New Technologies Open Door to Digital Exploitation

The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and security authorities warn about the increase of digital crimes targeting minors, such as sextortion and cyberbullying.

"Digitalization expands and complicates child slavery, which today has new forms of exploitation when a child or adolescent is forced to be a digital extortionist, or when adults take advantage of child content on social networks for their own purposes," says Carmen Ruiz, Professor at the National School of Social Work (ENTS), UNAM.

Children are exposed to numerous crimes, including slavery. This is a multidimensional phenomenon influenced by structural factors such as poverty, family violence, and socioeconomic inequality. These elements, according to Derechos Infancia, increase the vulnerability of minors to be victims of trafficking and exploitation, in both face-to-face and digital modalities. 

The advance of digitalization has increased risks for minors. Electronic devices and internet access allow offenders to contact, manipulate, and exploit children without the need for direct physical contact. Social networks and instant messaging platforms have facilitated the increase of crimes such as sextortion and cyberbullying, which mainly affect children and adolescents, reports TV Azteca.

The Cyber Police of the Ministry of Citizen Security of Mexico City (SSC CDMX) reports a substantial increase in cases of digital violence, a phenomenon that affects a broad spectrum of the population and that has acquired new dimensions with the expansion of the use of devices connected to the Internet. Cyberbullying, digital blackmail, and sextortion are some recurrent forms of cyber violence. 

The effects of digital violence can be devastating, affecting not only digital security, but also the psychological and physical well-being of those who suffer from it, reports the FBI. These patterns of digital exploitation highlight the urgent need to strengthen cyber vigilance and implement preventive measures to protect the most vulnerable population, particularly children and adolescents.

The ease with which minors operate digital devices aggravates the situation. According to data collected by UNAM, this unsupervised technological exposure has led to the forced participation of minors in digital criminal activities, including their use as tools for committing other crimes.

Children can also be recruited for illicit activities through digital platforms. According to estimates mentioned in UNICEF’s Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2024, before the pandemic it was estimated that around 30,000 minors were used in criminal activities. After the health contingency, the figure could have reached 150,000. In the same period (2017-2021), at least 3,800 investigation files related to human trafficking were opened.

To mitigate these risks, the SSC CDMX recommends a series of preventive actions, especially in the digital environment. The main ones include: limiting the visibility of personal data on social networks, using strong passwords, avoiding the publication of sensitive information, and blocking or reporting profiles that present suspicious behavior. These measures are applicable to both minors and adults who may be targets of digital violence.

Academic organizations insist that the problem cannot be addressed exclusively from a technological or punitive perspective. The UNAM highlights the need for public policies that integrate prevention, digital education, social protection, and strengthening families. Similarly, specialists warn of the need to adapt regulatory frameworks and justice systems to the new digital environments, which have transformed the traditional dynamics of exploitation.

In the context of the World Day Against Child Labour, academics and authorities as the International Labour Organization (ILO) agree that the visibility of the new forms of exploitation must be translated into coordinated actions between government, private sector, and civil society. This includes from awareness campaigns to the implementation of technological tools for the detection and prevention of digital child abuse.