Hyderabad:Under the veil of anonymity, a disturbing trend is growing on social media platforms like Instagram, Reddit and Discord, where individuals are running group chats (GCs) and pages dedicated to sharing explicit images and recordings of women and girls taken without their consent.
These groups are often hidden behind private settings, making it challenging for social media moderation tools to take immediate action.
Members openly discuss and share them without any consideration for the victims' privacy or consent. Some of these groups allegedly shared pictures and videos of their family members.
Despite multiple accounts and GCs being flagged and reported, many continue to operate, often reappearing under new names or on different platforms after being taken down. The platforms, although actively working to combat this issue, are struggling to keep pace with the sheer volume of new groups and accounts that spring up daily.
The creators of these groups exploit the anonymity offered by platforms, making it difficult to trace and hold them accountable.
While some platforms have implemented stricter guidelines and reporting mechanisms, the problem persists, with many groups still online and amassing followers in large numbers. Recently, several such accounts and a page spreading explicit content were removed from social media websites after they were mass-reported by users.
