INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE – Oct 10 – Human traffickers are exploiting social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat, as well as dating apps such as Tinder, Blendr, and Yellow to hunt for potential underage victims, reveals a new study by the Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute of the University of Toledo in Ohio, US. The study was requested by the Ohio Attorney General's Human Trafficking Commission. The study outlined how traffickers connect to vulnerable youth online, groom the children to form quicker relationships, avoid detection, and move the connections from online to in-person.
Category: Yellow
Tinder For Teens: Yubo Could Open The Door To Online Predators
PIX11 – Feb 26 – Yubo is marketed as an app for kids ages 13 – 17 to make new friends, but with the swipe feature, the app has become known as the Tinder for teens. Originally created early last year as Yellow, the app boasts ~15M users worldwide. According to the child safety website PureSight, one in five teenagers say they have received an unwanted sexual solicitation via the web, and 75% of teens are willing to share personal information online. In almost all underage sexual predator cases, the teens have gone willingly to meet with them. What's also new to the app is a live-streaming option where teens chat about anything and everything to complete strangers. Since rebranding in December, the company has increased its security features to include technology to detect fake profile pictures; a child online safety consultant; a required mobile number to register, which is recorded and verified; and a reporting abuse feature to inform the company of inappropriate activity.
by Lisa Mateo
See full article at Pix11
Yellow, Tinder For Teens, Is Every Parent’s Nightmare
DAILYMAIL.CO.UK – Jan 30 – The social networking app Yellow, which has 7M users, has been described as 'Tinder for teens'. Mother, Tanith Carey spent two months monitoring the activities of youngsters on the site and says it is an 'unedifying meat market' for 'sexual fishing' which puts teens at risk Just like Tinder, Yellow was launched as 'a virtual flirting app'. Users make a profile, posting a selfie photograph or video, then flick through all the other people on the site. They can then 'swipe right' if they like the look of someone, or left if they don't. Getting onto the site is easy for everyone regardless of their age. The founders say they are five millennial friends, who met at college: Emmanuel Khayat, Sacha Lazimi, Arthur Patora, Jeremie Aouate and Anthony Tuil. The makers insisted the site is moderated, children can report problems and 'a significant number of profiles are checked every day' — although they twice declined to say how many.