Law enforcement relies on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a unique nonprofit that by law acts as a conduit of information between technology companies and police.
Oklahoma overwhelmed with internet crimes against children cases oklahoman.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from oklahoman.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Instagram is rolling out a feature that will bar adults from messaging teens who don t follow them.
The feature is one of the new safety measures the platform is installing in an effort to protect minors who use the photo-sharing app, Instagram said Tuesday in a news release. Other updates include tools for parents, safety notices for teens and potential changes in the way the platform understands a user s age.
Under the changes, adults who try to send a direct message to users under age 18 who don t follow them will receive a notification that DM ing them isn t an option, Instagram said.
Authorities are encouraging parents to talk to their children about online predators and to monitor their kidsâ computer use.
Their advice comes in the wake of four recent criminal cases in Davidson and Ashe counties involving girls who were taken or solicited by men online.
âOne of the most important things that needs to be done is that parents need to have a conversation with their child about what is safe internet usage,â said Kevin Roughton, the special agent in charge of the State Bureau of Investigationâs computer crimes unit. âEveryone is going to be on the internet, so how do we do it safely and how do we protect our kids?â