{"id":2486144,"date":"2025-09-13T11:54:01","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T15:54:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watchdogs-child-predators-may-exploit-popular-social-platforms-new-feature\/"},"modified":"2025-09-13T11:56:53","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T15:56:53","slug":"watchdogs-child-predators-may-exploit-popular-social-platforms-new-feature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watchdogs-child-predators-may-exploit-popular-social-platforms-new-feature\/","title":{"rendered":"Watchdogs: Child Predators May Exploit Popular Social Platform&#8217;s New Feature"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwatchdogs-child-predators-may-exploit-popular-social-platforms-new-feature%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2486144&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>spotify has introduced a new direct messaging (DM) feature on its platform, aiming to allow users to share content more easily wiht friends and creators. However, teh National Center on Sexual Exploitation has raised serious concerns about this feature, warning that it could be exploited by child predators to target minors, including teenagers. The center urges Spotify to disable the DM function for users under 16 and implement stronger age verification methods to protect minors. They highlight SpotifyS history of inadequate child safety measures, pointing out it took the company eight years to add basic parental controls. Experts stress that even <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >teens aged 16-17 remain highly vulnerable<\/a> to online sexual exploitation and grooming, and the rollout of this feature could exacerbate these risks. Additionally, the Center notes that Spotify hosts content that may normalize sexual violence and abuse, such as explicit thumbnails and audio pornography. Despite Spotify&#8217;s intention to enhance user connection and content sharing, watchdog groups call for more robust protections to safeguard young users from potential harm on the platform.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>The popular music streaming platform Spotify recently unveiled a new direct message feature, which the National Center on Sexual Exploitation believes could be infiltrated by child predators.<\/p>\n<p>A watchdog group warned in an Aug. 27 <a href=\"https:\/\/endsexualexploitation.org\/articles\/spotifys-new-dm-feature-will-give-predators-easy-access-to-teens\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement<\/a> that Spotify must disable this DM feature for minors and &ldquo;utilize robust age verification to ensure minors do not access it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Direct messages are a high-risk feature for sexual abuse and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/pam-bondi-kash-patel-announce-arrests-205-suspected-child-predators\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">grooming<\/a> online,&rdquo; the Center said.<\/p>\n<p>Executive director Haley McNamara added, &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/house-gop-probe-potential-spotify-censorship-top-podcasters\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spotify<\/a> should halt its rollout of a new DM feature, given that DMs are a prime way predators can contact teens.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Apparently, Spotify has had longstanding issues with failing to ensure the safety of minors.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Spotify has a track record of not <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-wont-democrats-do-what-it-takes-to-protect-kids-from-school-shooters\/\" title=\"Why Aren&#039;t Democrats Prioritizing Child ... from School Shooters?\">prioritizing child safety<\/a>, as it took them eight years just to add basic parental controls,&rdquo; McNamara explained.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">PS&hellip;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Spotify?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Spotify<\/a> patting itself on the back for excluding kids under 16 from its new DM feature misses the point.<\/p>\n<p>Research shows 16&ndash;17yos are often at highest risk!<\/p>\n<p>IWF found 16&ndash;17yos are victims in 3 of 5 sextortion cases.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Spotify?\">@Spotify<\/a> time to rethink this rollout. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6vcCf1tiz0\">https:\/\/t.co\/6vcCf1tiz0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Haley McNamara (@HaleyMcNamara) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HaleyMcNamara\/status\/1960704759691624580?\">August 27, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There have already been cases of children being groomed and abused on Spotify, and inevitably this will get worse with the DM feature,&rdquo; she continued.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;All minors deserve to be protected from online harms, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/phones-are-destroying-kids-ability-to-read-books\/\" title=\"Phones Are Destroying Kids&#039; Ability To ... Books\">teens aren&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t immune from these harms when they turn 16.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Center also named Spotify to their &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/endsexualexploitation.org\/spotify\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dirty Dozen<\/a>&rdquo; list of &ldquo;mainstream contributors to sexual exploitation&rdquo; just last year.<\/p>\n<p>Although the music platform isn&rsquo;t known as a pornography app, children can still access visual content that normalizes &ldquo;sexual violence, child sexual abuse, and incest&rdquo; through thumbnails depicting sexual activity.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, there is &ldquo;audio pornography&rdquo; in the form of &ldquo;sex sounds or sexually explicit stories read aloud.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/neil-young-comes-crawling-back-spotify-2-years-woke-virtue-signaling-fails-move-needle\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spotify<\/a> said last week that the DM feature was created as a result of feedback from users, who want to more easily  content among their friends.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;For artists, authors, and creators, easier sharing means more word-of-mouth recommendations and helps create new fans,&rdquo; the company said in an <a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.spotify.com\/2025-08-26\/introducing-messages-a-new-way-to--what-you-love-on-spotify-with-friends-and-family\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">announcement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Our goal is to give users what they want and make those moments of connection more seamless and streamlined in the Spotify app.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The service is available for anyone who is 16 years or older; however, certain content is age restricted, <a href=\"https:\/\/support.spotify.com\/us\/article\/age-restricted-content-age-check\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according<\/a> to the company&rsquo;s website.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The well-known music streaming service Spotify recently introduced a new direct messaging feature, which the National Center on Sexual Exploitation warns could be exploited by child predators. In a statement released on August 27, the watchdog group urged Spotify to disable this DM function for minors and implement strong age verification measures to prevent underage users from accessing it<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2486145,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Computer-hacker.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[33402,56947,63276,63277],"class_list":["post-2486144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-child-safety","tag-online-predators","tag-social-media-risks","tag-watchdogs-report"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Computer-hacker.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2486144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2486144"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2486144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2486148,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2486144\/revisions\/2486148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2486145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2486144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2486144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2486144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}