Internet, Photographs and Mobile Phones

Different ways of communicating with friends are important to a child/young person and are now a way of life from an early age. When a child is placed with foster carers, it is important to find out their background and whether the internet, photographs and mobile phones contributed towards any abuse so that you can plan their use safely for all children, and particularly those where it has been an issue.

Foster carers should ask their supervising social worker and the child's social worker for advice and information.

Carers' knowledge of different media will vary but it is important that they do all they can to safeguard children when using the internet and mobile devices.

The placement plan should identify any risks or issues associated with the use of a computer, mobile phone or gaming equipment particularly in relation to bullying, sexual exploitation or other risk-taking behaviours and where appropriate assess the risk and how safely to manage the child or young person's use. The use of social media/electronic communication as a way of maintaining contact with family and friends should be outlined in the child's Care Plan (see also Contact with Parents, Siblings and Others Procedure).

If a foster carer is concerned in any way about a child's behaviour or the child expresses something that the carer is worried about in relation to social media, they should discuss this with their supervising social worker.

There is a correlation between online risk and real-life vulnerability that means care-experienced children have an increased risk of encountering online harm. Young people with prior off-line vulnerabilities are at greater risk of harm online then children and young people with none. For example, young people with eating disorders, looked after children and young people and those with communication challenges may use technology to communicate and socialise in ways they cannot achieve without it. Denying online access to children can be abusive in itself (e.g., loss of opportunity to develop resilience, risk of alienation, risk of turning to secret devices).

Foster carers need to be aware that children who have experienced past trauma or have low self-esteem can be more vulnerable to the dangers associated with the internet. When communicating via the internet, young people tend to become less wary and talk about things far more openly than they might when communicating face to face.

The role of foster carers in helping children to learn how to use the internet safely is extremely important and they must ask for support and/or further training if they lack confidence or knowledge in this area.

Foster carers should support young people to use social media and electronic communication safely and offer advice on what a young person should do if they receive a message which is inappropriate or upsetting. If foster carers have any concerns about a child's online activities they should report it to the supervising social worker.

Foster carers should try and take part in a child's web browsing particularly for a new child in placement; school homework is an ideal opportunity for this. Foster carers should explain the web's positive and negative sides and tell them that if they are not sure about a site they should talk to you. Some useful guidelines are:

• Time limits on computers should be agreed with the child/young person;
• Appropriate internet security should be used on the computers to avoid access to inappropriate material;
• Carers should set clear ground rules on the use of the internet;
• Computers should be in areas of the house where adults can see what is being looked at rather than in a bedroom;
• If a young person has a laptop then decide with them where and when they can use it if they are accessing the internet;
• Carers should show an interest in the internet and encourage young people to be open about any concerns or problems;
• Never allow a child to arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone they "meet" on the internet without first speaking to the child's social worker;
• The child should never respond to messages that are rude, threatening, or makes them feel uncomfortable. Encourage the child to talk to you about messages like this. If the child receives a message or sees something online that you are concerned about, keep a copy and make a note in the daily log;
• Foster carers should discuss with a child/young person that people online may not be who they say they are.

Teaching the child to be cautious is important and can help when they start to use social networking sites like Facebook or ‘X’ (formerly known as Twitter). Foster carers need to be aware that most mainstream Social Networking sites impose a minimum age limit of 13 on their membership. This includes Facebook. It is therefore not appropriate for children under 13 years old to use social networking sites which are also used by adults. Prohibiting young people from using social networking sites is not realistic. A more effective way of helping to keep children safe when using social networking sites is to:

• Ensure young people set their privacy settings appropriately;
• Pay attention to what information the young person is posting; and
• Encourage young people to share their social networking experiences with an appropriate adult.

Foster carers should ensure the child's profile and postings contain nothing that might expose their identity or whereabouts.

It is important that the child and the carer understand the site's terms and conditions.

Carers should try to equip the child with the skills to decide who to trust, even when they have not met the person face-to-face and talk to the child/young person about what makes a real friend.

The Digital Passport is aimed specifically at Looked After Children, but may be a useful resource that can be adapted for any vulnerable child.

The internet and social networking sites can pose risks to children and young people, for example in relation to sexual exploitation and abuse, bullying and radicalisation.

In relation to sexual abuse, this can include:

• Exposure to pornographic or other offensive material via the Internet;
• Abusive images of children (although these are not confined to the Internet);
• A child or young person being groomed for the purpose of sexual abuse.

Social networking sites can be  used by perpetrators as an easy way to access children and young people for sexual abuse. The Serious Crime Act 2015 introduced an offence of sexual communication with a child. This applies to an adult who communicates with a child and the communication is sexual or if it is intended to elicit from the child a communication which is sexual and the adult reasonably believes the child to be under 16 years of age. The Act also amended the Sex Offences Act 2003 so it is now an offence for an adult to arrange to meet with someone under 16 having communicated with them on just one occasion (previously it was on at least two occasions).

It should be noted that creating or sharing explicit images of a child is illegal, even if the person doing it is a child. A young person is breaking the law if they:

• Take an explicit photo or video of themselves or a friend;
• Share an explicit image or video of a child, even if it's shared between children of the same age;
• Possess, download or store an explicit image or video of a child, even if the child gave their permission for it to be created.

However, if a young person is found creating or sharing images, the police can choose to record that a crime has been committed but that taking formal action is not in the public interest.

Internet abuse may also include cyberbullying. This is when a child is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another person or persons using the internet and/or mobile devices. In the case of online bullying it is possible for one victim to be bullied by many perpetrators. In any case of severe bullying it may be appropriate to consider the behaviour as child abuse by another young person.

Radical and extremist groups may use social networking to attract children and young people into narrow ideologies that are intolerant of diversity: this is similar to the grooming process and exploits the same vulnerabilities.

Children may be drawn to adopt a radical ideology through a failure to appreciate the bias in extremist material; in addition by repeated viewing of extreme content they may come to view it as normal.

The Online Safety Act 2023 introduced new criminal offences including:

• Sending a message with information the sender knows to be false with the intention of causing non-trivial psychological or physical harm to a likely audience without reasonable excuse;
• Sending a message with a threat of death, serious injury, rape or serious financial loss where the sender intends the recipient to fear that threat will be carried out (or is reckless as to whether the recipient has such fear);
• Sending or showing an electronic communication with flashing images with the intention to cause harm to a person with epilepsy;
• Communicating, publishing or showing material capable (and with the intention) of encouraging or assisting the serious self-harm of another, even if the sender cannot identify the recipients and even if the self-harm does not occur;
• Intentionally sending or giving images of any person’s genitals to another person with the intention to cause the recipient alarm, distress or humiliation, or for the purposes of sexual gratification whilst reckless as to whether the recipient will be caused alarm, distress or humiliation;
• Four offences in relation to intentional sharing or threatening to share intimate images without consent, which do not necessarily require proof that the sender intended to cause alarm, distress or humiliation. (This replaces the previous offences relating to so-called ‘revenge porn’ where there was a requirement for an intention to cause distress).

The initial indicators of online abuse in children are likely to be changes in behaviour and mood. Clearly such changes can also be attributed to many innocent events in a child's life and cannot be regarded as diagnostic. However, changes to a child's circle of friends or a noticeable change in attitude towards the use of computer or phone could have their origin in abusive behaviour. Similarly, a change in their friends or not wanting to be alone with a particular person may be a sign that something is upsetting them.

Children often show rather than tell that something is upsetting them. There may be many reasons for changes in their behaviour, but if foster carers notice a combination of worrying signs they should seek help or advice. They should contact their supervising social worker. A list of sources of further information and support organisations is in the Relevant Guidance section at the top of this chapter.

If it is OK to take pictures or videos always ask the child's permission first and make sure they are clear on who will see them and why.

Foster carers should try and take photographs regularly of the child/young person to help record their life; it may also help when putting together their Life Story book.

Carers should be clear on who can give consent for the child to have their picture taken or be filmed for school etc.

Mobile phones offer text messaging, taking pictures, sending and receiving them, sending and receiving video clips and sound tracks, as well as access to the internet which means a child can download pictures and videos.

With a camera phone a child/young person can also send pictures of themselves, friends and where they live, which can have security implications for some looked after children.

Mobile phone network providers operate a barring and filtering mechanism to prevent those under 18 years accessing 18 rated content. The service can be provided for both contract and pay as you go phones. Foster carers are advised to explore this with the network provider that a child/young person uses or see what other services they offer.