Even though the social networks They are often used as a tool for entertainment and communication with acquaintances and friends, these can also become a dangerous terrain for the little ones in the house. An investigation by the verification medium “Maldita.es” has discovered the different codes used by pedophiles in TikTok comments to be able to exchange child pornography and intimate images of minors without their consent.
A few months ago, Spanish society was involved in the debate about the danger of using social networks in minors. The announcement by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, about the prohibition of the use of these platforms for minors under 16 years of age, unleashed a whirlwind of opinions about the benefits and disadvantages that these tools had in social life and safety of the little ones. Among the most commented dangers was, without a doubt, the exposure to potential pedophiles.
TikTok is one of the largest social networks in number of users worldwide. This popularity is due, in part, to a large number of users managed by children under 16 years of age. Therefore, it is quite common to find content uploaded by children and adolescents, with and without the consent and/or knowledge of their parents. less than They are completely exposed to the comments and messages of adults and, among them, pedophiles who see an opportunity to get and exchange sexual content or explicit minors.
“Zangi 1450…”, “Postal Code” or “100 x 100”, the codes used by pedophiles on TikTok
However, in order not to be identified as such on the platform, they have found a code system with which not to raise suspicions and be able to operate in the shadows. To do this, they usually start “Zangi” plus an identifying number like “1450…”. This may go unnoticed by anyone who is not involved in pedophile networks, but for those who are interested in this type of illegal contentserves to be able to connect through a little-known messaging app.
Zangi is an application that is characterized by allowing its users to register without having to present a phone number or email that identifies them. Therefore, according to the investigation of “Maldita.es”, 7% of potential pedophiles located in the TikTok comments they had an account in this application. Due to this lack of identification, since the messages sent through it are encrypted and do not go through any central server, it is used for the illegal content sharingsuch as child pornography.
However, this is not the only way potential pedophiles communicate. The medium also found a large number of comments with messages like “50 x 50”, “100×100” or “200 x 200”. This code, as explained by the criminologist specialized in cybercrime, Javier Sanz, to “Maldita.es”, is a way of informing other users that you have a certain amount ofpedophile files available for exchange for the same amount offered. Likewise, other words are also used such as “Zip code”“Chicken Caldo” or “Café con Pan”, whose initials (CP) refer to the term in English “Child Pornography” (child pornography).
It is necessary for parents to review and control their children’s social networks
To all these codes, it is possible to add a pizza emojiwhich is often used to offer explicit content for minors. As explained by the criminologist specialized in criminal analysis, Luis Santos Diz, to “Maldita.es”, these codes “lead them help bypass automatic moderation systems“, remaining unpunished by the restrictions.
For all these reasons, it is essential that the parents of minors make a Regular monitoring of your children’s social media profilesobserving the comments and messages they receive from both acquaintances and strangers. Additionally, some platforms have accounts for teenagerswhich already have prior restrictions that regulate their use to ensure the safety of minors.