Facebook shut down Ars Technica's page, accusing them of copyright infringement. Given that Ars Technica was apparently just posting their own material to their page, it's not entirely clear where the alleged infringement would have occurred. Facebook hasn't given them any hints either. The story is up at http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2011/04/facebook-shoots-first-ignores-questions-later-account-lock-out-attack-works.ars
Update (6:34 PM CST): The Ars Technica page was restored. Facebook is apparently working on an official statement.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
I Tawt I Taw a Pedophile
We've seen "Love Little" repeatedly. He's not too subtle about his interests.
And yet another pedo looking for groups.
And yet another pedo looking for groups.
Carolina
Carolina Smith claims to be a middle school girl. Of course, most middle school girls wouldn't have child pornography keywords as their interests.
So we can't exactly get surprised that "she" is looking to trade.
So we can't exactly get surprised that "she" is looking to trade.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
TSA Screener Arrested
Via Philly.com, a TSA screener at the Philadelphia International Airport has been charged in distributing child pornography. This coincides with recent controversy about TSA screening procedures, particularly those involving children.
A passenger screener at Philadelphia International Airport is facing charges that he distributed more than 100 images of child pornography via Facebook, records show.
Federal agents also allege that Transportation Safety Administration Officer Thomas Gordon Jr. of Philadelphia, who routinely searched airline passengers, uploaded explicit pictures of young girls to an Internet site on which he also posted a photograph of himself in his TSA uniform.
We were quite familiar with his Facebook accounts. He showed up as "Tom Gibbons", "Tom Gibson", and "Mark Rogers." Below is a a screenshot from the Mark Rogers profile.
His wall was not publicly viewable, but sources said that was even grosser. We were told that he'd expressed interest in sexually abusing young girls as well as looking at their photos.
The complaint describes some of the images that he uploaded to Photobucket. One titled "Hehehehehehe.jpg" depicted "a naked prepubescent girl lying on her back with her legs spread apart and her genitalia exposed. An adult's hand is seen inserting a pink sexual object into the child's genitalia. The child is holding a pink ball in her mouth that appears to be attached to a strap around the child's face."
According to the indictment, Gordon used at least six different Facebook accounts to post over 100 sexually explicit images of minors. He also allegedly possessed more than 600 child pornography files, including videos and images. He was a member of at least one closed group called "PTHC Lovers" on Facebook. Below is a partial screenshot of the member list.
Since he'd listed Raleigh as his location on his Facebook profiles, we contacted the North Carolina ICAC about him. Although it turned out that he was actually from Pennsylvania, they were helpful and responsive. We thank everyone involved in apprehending him. However, the idea that someone like this was in a position to conduct intensive pat-down searches of children at airports is extremely disturbing.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Good Friday
Early this morning, someone sent me a link to a publicly viewable photo album that somebody had posted to Facebook. I wearily clicked on it and instantly wished I hadn't. There were a number of young boys, some engaged in various sex acts with adult men. All I could do was go to Cybertipline, fill out the report form, and clear my browser cache to make sure that the images were deleted. Facebook will almost certainly shut down the account and file their own reports with law enforcement if the person who posted them appears to live in a country that will do something about it. But there will always be more online predators.
Ironically, today is Good Friday, a Christian religious holiday commemorating Jesus's crucifixion and death. Crucifixion was a horrible way to die, and I always wondered what kind of people would want to watch it. There may be certain parallels between Jesus, who was publicly tortured and humiliated, and the victims of child pornography. In Matthew 25, Jesus makes the point that whatever is done to the least of God's people is done to God. Surely this would apply to the children in the photos and videos, whose abuse and humiliation are freely circulated online.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Turkey
According to the Turkish Justice Ministry, the rate of women murdered in that country has jumped 1400% between 2002 and 2009. This is part of a larger pattern of violence against women. Honor killings, where women and girls are killed to protect the family's perceived "honor," continue to be a problem. During the relatively brief time that this blog has been online, I've noticed a surprising amount of pornography posted to Facebook by Turkish users. Most of it involves adults, but some of it clearly does not.
Two Men Kissing Update
Via Newser, Facebook has apparently apologized for removing the photo of two men kissing. In fairness to Facebook, the event was apparently removed by the organizer in response to troll harassment and not by Facebook itself (as the blog post originally stated).
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Two Men Kissing
Some users organized a "Kiss-In" protest on Facebook in response to an incident where two gay men were ejected from a pub in the UK. One man posted a photo of two men kissing to the "Dangerous Minds" Facebook page in the context of the event. Facebook removed the photo, sent the user a warning, and deleted the protest event. Below is a screenshot from their blog that includes the photo.
Meanwhile, let's take a look at what some currently active users on Facebook have been up to. Sarah Dee is interested in finding some other groups where people post images and videos.
What kind of images and videos? Well, Sarah Dee lists her interests as "Lolita" and "P T H C." For the blissfully unaware, "PTHC" stands for "pre-teen hardcore." We can reasonably assume that Sarah and friends are interested in stuff that's a lot more explicit than kissing, and it doesn't involve adults.
Sarah Dee's friend "Children Side" is also openly trolling for child pornography.
Emily Emmerson uses the "Questions" application to ask "Would anyone like to trade pics or vids?"
Zac Cartoon is also looking for like-minded friends and is not too subtle. He posts, "plz all pedo add me."
The two fully clothed men in the first picture hardly seem sexually explicit. If the Facebook safety team would like to see something that was, they might want to take a look at some of the closed and private groups that some of the users we saw were talking about.
Meanwhile, let's take a look at what some currently active users on Facebook have been up to. Sarah Dee is interested in finding some other groups where people post images and videos.
What kind of images and videos? Well, Sarah Dee lists her interests as "Lolita" and "P T H C." For the blissfully unaware, "PTHC" stands for "pre-teen hardcore." We can reasonably assume that Sarah and friends are interested in stuff that's a lot more explicit than kissing, and it doesn't involve adults.
Sarah Dee's friend "Children Side" is also openly trolling for child pornography.
Emily Emmerson uses the "Questions" application to ask "Would anyone like to trade pics or vids?"
Zac Cartoon is also looking for like-minded friends and is not too subtle. He posts, "plz all pedo add me."
The two fully clothed men in the first picture hardly seem sexually explicit. If the Facebook safety team would like to see something that was, they might want to take a look at some of the closed and private groups that some of the users we saw were talking about.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Distortions
One thing we've noticed about the pedophiles that we've tracked is an almost compulsive level of persistence. In the past few months, we've seen a few users arrested and charged for posting child pornography to Facebook and all of those users had created new accounts after being kicked off Facebook at least once. So it was interesting to read "Inside the Mind of a Pedophile" (Neuroanthropology, 2010) that discussed some of the neurological and behavioral abnormalities associated with pedophilia. It mentioned neural characteristics similar to disorders in the obsessive-compulsive spectrum, e.g., pathological gambling and kleptomania. It said that there were both biological and environmental factors, specifically mentioning experiencing sexual molestation as a child. Another article cited, Abnormal Attraction (Scientific American Mind, 2009), expanded on the correlation between being abused as a child and later committing a sex offense.
Both articles also referred to cognitive distortion, and the SciAm one pointed out that in some cases, this distortion may help prop up an individual's self-esteem. This may be the case with Marcos Teia, one of the most active posters of child pornography on Facebook who seems to use this to gain attention and acceptance.
There are some unsettling parallels between these people and some of the spanking enthusiasts we've seen on Facebook and elsewhere online. For example, if you google Becky Chandler's ID, "beckychr007" and "spanking," you get about 840 hits. It's not hard to find anecdotes involving her mother spanking her bare with a hairbrush, and it's even easier to find her posting in parenting forums about the benefits of spanking kids. Others have posted collections of images depicting children getting spanked with their pants down, which have attracted equally disturbing comments from their Facebook "friends."
Some have even trolled for videos.
There are also some problems with boundaries and distorted patterns of thinking in both groups. When discussing child pornography, pedophiles often rationalize it by saying that the victim seemed to be enjoying the sex acts. Some of the spanking fetishists claim to be loving parents who have to "discipline" their children. For example, we saw Amanda Facey in a previous post commenting enthusiastically about sadomasochistic fan fiction, posting to a Yahoo group about her boyfriend spanking her to tears, and also talking about spanking her own daughter with her pants down. When someone else expressed their disgust, Amanda accused that person of "child pornography."
Human behavior and sexuality are complex and still not very well understood. I can't offer any explanations as to why some of the people I've watched are the way they are, nor can I offer any solutions. But some things are hard to ignore. Both the child pornography traders and the S&M people who fixate on children getting spanked seem to be troubled individuals with damaged sexuality. A number of the S&M people have talked in great detail about getting spanked as children, and some recent research has even established a correlation between this and later "sexually deviant" behavior. The Neuroanthropology article about pedophiles have indicated that at least some of them were sexually abused as children and may be "re-living" what they experienced and trying to master it.
What can be done about these people? Beyond locking up the ones who break the law, I have no idea.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Lydia Cacho on Child Pornography and Social Networks
Lydia Cacho, a Mexican journalist who has won awards from Amnesty International, International Women's Media Foundation, and UNESCO, is tackling the issue of child pornography on social networks. She is calling on Facebook to report child pornography to the police. Facebook's position has been that they do when it comes from a country that has an agreement with the U.S. to prosecute it.
As I've said before, one technical problem here is that large social networks may not always be aware of child pornography because not all of it can be automatically detected. If a user who lives in the U.S. posts a file that the system recognizes as known child pornography, that user probably will be reported to law enforcement. But if the image does not match any known child pornography hashes, the system will not automatically flag it no matter how bad it is. Since many of the child pornography traders seem to use closed and secret groups for posting their material, they're also unlikely to be reported by other users.
From what I understand, most account shutdowns happen as a result of an automated process, not a human review. The system is capable of detecting certain anomalies that are likely to be associated with abusive accounts, but it is unlikely to be smart enough to recognize accounts that need to be reported to law enforcement. Once an account is shut down, the clock starts ticking and the information is automatically deleted after 90 days.
As I've said before, one technical problem here is that large social networks may not always be aware of child pornography because not all of it can be automatically detected. If a user who lives in the U.S. posts a file that the system recognizes as known child pornography, that user probably will be reported to law enforcement. But if the image does not match any known child pornography hashes, the system will not automatically flag it no matter how bad it is. Since many of the child pornography traders seem to use closed and secret groups for posting their material, they're also unlikely to be reported by other users.
From what I understand, most account shutdowns happen as a result of an automated process, not a human review. The system is capable of detecting certain anomalies that are likely to be associated with abusive accounts, but it is unlikely to be smart enough to recognize accounts that need to be reported to law enforcement. Once an account is shut down, the clock starts ticking and the information is automatically deleted after 90 days.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Kiki
Kiki Dubois makes Becky Chandler look subtle.
He gets excited about a photo of a small boy holding a paddle.
His buddy Dan Schneider posts a photo of three boys.
The commenters take an interest in the boys' backsides and Kiki brings up spanking. Again.
Dan Schneider, who posted the picture above, is interested in boys.
He gets excited about a photo of a small boy holding a paddle.
His buddy Dan Schneider posts a photo of three boys.
The commenters take an interest in the boys' backsides and Kiki brings up spanking. Again.
Dan Schneider, who posted the picture above, is interested in boys.
Jamie Blue, who also commented on the photo of the boy with the paddle, is disappointed that a "great vid of a kid getting spanked" didn't stay up for long.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Pictures or Videos?
Rich Taylor, who is an enthusiastic fan of the "Spanking Kids" page promoted by Becky Chandler, is apparently interested in procuring pictures or videos of another user spanking his daughter.
He asks if "Chuck Baxter" can get someone else to take videotapes when he spanks his daughters.
He asks if "Chuck Baxter" can get someone else to take videotapes when he spanks his daughters.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Becky
"The Intelligent Mom's Guide to Spanking" group was created by "Becky Chandler" who claims to be an "unabashed radical Pro-Spanking Mom." Becky goes on to emphasize that this group is not a fetish site.
That's an interesting claim. One of the regular contributors was featured in an earlier blog post and another seems to show up a lot in spanking-related groups. And Yolanda Varela, one of the members shown on the left, has a rather telling profile picture.
Let's check out this "Spanking Children" page that Becky promotes. There seems to be a number of like-minded people.
Becky Chandler seems to be all over the net as "beckychr007." Below is one of her Twitter status messages.
She also likes to frequent Yahoo and answer questions about parenting. Below she talks about paddling adolescents.
Should we be surprised that she again mentions bare-butt spanking? By this point, probably not.
Who "sexualized" the "traditional way parents disciplined?" According to Becky, it must have been the anti-spanking activists. Glad she cleared that up for us.
She links to the "teacherswhopaddle" blog, which some people believe to be a fetish site.
She claims that her 11-year-old daughter encouraged her to start a discussion on Yahoo about whether she should be paddled.
She seems to have done a lot of research into different kinds of spanking implements.
One of her contacts uses the screen name "spank men otk for bad behavior" and asks a question about consenting adults receiving "real discipline spankings."
Becky also has an interesting list on Amazon. I'm sure that the "Spanking Tails" books were just there for scholarly purposes.
She's also got quite a collection on ImageShack.
It's difficult to imagine any high school student, let alone a cheerleader, wearing red polka-dotted underpants that said "USA" on the back. Just sayin'.
Becky has claimed to be Catholic, and what could be more respectful than nunsploitation? Let's see how many things we can find wrong with the image below. First, the entire background is white. You might find this in a studio but not in a school. Second, the "nun" appears to be wearing pants under the "habit." Third, there are no Catholic schools left in the US that practice corporal punishment.
Let's check out this "Spanking Children" page that Becky promotes. There seems to be a number of like-minded people.
Becky Chandler seems to be all over the net as "beckychr007." Below is one of her Twitter status messages.
She also likes to frequent Yahoo and answer questions about parenting. Below she talks about paddling adolescents.
Should we be surprised that she again mentions bare-butt spanking? By this point, probably not.
Who "sexualized" the "traditional way parents disciplined?" According to Becky, it must have been the anti-spanking activists. Glad she cleared that up for us.
She links to the "teacherswhopaddle" blog, which some people believe to be a fetish site.
She claims that her 11-year-old daughter encouraged her to start a discussion on Yahoo about whether she should be paddled.
She seems to have done a lot of research into different kinds of spanking implements.
One of her contacts uses the screen name "spank men otk for bad behavior" and asks a question about consenting adults receiving "real discipline spankings."
Becky also has an interesting list on Amazon. I'm sure that the "Spanking Tails" books were just there for scholarly purposes.
She's also got quite a collection on ImageShack.
It's difficult to imagine any high school student, let alone a cheerleader, wearing red polka-dotted underpants that said "USA" on the back. Just sayin'.
Becky has claimed to be Catholic, and what could be more respectful than nunsploitation? Let's see how many things we can find wrong with the image below. First, the entire background is white. You might find this in a studio but not in a school. Second, the "nun" appears to be wearing pants under the "habit." Third, there are no Catholic schools left in the US that practice corporal punishment.
Although Google shut down the "Just a Girl in short shorts" blog, we can retrieve parts of it through the Wayback Machine. Hey Becky, want to tell us again how it's the anti-spankers who "sexualized" things?
Update: if you Google "Becky Chandler and spanking," there's apparently a well-circulated porn clip depicting a blond girl in short cutoffs being paddled.
By an amazing coincidence, the Becky Chandler we've seen repeatedly posting about spanking also seems to be fascinated by short cutoffs. Below is the photo she's used repeatedly. Coincidence or not?
At any rate, some other users on Yahoo also noticed Becky's pattern of behavior: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090228221837AAu8bBR
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