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Daily Maverick
5 days ago
- Daily Maverick
Online danger — social media predator targets and traffics SA teen
The advent of the internet has put predators into children's pockets, and many use a classic child sexual abuse playbook. With ease of access to children online, anonymity, the speed and intensity at which online relationships progress, secrecy, careful grooming and vicious, prolonged attacks on children's identity and belonging, the question is not how this crime occurred, but rather how many other children are affected whose stories we will never know? It's a parent's worst nightmare: the phone call warning that the 16-year-old boy who befriended your daughter online, who told her he was en route from the UK to visit her, is an adult man with international warrants out for his arrest. Worse, he was already in the country. The story reads like the script of a Hollywood movie – a teenage girl rescued minutes before she was sexually abused and trafficked out of the country. It's a narrative made more shocking because it didn't happen to a high-risk child from a vulnerable family. The victim was a normal South African teen from a middle-class home with loving and involved parents who had done everything possible to keep her safe. It isn't fiction. The advent of the internet has put predators into children's pockets, and many use an archetypal child sexual abuse playbook. Through ease of access to children online, the anonymity of online contact, the speed and intensity at which online relationships progress combined with secrecy, careful grooming, vicious and prolonged attacks on children's self-esteem while they are desperate for identity and belonging, and often with the support and financial backing of organised crime, 10 cases of online child sexual abuse and exploitation are reported to occur globally every second. Multinational investigation In September 2022, a combined team of homeland security, the Hawks and Interpol, along with anti-trafficking organisation Hope Risen were frantically working behind the scenes to keep UK citizen Adam Qasim Lucas Habib from abducting, raping and trafficking 15-year-old Sam*, the South African girl he had been corresponding with on Omegle, Snapchat and WhatsApp for more than a year, and who he was due to visit within days. Unbeknown to them though, Habib was already in the country. Always one step ahead, he booked into his hotel two days before the due date on the fake ticket he had sent to her parents. Without luggage, he warned the hotel staff not to disturb him and requested no room service. That night, he allegedly purchased the services of a 13-year-old prostitute, sold to him by her parents. On the other side of town, Sam, the only one who knew that he had arrived in the country early, began to implement her boyfriend's carefully constructed plan. For months she had sat with her parents practising drawing a beard and moustache on her face with make-up, covering her hair with a hoodie and expertly transforming herself into a young man. It was done in plain sight of her family, a seemingly innocent pastime to which they imbued no sinister meaning. Sam had also established a regular habit of going to the gym beneath the luxury apartment block where she lived with her parents and older brother. She'd usually be there for about an hour, more than enough time to meet the boy she was desperately in love with and disappear without a trace. On that fateful Thursday evening, she planned to meet Habib at the gym. It was the day before Habib's 'mother', a fake persona he had created to appease Sam's parents, had told them he was arriving in South Africa. When Sam's mom collected her from school, Sam asked if she would be home by 5pm because that was when she would be going to gym. None the wiser, it would have been an hour and a half before her parents realised she was missing, and by then she would have been long gone. But at the last minute the plan began to unravel. The catalyst was a chance conversation at an anti-trafficking convention held by South African authorities with their foreign counterparts the week that Habib arrived in the country. During supper on the final night of the conference, a South African agent mentioned that they had a live case in play where the suspect was a UK citizen. Alert to the potential threat, the UK agent did some digging on his return to the UK. It was he who discovered that Habib was not a child but an adult male in his late twenties, that he had been in juvenile detention in the UK, that he was wanted in both the UK and the US and, most concerningly, that he was already in South Africa. What followed was a frantic attempt to keep Sam safe, made harder because Sam did not think she was in danger. At the point at which her parents were notifying her school of a possible kidnap situation, staging an intervention with the senior Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) investigating officer who threatened to arrest Sam for possession of child pornography if she did not hand over her device and passwords, and authorities were putting in plans to arrest Habib, Sam still believed that he was her 16-year-old boyfriend and that they were in love. Textbook grooming It was an illusion that Habib had carefully cultivated for more than a year. Sam was just 14 years old when she first tried Omegle. Like many others her age, her life had been railroaded by Covid, forcing her online and devolving her friendship groups and quest for belonging into the microcosms of online communities. She'd done the safety talk at school warning that Omegle, the now-defunct (but resurrected in multiple other applications) online video chat site that randomly paired users with other users from across the world was dangerous, attracting predators, and infamous for close-ups of masturbating men and couples having sex on camera. But her friends were all on Omegle and peer pressure and curiosity finally won over caution. Given all the warnings, she felt like she had hit the jackpot when Omegle paired her with Adam Habib, a handsome 16-year-old boy from the UK. Nevertheless, she felt uncomfortable on the site and begged him to move across to Snapchat instead. When he was finally persuaded, the price he extracted was for her to stick out her tongue on camera. Innocent as she was, she had no idea that he had a tongue fetish or that after his camera suddenly went dark, the sound she could hear was him masturbating. Little is known about the first six months of their relationship but it seems that he was initially very attentive and romantic. He used affirmation and gifts to break down her barriers, including the airtime that enabled her to speak to him late at night, concealing her activities by placing a bathroom towel at the threshold of her door to block the light, and listening closely to the footsteps down the hall. As her parents attest, she became an expert at hiding her secret online habit and at identifying which parent was coming down the passage while she was speaking to Habib. But slowly the relationship began to deteriorate. Using a textbook grooming playbook, Habib moved from meeting an important need in Sam's life, and flooding her with gifts and compliments, to control, isolation and abuse. He alienated her from her family, keeping her up until all hours so she was perpetually exhausted, tearful and not coping at school. He gained access to all of her social media accounts and passwords to keep track of her relationships and movements, and began grooming her friends. Then, after he had extracted a promise that she 'would never speak to other boys', he hacked one of her male friend's accounts. When she innocently messaged the friend, Habib revealed that it was him using the account and accused her of cheating. He began punishing her. The conversations became more and more abusive. Gone were the romantic words. Instead he bullied and body-shamed her, mocking her body and face and calling her a slut, a whore and 'only good for the streets', gradually chipping away at her self-esteem. Months later when her anxious father hacked her Snapchat account he came across a tirade of misogynistic abuse. When he asked Sam why she allowed Habib to speak to her like that, she said that she deserved it because of her unfaithfulness. At the same time, the exchanges became more and more sexual. Habib explained in explicit detail what he would like to do with her when they finally met, sent her pornographic images and made her masturbate and perform oral sex and anal sex on herself using a hairbrush while he watched and masturbated. His conversations with this 14-year-old-child, which included references to oral and anal sex, orgasms, his tongue fetish, tying her up, raping her like 'a bad little slut' and taking her virginity whether she consented or not, were so graphic and so vulgar that his advocate refused to read them into record during the trial. He also manipulated her into sexting and sending him nudes. It was at this point that Sam finally confessed to her mother that she had 'done something' and that she was worried. 'I met a boy' Sam's parents, Rob and Linda*, had been concerned about Sam's behaviour for months, as she had become more withdrawn, anxious and angry. Arguments with her mom, who had previously been her confidant, had increased, and she was tearful and exhausted. But, they had attributed her changed behaviour to her being a teen, so her confession took Linda by surprise. Trying to remain calm, Linda asked her what she had done and how bad she thought it was. She ascertained that Sam had met 'a boy' online and sent him naked pics of her torso. Sam said that they were in love but also that he was being nasty and had made her cry. When Sam's parents asked her why she accepted the belittling, she told them that 'relationships online are different'. They tried to prove it wasn't normal, but she'd push them out of her room when she was talking to Habib, and wouldn't let them speak to him. Nevertheless, she'd often end conversations in tears and then regret her transparency. When Habib chatted to Sam live he used an emoji filter to mask his identity so Rob and Linda were increasingly convinced that he was a 'catfish'. Worried that he may be a jihadist or an extortionist, Rob began digging, but could find nothing on him. Then in Easter 2022, when the family planned a trip away, Sam insisted she wouldn't go. At the last minute, one of Sam's friends tipped off Rob and Linda that Habib was in the country and Sam was planning to travel to meet him at his hotel while they were away. Horrified, Rob drove her to Montecasino to find him. When his accommodation details proved to be false, they took it as proof that he didn't exist and that their nightmare was over. Their euphoria was short-lived though. Hours later he sent Sam a picture of himself standing next to the Easter Bunny at the Pick n Pay downstairs from their apartment. Suddenly, he was not only real but a stone's throw away from their daughter. Defying the advice of a top social media attorney to 'lock her up for six months and take away her phone', and in a bid to not lose Sam, the family staked him out and then let Habib and Sam meet in public places under supervision. It was clear almost immediately that something wasn't right. On two occasions when Habib (who concealed his age) was with Sam, older patrons flagged his behaviour, confronting him about the way he spoke to her and his unwillingness to accept her turning down his advances. Frustrated at not being alone with Sam, Habib extended his trip, explaining that his family was waiting for him in Cape Town. Before he left, he begged Sam's mom to let the two of them spend time on their own. It was a request Sam's parents adamantly refused. In the months that followed, Habib redoubled his efforts to meet Sam alone. He even created a mother persona who did her best to persuade Rob and Linda that the children were in love and that they would be bad parents if they stood in the way. Habib's 'mother' had a 30-minute video call with Rob and Linda, begging them to allow Habib to visit again. They finally agreed to let him come in September 2022. It was here that Habib's plan went wrong. His 'mother' inadvertently disclosed to Linda that she had never been to Cape Town, undermining his story that his parents had been with him in South Africa. 'She' further agreed to send through a copy of his passport. Although the date of birth and ID number were blanked out, the barcode was still visible, which was how authorities were finally able to uncover his age, record and movements. The family were also given the contact details of Tabitha Lage from Hope Risen. Lage described how during her first meeting with Sam, the two of them sat in silence for a whole hour as Sam angrily refused to speak to her. But then the floodgates opened. At Lage's behest, Sam persuaded Habib to move their conversation to WhatsApp which allowed the family to capture evidence (the final three months of their relationship alone produced 2,596 pages of WhatsApps). This had been impossible on Snapchat because of the disappearing messages, and because Habib received notifications when their messages were screenshotted, sending him into an apoplectic rage. No remorse By the time September and the planned second visit arrived, Sam was exhausted from sleepless nights, overwrought from the ongoing barrage of vitriol and abuse, failing at school, and worn down, with her self-esteem in tatters. She would later confess that she felt like it was too late to turn back. Everything was poised for what could have been the day she was trafficked. But then came the police breakthrough, the confiscation of her phone and the intervention that had her in a conference room with the FCS unit of the police, rather than at the gym ready to meet Habib. Instead of feeling grateful though, Sam was devastated. The following day, as she sat with her relieved parents in a restaurant downstairs from their apartment watching the Springboks play rugby, she became more and more anxious until at half-time Rob decided they should leave. Minutes later, his phone began to ping as the restaurant manager, who knew the family well, and who had been given Habib's picture, alerted him that Habib was metres away from their apartment, retracing his steps from the March visit in a frenzied attempt to find Sam. Although he came terrifyingly close to tracking her down, it proved to be his undoing. Even after his arrest, he still had a hold over Sam. Managing to contact her while in prison, he threatened to punish Lage and Sam's parents. She was so certain that he would harm them that she begged him to rather kill her than hurt them. At trial, he showed no remorse or recognition that he had done anything wrong. Finally, more than two years after his arrest, Adam Qasim Lucas Habib was found guilty of human trafficking, production and possession of child pornography, grooming, compelled self-sexual assault, compelling a child to witness sexual offences, flashing and sexual assault. On 4 March 2025, he was sentenced to an effective 40 years in prison. Having already served three, he is facing another 13 years of incarceration. The Johannesburg High Court judgment was landmark because it reinforced that the Trafficking in Persons (TiP) Act doesn't require children to be moved in order for them to be trafficked. Judge Coertse provided a thorough breakdown of the Act, showing that if any of the following criteria were fulfilled, it would constitute trafficking: 'any person who delivers, recruits, transports, transfers, harbours, sells, exchanges, leases or receives another person.' He agreed that the prosecutor had proven that Sam was recruited for sexual exploitation. The judge further explained that Habib had used an 'abuse of vulnerability' to recruit her, leading her to believe that she had no other option than to submit to exploitation. But despite the victory in court, Sam, just months away from becoming an adult, has been significantly scarred by her experience. Captain Botha from the FCS unit testified at Habib's trial that Sam had suffered from child sexual abuse syndrome, presenting with the five classic signs of secrecy, helplessness, entrapment and accommodation, delayed, conflicting and unconvincing disclosure, and retraction. Habib's grooming, which isolated her, met a felt need, created a shared secret, sexualised their relationship and then wore her down through cruelty and control, had altered her self-perception, evident in the way she continued to love and support him despite what he had done – according to Lage, a form of Stockholm syndrome. Educating children While Sam's experience is unique, it is not uncommon. According to Childlight, more than 300 million children are victims of online child sexual abuse and exploitation every year. Prevention requires tech companies to place children's wellbeing over profit and for governments to use legislation to prohibit or at least delay children from accessing harmful platforms including social media and gaming platforms where predators can access them. For worried parents, the changes are coming too slowly. In response, many are delaying access to devices, something Sam endorses for her future children. In addition, educating children about grooming and online exploitation, and keeping open lines of communication wherever possible, are key to safety because even when authorities and families successfully collaborate to protect a child, there are no fairytale endings in child sexual abuse cases. For Sam and her family, healing and recovery may be a long and painful journey. One in eight children has been affected by online solicitation. If you or a family member have been affected by online child sexual abuse and exploitation, contact Childline for assistance on 116. If you want to report an electronic crime, contact Crime Stop on 086 000 10111 and ask to speak to the Serial Electronic Crime (SECI) Unit. Concerned parents who want to delay access to smart devices can join the Smartphone Free Childhood movement. For more information about how this crime affects South African children and the legislative reforms needed to keep our children safer, read ''. DM
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Ohio man given 30 years for sexually exploiting Chicagoland girl he met online
CHICAGO (WGN) — An Ohio man will spend three decades in prison for sexually exploiting a Chicagoland girl he met online in 2020. 27-year-old Andrew Boltz, a Kenton, Ohio, resident, who was convicted on exploitation and child pornography charges by a federal jury in 2023, was handed a 30-year prison sentence during a hearing in federal court, the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Northern District of Illinois announced Thursday. According to prosecutors, in 2020, Boltz began communicating with a girl who was only 16 years old using the social media app Omegle. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines Boltz continued the conversations with the victim over text messages and through the app Snapchat and during their conversations, prosecutors said Boltz enticed the victim into sending him sexually explicit images of herself. Prosecutors said Boltz even instructed the girl on what type of sexually explicit conduct should be portrayed in the images. Boltz was convicted on four counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of receipt of child pornography on Oct 10, 2023, following a six-day trial in Chicago that included testimony from the victim. LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland The app Omegle was an online video chat service that would pair users with strangers at random. It was eventually shut down about a month after Boltz's conviction following years of mounting abuse claims. Bolt'z sentence, which was handed down by U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey on Friday, was the maximum possible punishment for his crimes. Authorities did not provide a booking photo for Boltz. The U.S. Attorney's Office of the Northern District of Illinois urges anyone who may be a victim of sexual exploitation or worries that others may be victims, to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by logging on to or by calling 1-800-843-5678. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Buzz Feed
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Millennial Experiences That Defined A Generation
Times have changed significantly, and if you're a millennial, then you've likely witnessed how our society has shifted toward being entirely technology-based. We grew up in a time when cell phones were a privilege, not a necessity; in an era when dial-up internet forced you to choose between making phone calls or surfing the web. It sounds prehistoric, but frankly, it was an interesting time when kids were just as ecstatic about discovering the evolution of technology as they were about being outside. A recent r/AskReddit post asked millennials, "What is something that other generations forget that we actually experienced?" The responses felt like a blast from the past, reminiscing over the days when Google wasn't readily available with information at our fingertips, and physical maps were the only way to get directions if you got lost on a road trip. Below are 23 truly millennial experiences that other generations have seemingly forgotten: Note: Some responses have been edited and condensed for clarity. "I miss going to the computer lab and knowing more about the computers than the teacher and admin. I remember setting the auto correct on Microsoft Word to change 'and' into 'chickens' and nobody could figure out how to change it back, so they just said you can't use that computer for Microsoft Word anymore." –u/RichardBottom "Whoever took you to the airport could go through security and watch you board the plane." –u/Neckrolls4life "Sweet, sweet internet. AOL chat rooms, Neopets, RuneScape, Halo 2, and other things." –u/Rawrin23 "Omegle, ChatRoulette, Habbo Hotel, setting your MSN messenger status to display what you were currently listening to (which had all been downloaded from Limewire)." –u/ComorbidlyAtPeace "A true millennial can spot the real download link on a software sharing website." "Not only the internet, but computers. We had computers before the internet was widespread, so we couldn't just Google how to do stuff, or check online guides. No one in your family knew how to use one either. We basically learned how to use computers by trial and error. If you encountered a bug, well, good luck, there won't ever be a fix for it, because online updates did not exist either. One thing I realized about Gen Z is how bad they are at using computers for anything that cannot be accessed by a single click." –u/Tripod1404 "Kazaa taught me so much that I, even to this day, did not need to learn." "Being home alone after school. We weren't called latchkey kids because it was just normal. Everyone I knew got left at home alone after school." –u/First-Expression2823 "I've seen a lot of people say things like 'you probably don't know what this is' with respect to things like landline phones, VHS tapes, cassette tapes, etc. Not only were all those things core millennial technologies that we all grew up with, but I have memories of growing up with technology even older than that. My grandparents' houses still had rotary phones, typewriters, and gramophones." –u/badgersprite "It took until eighth grade for us to get broadband Internet at home, and for any of us to start using it for things other than work. Eventually, I got my own computer for my room, but it was not connected to the internet and I used it mainly for homework and some basic games — the first thing I ever bought on eBay (via the family computer, on my 1-hour-per-day allotted Internet time) was my own copy of The Oregon Trail." "I listened to my cassettes and CDs all through high school. I had a boombox in my room that could play either, and I would use it to play music as I did my homework each night.I didn't get my first cell phone (a very basic flip phone, to be used only in emergencies) until high were the last generation to experience the idyllic childhood older generations love to reminisce on. Leave the house after breakfast, be back for dinner. No supervision, no Internet, no phone."–u/Finetales "Yeah I grew up out in the sticks and at my first job, I had to use MS DOS, 3.5' and 5.5' floppy disks, a fax machine, a dot matrix printer with carbon copy continuous feed paper, a blue line machine that used ammonia and photo sensitive paper, a plotter where you had to load it with the specific pens you wanted technology had left that office behind and the boss was stuck in 1985 basically, so people are always surprised that somebody my age has experience working with all that junk lol. But if you didn't live in a wealthy household in an urban or suburban area, odds are you (like me) didn't get the new tech stuff coming out until much later and made do with the old junk." "I still remember having to ask for a non-smoking table at a restaurant." –u/Defiant-Day-8377 "Learning to drive without a GPS. Using a paper map in the car." –u/blue-opuntia "Ebaumsworld!!!" "Millennials (I am one) are funny in that we were raised at the crossing between the old era and the new one, when the internet and computers took hold. We've been part of both generational sides. Old-style flip phones and landlines, portable CD players for music, VHS tapes, and Blockbuster Video. There was probably only one computer in the house, and you shared it with the family. You were allowed to roam outside wherever you wanted without your parents thinking you'd be kidnapped. The existence of Furbies." –u/Rubysage3 "Researching with books. I still remember diving into the stacks and archives to review books that have been out of print for decades to research an extremely niche topic, then having to wait weeks or months for an inter-library loan for a different book that may or may not be relevant to my topic to cross reference and check for biases." –u/nekosaigai "9/11, for some reason. An older Gen X'er told me that if I'm a millennial, there's no way I remember 9/11 because her kids are millennials and they were toddlers when it happened. I was 12. I remember it vividly. And it turns out, her kids are Gen Z. Idk why older Gen X'ers and Boomers think millennial just means 'someone younger.'" –u/xbad_wolfxi "Spending hours on the perfect city in SimCity 2000 and then it gets destroyed by disaster." –u/iamcode101 "My Gen Z friend didn't believe we used to have to pay a few cents per text message." –u/workfastdiehard "Tons of places didn't accept cards and were cash only, and more people carried loose cash on them. Now the reverse seems to be true, where many places are card only, and fewer people seem to carry cash on them." "I remember using pay phones…like a lot." –u/TheDukeofArgyll "Having to ask for a job or a job application at the place you want to apply. And then the transition to online-only applications." "That transition was so painful. My dad didn't believe most places went to online-only (besides some small mom and pop restaurants I'd already applied to) and insisted that I had to ask the manager to ask them to apply. The most humiliating thing in my life was him accompanying me to apply to places, and when I'd walk out and tell him they said to do it online, he walked back in with me only to get told the same thing. Took three tries for him to silently just drive us back home."–u/slothdonki "To type 'LOL' on our phones, it took nine key presses." If you're a millennial, what's something you think our generation got to experience that others haven't? Share it in the comments!
Business Insider
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
The Leading Alternative Site Like Omegle, HIYAK, Providing Safer, Engaging Random Video Chats Globally
LOS ANGELES, April 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In the wake of Omegle's sudden shutdown due to serious concerns around safety, security, and misuse, the online community has actively sought a reliable site like Omegle that offers the spontaneity and excitement of random video chatting without the inherent risks. HIYAK has swiftly emerged as the premier Omegle alternative, significantly enhancing the user experience by prioritizing safety, engagement, and global connectivity with comprehensive moderation tools and unique social features. Omegle: A Revolutionary Concept with a Troubled Legacy Omegle, introduced in 2009 by then-teenager Leif K-Brooks, rapidly became a household name, dramatically changing how users interacted online by allowing random and anonymous video and text chats. The platform quickly gained popularity, especially among young users during the COVID-19 pandemic, at its peak hosting approximately 73 million monthly visitors. However, despite its groundbreaking contributions to online interaction, Omegle eventually became synonymous with controversy. The site suffered greatly from persistent reports of predatory behavior, inadequate safety measures, and serious issues surrounding child exploitation. These ongoing problems triggered numerous legal battles, immense public criticism, and significant operational strain. Ultimately, Omegle founder Leif Brooks declared the combined stress and cost of addressing these pervasive safety issues unsustainable, leading to Omegle's inevitable closure, leaving millions searching for secure and reliable sites like Omegle. Acknowledging the fundamental flaws that plagued Omegle, HIYAK was developed specifically as a safer, more refined alternative that retains the essence of spontaneous video chatting while significantly elevating safety and moderation standards. This innovative site like Omegle ensures users have a safe, enjoyable, and meaningful experience through advanced technologies, detailed safety measures, and engaging user-driven content. Comprehensive and Distinctive Features of HIYAK as an Omegle Alternative HIYAK emphasizes a global yet personalized connection experience through advanced matching algorithms considering user interests and geography. It provides seamless, intuitive one-on-one video chats, minimizing technical interruptions typical of other sites. Its random call feature delivers spontaneous yet secure interactions, preserving Omegle's original appeal with enhanced safety. Additionally, HIYAK uniquely offers engaging live video stories, promoting interactive, creative community participation and elevating user visibility, distinguishing it significantly from other Omegle alternatives. Global Community with Enhanced Local Connections As a dynamic Omegle alternative, HIYAK effectively bridges geographical boundaries by connecting users worldwide. It provides an ideal environment for cultural exchanges, language practice, and diverse friendship opportunities. Utilizing sophisticated algorithms that consider interests, gender, languages spoken, and geographical proximity, HIYAK greatly enhances the relevance and depth of interactions, creating more authentic global connections. Seamless and Intuitive 1-on-1 Video Chats HIYAK's user-friendly platform allows for immediate, uninterrupted face-to-face interactions, minimizing technical barriers frequently encountered on other video chat sites like Omegle. The intuitive design promotes seamless communication, enhancing user engagement and making every conversation meaningful and satisfying. Dynamic Random Call Feature Capturing the original allure of Omegle's spontaneous chats, HIYAK offers a refined random call feature designed to be thrilling yet secure. The unpredictability adds excitement, but with the reassurance of comprehensive safety measures that ensure comfort and protection for all users. HIYAK enriches the community experience by enabling users to share short, live video stories. Unlike traditional sites like Omegle, this feature allows for creative self-expression, providing dynamic visual interactions and significantly enhancing community participation and user visibility. HIYAK's Comprehensive Commitment to User Safety as an Omegle Alternative Addressing the safety gaps that led to Omegle's closure, HIYAK distinguishes itself as a reliable Omegle alternative through robust safety measures and detailed moderation practices, integrating advanced AI technology with dedicated human oversight to offer unmatched user security. Robust and Mandatory Age Verification Protocols HIYAK enforces stringent age verification measures, requiring valid identification from users to ensure compliance with the 18+ age requirement. Accounts flagged as suspicious are subjected to secondary verification procedures, significantly reducing the potential risks of minors accessing unsuitable content, a significant issue previously faced by Omegle. Sophisticated AI-Driven Content Moderation HIYAK utilizes advanced artificial intelligence technology capable of promptly detecting and removing inappropriate or harmful content. This intelligent moderation system continually improves through machine learning, drastically reducing user exposure to explicit or offensive material, a significant improvement over moderation approaches employed by other sites like Omegle. Continuous Human Moderation Support Complementing its powerful AI systems, HIYAK employs a professional global team of moderators available 24/7. These moderators provide immediate human oversight to handle complex issues effectively, ensuring nuanced and sensitive situations are managed swiftly, something other Omegle alternatives often lack. Empowering User-Driven Reporting Tools HIYAK empowers its community through intuitive and accessible reporting mechanisms, allowing immediate moderation intervention. Users can quickly report any inappropriate behavior or content, ensuring prompt action and reinforcing trust in the platform's commitment to safety, enhancing its standing as a superior Omegle alternative. Zero Tolerance Policy Against Predatory Behavior HIYAK has an unwavering, zero-tolerance stance against any predatory or harmful conduct. Offending accounts are immediately and permanently banned, and active collaboration with law enforcement agencies ensures any severe breaches are thoroughly addressed, significantly differentiating HIYAK from other sites like Omegle. Cultivating a Respectful, Vibrant Community Beyond moderation, HIYAK actively promotes a respectful and vibrant online community. This strategic approach enhances user experiences through carefully curated and personalized interactions, promoting cultural exploration and genuine global friendships far exceeding other sites like Omegle. HIYAK provides advanced customization options, including regional, linguistic, and interest-specific filters, maximizing relevant, enriching interactions. These personalized experiences ensure each user's expectations are consistently met, significantly enhancing overall platform satisfaction compared to other Omegle alternatives. Why HIYAK is the Definitive Omegle Alternative The meticulous blend of innovative technology, comprehensive safety protocols, and exceptional user-oriented features positions HIYAK not merely as a replacement but a substantial upgrade over Omegle. As a superior Omegle alternative, HIYAK offers unmatched security, exciting interactions, and meaningful user experiences that dramatically surpass its predecessor. "HIYAK is fully committed to creating a secure yet engaging online environment," says Derek Ma, founder of HIYAK. "Our advanced safety measures, thorough moderation, and dynamic features clearly showcase our dedication to user safety and satisfaction, firmly positioning HIYAK as the top site like Omegle." HIYAK's Vision for Continued Innovation Moving forward, HIYAK aims to maintain its industry-leading position by exploring future enhancements such as biometric verification and advanced AI-driven moderation systems. The platform continually anticipates and adapts to global regulatory requirements, ensuring sustained compliance and leadership as a secure and enjoyable Omegle alternative. In conclusion, HIYAK proactively addresses the critical issues that led to Omegle's shutdown while setting unprecedented standards for online interaction quality, user safety, and global community-building. HIYAK proudly stands as the definitive alternative for users worldwide, seeking secure, spontaneous, and enriching video chat experiences.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Yahoo
Opinion - The law standing in the way of justice for sexual abuse survivors
At just 11 years old, Jane was placed in a chatroom with a predator by Omegle. She was threatened, exploited and abused despite pleas for it to stop. John was 15 and downloaded what he thought was a safe dating app, only for it to become the connection point between predators who raped him. Mary was 12. A convicted predator used Snapchat to groom her into producing exploitive images through the app, and even traveled to her home. Snapchat failed to detect or remove the illegal material, which could have prevented her further abuse. Though their names are pseudonyms, these are real child abuse survivors who have sought justice for the crimes perpetrated against them. But none of them have received justice because of one law: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Laws should protect those who have experienced horrific crimes, but instead, Section 230 gives online platforms broad immunity for crimes committed on their sites, leaving many people — particularly children — vulnerable. Section 230 has become a legal loophole that has been interpreted to broadly grant online platforms immunity from liability, even when they knowingly, recklessly, or negligently enable child sexual abuse, sex trafficking and other harms. Section 230 is the greatest enabler of online sexual exploitation. It is for this reason that the National Center on Sexual Exploitation named Section 230 to its 2025 Dirty Dozen List of mainstream contributors to sexual exploitation. Instead of naming 12 companies, the list was re-imagined this year to highlight 12 survivors who have been prevented from receiving justice because of Section 230. Some of these survivors were contacted by predators over tech platforms; some were groomed and trafficked online; some had their child sexual abuse posted online. All have been prevented from receiving justice. The scale of online sexual abuse is rising exponentially. In 2023, more than one in three minors (35 percent) reported having an online sexual interaction, one in four (28 percent) with someone they believed to be an adult. Most sex trafficking victims are recruited and advertised online. There have been 812 reports of sextortion per week to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Despite years of advocacy, progress is slow and piecemeal, as Big Tech lacks a foundational incentive to prioritize online safety. Big Tech lawyers use Section 230 as their shield, even in the most atrocious cases. In a lawsuit against X, the social media platform's lawyer admitted that the company chose not to take down John Doe's reported child sexual abuse material, even after reviewing and verifying the report. Yet under Section 230, the company is protected. Doe's images and videos were posted on Twitter, garnering at least 167,000 views and more than 2,000 retweets. Doe felt so humiliated, and feeling like there was no escape, he contemplated ending his life. The only solution is for Congress to repeal Section 230 to hold Big Tech accountable, to give survivors access to justice, and to prevent online sexual abuse and exploitation. This is the critical issue of our day, and all efforts to prevent harm on the internet depend on repealing Section 230. This action would lead to tremendous mass-scale prevention of sexual abuse and exploitation, and ultimately, a world where human dignity is upheld and respected. Haley McNamara is senior vice president of Strategic Initiatives and Programs, National Center on Sexual Exploitation, the leading national non-profit organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health harms of pornography. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
