Get the latest tech news
Nihilistic online networks groom minors to commit harm. Her son was one of them
When Dana's son was hospitalized last year, it led her to a path of discovery about predatory online networks that groom children into harming themselves and others. Their reach is global and growing.
Now, more than a year after Elliott was hospitalized, Dana finally feels ready to share the story of what her family went through, in the hope that it may help other parents understand some of the dangers that children may encounter online. "And then you take kids who are additionally vulnerable, where adults are using successful, manipulative tactics to make them think that they're connected, that they're cared for … and telling them then to cut their name on their skin on camera or do something that demonstrates their loyalty. Victims of these networks have, at times, been targets of hoax "swatting" calls, where someone fraudulently reports a crime at a home location in order to draw a large and aggressive law enforcement presence there.
Or read this on r/technology