Id-dinja fuq l-internet evolviet b'mod drammatiku matul dawn l-aħħar snin – kemm għall-aħjar kif ukoll għall-agħar. Il-qawwa trasformattiva tat-teknoloġija biddlet il-mod kif naħdmu, nilagħbu, nitgħallmu, u nikkonnettjaw, u introduċiet ukoll oqsma ġodda ta’ riskju – partikolarment għall-adolexxenti, l-adulti żgħażagħ, u popolazzjonijiet vulnerabbli oħra. Theddida bħal din hija estersjoni sesswali, delitt partikolarment gravi madwar id-dinja li intensifika fl-ispazji diġitali matul dawn l-aħħar snin.

L-estorsjoni sesswali tipikament timmira lejn l-adolexxenti u l-adulti żgħażagħ, iżda l-adulti akbar fl-età mhumiex immuni. Ir-reat jinvolvi li tqarraq jew iġġiegħel nies biex jaqsmu ritratti intimi tagħhom jew bla ħwejjeġ. It-trasgressuri mbagħad jużaw dawn ir-ritratti bħala rikatt. It-theddida teżisti primarjament f'żewġ forom: sesstorsjoni motivata b'theddid ta' umiljazzjoni sesswali—li tirrikatta lil xi ħadd għal aktar ritratti u vidjows (li huma aktar suġġestivi), u sesstorsjoni motivata finanzjarjament—varjant aktar ġdid li jitlob flus jew xi ħaġa oħra ta' valur.

Riċerka ġdida turi li, fuq firxa ta' pjattaformi fuq l-internet, wieħed minn kull ħames żgħażugħ ta’ bejn it-13 u l-24 sena (20%) f’sitt pajjiżi ġew mhedda b’sesstorsjoni din is-sena, u nofs (49%) kienu s-suġġett ta' qerq bħal dan. ¹Is-sesstorsjoni tista' tirriżulta minn numru ta' interazzjonijiet diġitali, inkluż il-kondiviżjoni ta' ritratti u vidjows intimi fuq l-internet, jew li wieħed isir vittma ta' grooming għal skopijiet sesswali, catfishing, jew serq ta' kontijiet.

Snap ilha tiġġieled kontra s-sesstorsjoni għal ħafna snin issa. Bħala parti minn proċedimenti legali li għaddejjin, ħarġet stqarrija li ssuġġeriet li Snap kienet qed tirċievi "10,000 rapport ta' utenti dwar sesstorsjoni kull xahar." Peress li rajna kummentaturi jirreferu għal din iċ-ċifra mingħajr m'għandhom l-għarfien komplut tal-ħidma ta' Snap biex tiġġieled is-sesstorsjoni jew l-kuntest u l-fatturi li jaffetwaw iċ-ċifra, ²ħassejna li kien importanti li: nipprovdu xi sfond relevanti; nagħtu aħbarijiet aġġornati dwar l-iskoperta, ir-rapporti li rċevejna, u s-sottomissjonijiet li ntbagħtu lill-awtoritajiet; u noffru iktar informazzjoni dwar il-bosta metodi li Snap qed tħaddem biex tiġġieled kontra din it-theddida reali li teżisti kemm għal minuri kif ukoll għal adulti fuq firxa ta' pjattaformi u servizzi fuq l-internet. 

L-attenzjoni tagħna llum

L-ewwel nett, irridu nenfasizzaw l-impenn ta' Snap biex tfixkel dan ir-reat qarrieqi u perikoluż. Naħdmu b’diliġenza biex ngħinu nipproteġu lill-utenti kollha fuq Snapchat; niżviluppaw u nużaw metodi biex niskopru u nfixklu b’mod proattiv lil dawk li huma motivati biex iwettqu r-reati; ninvestu fil-ħidma ta’ sensibilizzazzjoni u edukattivi – kemm tagħna stess kif ukoll billi nippromwovu kampanji ta’ ħaddieħor; ³ u nappoġġjaw lill-forzi tal-ordni fit-tentattivi tagħhom biex jidentifikaw u jikkastigaw lill-kriminali. (Aktar dwar dan ix-xogħol hawn taħt.)

Flimkien ma' ħidma aggressiva li tiffoka partikolarment fuq l-kuntatt u l-kontenut sesswali b'mod ġenerali, sal-lum fl-2026, Snap ilha tieħu azzjoni kontra madwar 220 każ suspett ta' sessstorsjoni kuljum, jew madwar 6,600 fix-xahar madwar id -dinja. Dawn jinkludu każijiet li jinvolvu membri tal-komunità ta' kwalunkwe età li Snap tidentifika b'mod proattiv, kif ukoll dawk minn rapporti ta' utenti dwar ksur allegat tal-Linji Gwida tal-Komunità tagħna. L-utenti spiss jibgħatu rapporti billi jużaw għażla ddedikata fil-menu ta' rappurtar fl-app tagħna li żidna fl-2023 biex ninkoraġġixxu r-rappurtar dwar dan it-tip ta' sfruttament speċifiku. “Qassmu / qed jheddu li jaqsmu ritratti tiegħi bla ħwejjeġ” ġiet suġġerita minn esperti esterni minħabba li l-lingwaġġ sempliċi tagħha se jkun kompatibbli ma' utenti ta' kull età. Ir-rapporti mill-utenti huma essenzjali fuq il-pjattaformi kollha u b'mod partikolari fuq servizzi ta' messaġġi privati; dawn jgħinu biex jipproteġu l-komunità kollha minn atturi ħżiena.

Filwaqt li ċerti kummentaturi jinsinwaw li l-iskala tal-ħidma li Snap qed twettaq kontra s-sesstorsjoni tissuġġerixxi li l-kumpanija mhix qed tagħmel biżżejjed, dik l-istqarrija tħalli barra kuntest kritiku. Il-fatt hu: iċ-ċifri huma dak li huma minħabba li Snap qed tagħmel ammont ta' ħidma sinifikanti biex tiżvela u tiġġieled kontra l-sesstorsjoni u forom oħra ta' sfruttament u abbuż sesswali. Naturalment, inħossu li anke każ wieħed ta' sfruttament sesswali ta' kwalunkwe utent huwa wisq. Madankollu, kif innotajna b’dispjaċir dawn ir-reati—partikolarment kontra l-minorenni—huma problema soċjetali li ilha teżisti ħafna qabel l-internet, u l-predaturi jużaw kwalunkwe mezz disponibbli biex jippruvaw jiksbu aċċess għal miri u vittmi potenzjali.

Tabilħaqq, sfortunatament, bħal kull popolazzjoni, fuq l-internet jew fid-dinja fiżika, dejjem se jkun hemm numru ta' nies ffukati li jisfruttaw jew jikkawżaw ħsara potenzjali lil ħaddieħor. Filwaqt li l-liġi tal-Istati Uniti ma teħtieġx li kumpaniji bħal Snap jipprovaw jeliminaw b'mod proattiv l-isfruttament sesswali, Snap għażlet li tiġġieled kontra dan l-imġiba illegali u vili preċiżament għax hija abominabbli. Aħna determinati li nagħmlu Snapchat ambjent ostili għal attività bħal din li hija illegali jew li tikser il-politiki tagħna.

Industry’s efforts 

It’s also important to consider these enforcements in light of industry’s efforts overall. In 2025, the most recent year for which annual, industry-wide data is available, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received 21.3M reports of suspected child sexual exploitation and abuse. (NCMEC serves as a clearinghouse for reports of suspected sexual exploitation of those under 18. Snap works with StopNCII to help thwart the spread of non-consensual intimate imagery of individuals aged 18 and older.) Last year, NCMEC said it received 80,000 reports concerning sextortion of a minor, and an average of 137 reports specifically of financial sextortion a day–a 37% increase compared to 2024. A majority of the 21.3M total submissions (21.18M) came from electronic service providers (ESPs), while the remainder (170,000) were made by the general public. More than 2,000 ESPs are registered to report to NCMEC, yet more than 75% of last year’s total number of CyberTips came from just five companies. 

In 2025, Snap submitted approximately 752,000 CyberTips to NCMEC, down from more than 1.17M the year before, making it the seventh most prolific reporter in 2024. That total included approximately 19,000 CyberTips for sextortion, along with more than 86,000 reports for online enticement and grooming (down from nearly 29,000 and 194,000 submissions, respectively, last year). ⁴ The reduction in the number of reports from 2024 coincides with a now two-year effort working with NCMEC and others to improve the value and actionability of our CyberTips. More information on that work can be found here. 

CyberTips are the most common means law enforcement uses to track down child sex offenders. And, while Snap’s enforcement actions represent meaningful progress to combat sextortion and are impactful, they’re a small part of our overall work and commitment to tackling child sexual exploitation and abuse.


More on our work

As noted, to help protect Snapchat users and the integrity of our service, we take a number of steps to search for such material. To help identify users whose behavior suggests suspicious or unusual activity, we use our own proactive detection techniques, which are regularly evaluated and refined. When we identify users who appear to be engaged in sextortion or related misconduct, we act quickly to disable their accounts, take steps to prevent them from creating new ones and, where appropriate, report them to authorities.

Through in-app warnings and other tools, we strive to alert our community to potentially suspicious friend requests. We offer sextortion-specific in-app awareness-raising and educational resources, and we routinely add new functionality to our suite of parental-supervision tools known as Family Center. And, last year, we launched an interactive online safety learning program, called The Keys, designed specifically for teens and their families, which includes a dedicated module on sexual extortion. The Keys leverages the “drivers’ education model” whereby teens learn critical skills both in the classroom and behind the wheel. The program, available to all, including non-Snapchat users, offers teens and their caregivers greater awareness of this and other online risks, and suggestions for how to respond if they encounter it.

Going forward 

Eliminating the sextortion risk before it can even surface remains a primary goal, but this is a whole-of-society issue requiring active, ongoing engagement from a range of stakeholders and sectors. We remain open to new strategies and approaches, and welcome the opportunity to work with individuals or groups willing to engage positively and productively to help mitigate online risk, reduce harm, and prevent recurrence – on Snapchat and across the digital ecosystem. Indeed, there are constructive roles for technology companies, government, law enforcement, parents, caregivers, educators, young people themselves – and even authors and commentators. 

— Jacqueline Beauchere, Global Head of Platform Safety, Snap Inc.