Kids as prey spur US outrage, bid to cut social media’s shield

Child advocates and families say the provision has permitted companies to dodge responsibility for online harassment and even sexual exploitation. — AFP

The teen was in high school when his secret spilled onto the Internet, driving him to consider suicide: classmates were viewing sexual images of him and a friend on Twitter that child pornographers had duped him into sending.

The videos remained visible for more than a week as the teen and his mother pleaded with Twitter Inc to block the material, according to a lawsuit filed on the teen’s behalf. The complaint alleges the company acted only after the images drew 167,000 views and leering comments from Twitter users, with some remarking on how young the pictured victims appeared to be.