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FOCUS December 2024 Volume 118

Child Online Protection in Thailand

UNICEF Thailand

Rapid digital technology expansion and increased internet access have dramatically transformed the lives of children and youth in Thailand. Internet use has become widespread. Over 75 percent of Thais use the internet and spend considerable time doing so. Children and young people in Thailand are accessing the internet from a younger age than ever. An estimated 94 percent of 12-17-year-olds in Thailand are internet users, [1] and children under 5 use connected electronic devices regularly. [2] Almost all internet-using children in Thailand go online at least once a day for entertainment or social activities, such as watching videos, using social media, chatting with friends, reading news, and for educational activities, such as joining an online class or searching for new information. [3] Given the time they spend online, and their reliance on digital technology, children and young people in this generation are growing up online. They face risks of different types of harm. However, not all risks have the same likelihood of harm to children. Below are the data from different pieces of research that highlights the potential impact of online risk on children:

  1. Over 9 percent of internet users aged 12-17 in Thailand were victims of online sexual exploitation and abuse, which occurred in various forms, from being blackmailed to engage in sexual activities, someone else sharing their sexual images without permission, to being coerced to engage in sexual activities through promises of money or gifts. [4] Around 11 percent of children aged 9 to 18 reported having experienced online harassment and sexualized comments. [5]
  2. Between 2019-2021, the US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which compiles reports (known as CyberTips) from US-based technology companies, found an increase in the number of reports containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) related to Thailand. In 2019, NCMEC received 355,369 reports related to Thailand, and the number rose to 397,743 and 589,515 reports in 2020 and 2021, respectively. The reporting on CSAM does not equate to the level of abuse in Thailand. [6]
  3. Online grooming, a rising technology, has made it easier to harm children. [7] Children are uniquely vulnerable to grooming with unsupervised use of the internet, smartphones and webcams, which they use to share images and communicate with strangers. Close to one in five children are sexually solicited online. [8]
  4. Between 8 to 15 percent of children in Thailand who had experienced different forms of online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA) in the past year did not disclose the most recent incident to anyone. Very few children used formal reporting mechanisms like police, social workers , or helplines. The main barriers were a lack of awareness around where to go or whom to tell, which suggests that children were not familiar with the formal reporting mechanisms available to them or did not feel comfortable disclosing to their caregivers. [9]
  5. While online, children's privacy and protection can be undermined by several risks related to the collection and onward sale of their data and browsing habits, behavior targeting and advertising, the use of biometrics, age verification and the mandatory use of identification, government surveillance and a variety of parental controls. [10]
  6. Close to 47 percent of children in Thailand did not know where to access services and get help if they or a friend were sexually assaulted or harassed [11] and 82 percent of social workers and police indicated that low reporting was due to the caregivers' low level of awareness of the risks of OCSEA. [12]
  7. Nearly 26 percent of children aged 9 to 18 in Thailand were reported to have self-generated sexual images that could be classified as child sexual abuse material. [13] Such images of children are innocently produced mostly for their own use but are used for bullying and exploitation, including sexual exploitation online.
  8. Over 54 percent of children aged 9 to 18 in Thailand were reported to have been exposed to pornographic and child sexual abuse material online in 2022. [14] Pornographic content can harm children. Exposure to pornography and CSAM at an early age may lead to poor mental health, sexism and objectification, sexual violence, and other negative outcomes. Among other risks, when children view pornography that portrays abusive and misogynistic acts, they may come to view such behavior as normal and acceptable. [15]
  9. Children and young people in Thailand have spent more time online than their peers in countries with similar income levels. Their exposure to hate speech has increased with more time online. This includes hate between children and teens during online and gaming chats, reflecting how children can be both victims and perpetrators of hate speech. [16]
  10. Data from eleven countries [17] show that between 43 and 64 per cent of 9 to 17-year-olds look for news online. [18] Because of their evolving capacities, children cannot always distinguish between reliable and unreliable information contained in the news As a result, not only can they be harmed by misinformation/disinformation, [19] but they may also spread it among their peers. Even incredibly young children or those without access to social media networks may be exposed to misinformation/disinformation through their interactions with peers, parents, caregivers, and educators. [20] Children and young people are especially vulnerable to online abuse, hate speech and misinformation/disinformation on social media.
  11. Social media platforms were designed to hold users' attention as long as possible, tapping into psychological biases and vulnerabilities relating to our desire for validation and fear of rejection. Too much passive use of social media that is extremely popular with young people - just browsing posts - can be unhealthy and has been linked to feelings of envy, [21] inadequacy [22] and less satisfaction with life. [23] Studies have even suggested that it can lead to ADHD symptoms, [24] depression, anxiety [25] and sleep [26 ]
  12. In Thailand, 41 percent of children aged 9 to 18 years reported showing aggressive behavior. They experienced problems in their social relationships with family and friends because of the impact of online gaming. [27] Online gaming has established itself as part of children's lives. Social gaming platforms are expanding because of better, cheaper, and widely adopted virtual and augmented reality devices. Big Tech is investing billions in building the digital infrastructure for the metaverse. The beginnings of it already exist in non-immersive forms, such as the play environments of Minecraft and Roblox, where children create their own worlds or meet in their thousands for music concerts. [28]

In Thailand, a holistic and coordinated approach is essential to effectively address the challenges faced. This approach must involve all relevant stakeholders, including children, young people, and parents. If implemented systematically, it will empower children and young people in Thailand to navigate the digital world safely and confidently while maximizing the benefits and opportunities the internet offers. Currently, various ministries, departments, and agencies from the government, civil society organizations, and the private sector are working toward this goal. However, they encounter different limitations. Existing initiatives address various dimensions of the highlighted challenges and can be categorized into administrative, policy, regulatory, educational, preventive, and responsive measures, including hotlines and helplines. Unfortunately, these programs and components remain disconnected, insufficient in scale and coverage, and lack coherence in strategy and messaging.

For further information, please contact: Muhammad Rafiq Khan, Chief, Child Protection Section, UNICEF Thailand, 19 Phra Atit Road, Bangkok 10200, Thailand; e-mail: mrkhan@unicef.org. and www.unicef.org/thailand/th .


Endnotes

[1] ECPAT, INTERPOL and UNICEF, Disrupting Harm in Thailand: Evidence on Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, Global Partnership to End Violence against Children, 2022. Full report available at www.unicef.org/innocenti/media/4151/file /DH-Thailand-Report-2022.pdf.

[2] MICS 2021 - Thailand, Survey Findings Report, Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, 2022 (MICS 2022), see page 148. Full report available at www.unicef.org/thailand/media/11356/file/Thailand%20MICS%202022 %20full%20report%20(English).pdf.

[3] ECPAT, INTERPOL and UNICEF (2022), op. cit.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Internet Foundation for the Development of Thailand, Child Online Protection Guidelines 3.0 (2022) (in Thai language).

[6] National Center for missing and Exploited Children. Cyber ​​Tipline Reports 2021.

[7] Online grooming is a term used broadly to describe the tactics abusers deploy through the internet to sexually exploit children. See Online grooming: What it is, how it happens, and how to defend children, Thorn, https://www. thorn.org/blog/online-grooming-what-it-is-how-it-happens-and-how-to-defend-children/.

[8] Kimberly Mitchell et al., "Risk Factors for and Impact of Online Sexual Solicitation of Youth," Journal of the American Medical Association , 2018; Anja Schulz et al., "Online Sexual Solicitation of Minors: How Often and between Whom Does It Occur," Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency , 2016; Internet Watch Foundation, "Trends in Online Child Sexual Exploitation: Examining the Distribution of Captures of Livestreamed Child Sexual Abuse," May 2018 (full report available at www.iwf.org.uk/media/23jj3nc2/distribution-of-captures-of-live-streamed-child-sexual-abuse-final.pdf.)

[9] ECPAT, INTERPOL, and UNICEF (2022), op. cit.

[10] UNICEF. "Privacy, Protection of Personal Information and Reputation," DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES: Children's Rights and Business in a Digital World, March 2017, www.unicef.org/childrightsandbusiness/media/281/file/UNICEF-CRB- Digital-World-Series-Privacy.pdf; and UNICEF, Children's Rights in the Digital Age, https://unicef.at/fileadmin/media/Infos_und_Medien/Aktuelle_Studien_und_Berichte/Kinderrechte_im_digitalen_Zeitalter/Children_s_Rights_in_the_Digital_Age_FINAL.pdf.

[11] ECPAT, INTERPOL, and UNICEF (2022), op. cit.

[12] Ibid.

[13] Internet Foundation for the Development of Thailand.

[14] Ibid.

[15] UNICEF. Protection of children from the harmful impacts of pornography: Pornographic content can harm children, www.unicef.org/harmful-content-online.

[16] United Nations Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech, www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/advising-and-mobilizing/Action_plan_on_hate_speech_EN.pdf.

[17] Colombia, India, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Philippines, South Africa, Tunisia, Venezuela and Vietnam.

[18] UNICEF, Digital Civic Engagement by Young People, February 2020, www.unicef.org/media/72436/file/Digital-civic-engagement-by-young-people-2020_4.pdf.

[19] Misinformation refers to false or misleading information that is unwittingly shared, while disinformation is false or misleading information that is deliberately created and distributed with an intent to deceive or harm. UNICEF Office of Global Insight and Policy, Digital misinformation/disinformation and children , August 2021, www.unicef.org/innocenti/media/856/file/UNICEF-Global-Insight-Digital-Mis-Disinformation-and-Children-2021.pdf.

[20] UNICEF Office of Global Insight and Policy (August 2021).

[21] Philippe Verduyn, Oscar Ybarra, Maxime Résibois, John Jonides, Ethan Kross, "Do Social Network Sites Enhance or Undermine Subjective WellBeing? A Critical Review," Social Issues and Policy Review , 2017.

[22] Ibid.

[23] Holly B. Shakya, Nicholas A. Christakis, "Association of Facebook Use with Compromised Well-Being: A Longitudinal Study," American Journal of Epidemiology , Volume 185, Issue 3, 1 February 2017.

[24] Chaelin K. Ra, Junhan Cho, Matthew D. Stone, et al., Association of Digital Media Use with Subsequent Symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Among Adolescents, 2018, Am J Epidemiol. 2017 Feb 1;185( 3):203-211. doi: 10.1093/aje/kww189.

[25] AJon D.Elhaiab, Robert D.Dvorakc, Jason C.Levinea, Brian J.Hallde, "Problematic smartphone use: A conceptual overview and systematic review of relations with anxiety and depression psychopathology," Journal of Affective Disorders . volume 207 , 1 January 2017, pages 251-259.

[26] Jean M. Twenge, Zlatan Krizan, Garrett Hisler, Decreases in self-reported sleep duration among US adolescents 2009-2015 and association with new media screen time, Sleep Medicine , volume 39, November 2017, pages 47-53.

[27] Internet Foundation for the Development of Thailand. Child Online Protection Guidelines 3.0 - 2022.

[28] Bracket Foundation, 2022. Gaming and the Metaverse - The Alarming Rise of Online Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Children Within the New Digital Frontier. Full report available at https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d7cd3b6974889646fce45c1/t/632f3344eacdbb108c8c356f/1664037701806/metaverse+%26+gaming.pdf.