Hear the Children’s Cry partners with TikTok to tackle child porn

Child activist Betty-Ann Blaine has described a partnership between Hear the Children's Cry and social media platform, TikTok, as an advancement in protection of the nation's children.

Blaine, founder of Hear the Children's Cry, told THE STAR that her organisation reached out to TikTok, after an infamous 14-second video of two under-age girls was posted on the platform. The girls were seen mimicking cunnilingus to Shenseea and Megan the Stallion's sexually charged song, Lick.

"After that Lick video, the awful one, it had gone viral and I was very concerned. I made a promise to the Jamaican people publicly. I said it that I was going to contact TikTok to find out what they could do to prevent child porn videos going viral. And so I wrote to TikTok some many weeks ago, and then we got a response, and then over the last three to four weeks, we have been speaking to the folks at TikTok. I am very pleased to tell you that they were very responsive, willing to provide us with the information about what TikTok community guidelines are regarding child pornography, and out of those discussions they offered us a partnership," Blaine related.

The partnership, the first of its kind for Jamaica and the wider Caribbean, will see the establishment of a direct email channel with Hear The Children's Cry to TikTok's Trust and Safety team to be able to immediately report content that violates the platform's community guidelines.

This development, one that Blaine describes as crucial, will see immediate and quick investigation into exploitative child content.

"This kind of response, in order to protect our children, requires a united front and this is what we have here now. So we have TikTok, which is prepared to act and act quickly. We already started talking to the Cybercrimes Unit [of the Jamaica Constabulary Force] about how do we really protect children, how do we track down the perpetrators - the people who are making the videos of our children. We have already started that conversation in Jamaica and so we can band together," Blaine stressed.

"I just think it's a wonderful thing for Jamaica, I think it's a big deal and as far as our children are concerned. We can now say to the children of Jamaica, 'Yes! Yes! Yes, we are making big strides to protect you!"

- T.T.