent, viewing, sharing, or linking to child sexual exploitation material contributes to the re-victimization of the depicted children,” according to Twitter.
Just like Twitter and Facebook, fast-rising content-sharing app Tiktok also has a clear policy against sexually suggestive content.
With these rules, why are pornography and prostitution still thriving on social media?
Several news reports have exposed the alarming prevalence of sex trafficking online. In the past, thousands of social media accounts exhibiting disturbing content have, time and again, been closed down.
However, community guidelines can only do so much as entities engaged in the industry can simply just make new accounts and continue their business.
Do you see this problem ever having a resolution?
Over time, Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms have vigorously tried to suspend or ban accounts showing and peddling nudity and live sex acts. But they are as perennial as grass. Are we doing enough? Should we leave social media alone in exercising control, if not regulation and restraint? Perhaps, the government will have to answer that.
