What was once restricted to the dark web involving explicit content of kids is now widely traded due to high demand, especially on social media. Access to this illicit content is sold for as low as RM1. Sex predators have mastered the trade of preying on their innocence, write Aliza Shah and Amalina Kamal
ONCE hidden in the recesses of the dark web, child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is now horrifyingly easy to access in Malaysia, with videos being sold on social media platforms for merely RM1.
The growing demand for such content is dangerously fuelling the production of locally made child pornography, raising grave concern about children's safety.
The New Straits Times (NST) recently investigated the underground world of pornographic content, uncovering numerous groups and hidden accounts openly promoting what they claimed to be international and locally produced content.
The sellers use a layered system where buyers must join general or preview groups, then interact with an admin to buy access to exclusive content.
In just three days, an NST reporter successfully infiltrated the groups and identified sellers distributing CSAM, highlighting the alarming ease with which they can be accessed.
Sellers attract buyers by sharing snippets of their content, screen recordings of the exclusive group's gallery and testimonials from previous "satisfied" buyers.
These messages are deleted after a certain period, with sellers frequently abandoning their accounts and creating new ones to evade detection.
The reporter approached several sellers who offered a range of packages, granting access to groups allegedly containing CSAM, priced from RM50 to RM350.
One of them claims to manage several groups, organised based on preferences, such as those featuring males with female minors and a group with exclusive content of females engaging in sexual intercourse with male minors.
Unlike the general groups, which can have up to 30,000 active members, these exclusive groups, often using innocuous names to avoid suspicion, appear to have fewer members.
The sellers seem unfazed by the possibility of any shutdown, confidently guaranteeing what they claim to be "lifetime" memberships to their groups.
For those on a tighter budget, videos are available for as little as RM1 each.
All videos are sent to users upon payment, which can be made through various platforms, including QR code payments and e-wallets.
The NST sighted some of the videos.
While those in the videos appeared to be minors, reporters could not determine if they were Malaysians.
In one video, however, a male voice is heard speaking to a minor in a local Chinese dialect.
In many instances, the low-quality, homemade videos featured tightly zoomed-in, point-of-view shots, accompanied by indistinct voices giving instructions to the children.
Although the minors did not resist, they appear disoriented and simply followed instructions.
Many of them also looked uncomfortable, drowsy and some were even asleep.
Most of the videos were filmed in home settings, with some showing these individuals desperately trying to remain silent, as if fearing that they might wake others in the same household.
One chilling video even panned to reveal an adult sleeping on a nearby bed, unaware of the horrors unfolding just a few feet away.
One of the videos sighted by the NST was even recorded in the presence of a toddler, who was seen rolling on the floor nearby while the minor was engaged by an adult male.
In 2018, the NST reported on the Internet Crimes Against Children — Children Online Protective Services (ICACCOPS), a United States-developed system used to help police identify porn purveyors by tracking Internet protocol (IP) addresses, locations and online activities.
However, it cannot effectively trace explicit content on social media due to the lack of direct IP tracking.
To better regulate social media platforms, Malaysia has made it a requirement for platforms — including online messaging services — with at least eight million users to be licensed, starting from Aug 1.
The new regulatory framework, aimed at ensuring a safer online ecosystem, will be fully enforced from Jan 1 next year.