Tech News
‘Every parent’s nightmare’: TikTok a hotbed of child sexual exploitation
U.S. law enforcement officials say social media platform TikTok has become the biggest danger zone. The platform’s algorithm pushes more videos of the same kind to adults watching videos of young people.
A 42-year-old Alabama man uploaded a TikTok video of lip-syncing a musical composition and shared depressive thoughts. A 14-year-old girl in Texas responded.
It didn’t take long for the two to start teasing Hongyan publicly on the platform. “Married for life baby,” the fourteen-year-old commented on one of the man’s posts. The man responded, “Okay baby, get married for life.”
Some TikTok commenters accused the man of inappropriate behavior. “Guys this guy has been stalking a little girl’s account,” one person wrote.
Last March, the man boarded a bus bound for Texas and met the girl. He was arrested days later, after which he was charged with allegedly sexually assaulting a child.
