“I’m sure your name is David and you’re hiding behind your little PC. How do you know if you are not fake? “. If “Kakao” by his nickname, 23, is so suspicious on the chat from the “Teen Dating” site, is that the platform is increasingly targeted by the presence of sexual predators and many other mainpulators far removed from the initial ambitions of the platform: to become a meeting place for young people aged 13 to 25. Created in 2006 and hosted in Belgium today, the site has recently existed as an application on Android, but has been banned by Apple. In just two or three clicks, it is easy to access the site without any identity verification, even though the rules state that it is forbidden to provide false information on his profile.
In public discussions, we talk about leisure, rap, kebab but also sexual practices. Except that first observation, all the discussions will certainly not be perceived in the same way if the Internet user is 13 or 25 years old. “Are you into BDSM? », asks a first public fair. “I’m looking for a sugar daddy asks a user on another show. It is to be wondered if the age gap between users is really logical on this site. Even more surprisingly, the platform posts articles aimed at young people, in particular on sexuality. A good way to educate at first sight. But the content is not really suitable. The first article advocates, for example, natural contraception with the “coitus interruptus” method. A practice that cannot be recommended as contraception, and even less to a public that is uninformed on the issue.
Immersion in the realm of the “Dick Peak”
For teenagers, the advantage of the platform lies above all in the great freedom left by private conversation. “It’s fun and people are open-minded,” rejoices Abou. But this freedom can also be misused. Some wouldn’t even be the age requested by the site… evidenced by the presence of our fake account, Julie, 16 years old who likes to “laugh and party with her friends”, according to her bio. You will have understood it, the real person behind the computer exceeds this age by ten years, if not more. And it wouldn’t be the only one.
In just a few minutes, various accounts have already slipped into our mailbox. Anatole, Kevin, Dav, Lucas and so on. One stands out. His name is “Submissive” and would be 19 years old. “Twenty centimeters, proof on snap”, testifies his biography. Not worried for a penny, the latter increases in private. “Read my bio”. But he is very quickly challenged by his interlocutor who reminds him that she is a minor. This one stutters. “No, but me too. I am 16 years old in reality, I put 19 at random”. Only, he is not the only one to lie about his age. On the bio of Aurélien, 24 years old, we read: “Handsome mature man (Daddy of quality) sporty, muscular (1m90-93kgs). Tempted by an experience radically different from anything you could experience with kids from here or your age? Do you want maturity and know-how, but not the (usual) daron physique? And finally a man, a real one, with financial means that will make you happy? “.
Same observation on the profile of Tomas, 25 years old, but older according to his profile. Much older even. “40 years”, he replies when we ask him. “I like young women, their freshness, their bodies,” he justifies himself. He even says he has already met an 18-year-old girl, before redirecting us to a photo of her sex. Others also beg for photos of naked young people or even seek sexual relations. Only, older men aren’t the only ones squatting on the teen network. By message, Paul, 16, says that he meets “a few escorts and cam-girls”. If they do not offer to pay directly on the platform, the latter refer to specialized sites.
“This situation has become unmanageable for our reduced team”
After several alerts, the site therefore decided to change its strategy and propose stricter rules (but which are still very lax). For example, it would no longer be possible to comment on photos of people outside our friends list. “Due to the growing presence of sexual messages, this situation has become unmanageable for our reduced team. We are aware that it is always a few irresponsible individuals who force us to take such measures, and we are sincerely sorry for this, ”explains the staff in a public conversation. Good news for Ethan. “It’s good for our safety.” “What would be even better would be a profile check,” regrets Matteo.
But here, the team of “Dating Teen” points to a major problem on the site: an almost non-existent moderation, as evidenced by the alert message on the main page indicating an upcoming recruitment of moderators. Above all, it seems that creators are now overwhelmed by the number of subscribers, letting many fake profiles pass. “The moderation complains of not being enough to manage the 200,000 registered, because there are only three. It seems to me, however, that in addition to the fact that mods should already be thinking about being active, we are not 200,000 connected simultaneously, that’s just excuses “, castigates Timeo who compares the platform to the video games forum .com which he thinks would be much better moderated. “You compare a forum with a site where you can post photos, private messages, comments and a forum. Apple and pear”, replies the staff with a touch of aggression.
An equally aggressive response to the media. “We have too many requests and when we give an interview, our words are changed or taken out of context to follow the narrative of the subject of the article. So no,” the site automatically replies when we try to contact them.
129 reports in 24 hours
So what to do in the future? Ban the site? Or make parents and children responsible for the presence of sexual predators on “Rencontre adolescent”? Asked by France Info this Tuesday, the Secretary of State in charge of Childhood Charlotte Caubel declared that there was no question of banning this site. “The objective is to regulate,” she insisted. And to recall: “Since the summer of 2022, we have had a law which requires sites to obtain parental authorization so that children under 15 can register on these sites. We are committed to ensuring that the implementing decree for this law comes out very quickly”.
This action is undoubtedly insufficient given the scale of the problem. However, let us recall the existence of the Pharos platform, which allows to report content deemed illegal on the Internet. Always according to France Info“Encounter Teen” would have already received more than 400 reports since, including 129 in the last 24 hours.