James Blake, an entrepreneur and social media influencer from Northern Ireland
Hunting The Online Sex Predators presented by James Blake, an entrepreneur and social media influencer from Northern Ireland, takes an in-depth look at ‘cybersex’ crime in the UK and beyond.
Cybersex crime is online crime that ranges from online grooming and ‘sextortion’ – a form of online blackmail where criminals threaten to share sexual pictures, videos, or information about a victim - to live streaming of the sexual abuse of children.
Last year, James presented the documentary Hunting The Catfish Crime Gang, in which he told how his identity was stolen on social media and then used in scams.
In this follow up film, a co-commission from BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Three, James explores how algorithms shape our online experience and investigates whether social media is promoting harmful content.
He meets Nathan, a target of ‘sextortion’ crime online, and joins Cheshire Police's consent campaign against online risk. When students flag how harmful and violent content pops up on their socials, James investigates what’s going on.
Dr Kaitlyn Regehr from University College London researched how harm is prioritised on a social media platform – specifically how young men are being pushed to misogynistic content. She tells James that her findings suggest that within one week of opening a new account there is a fourfold increase in the amount of misogynistic content that someone receives. James investigates for himself how the reels shift in tone and content over time.
Baroness Beeban Kidron believes the problem lies with the tech giants — and reveals how she discovered that we can be just two clicks away from child abuse material on social media.
James meets Arturo Bejar, an ex-Meta executive. He tells James about his research into algorithms and how they can amplify harm. He argues that it would be easy for social media platforms to increase user safety.
At Marsh Law, a firm in the United States, James hears about a ‘class action’ they’re taking against social media platforms — its attorneys liken their big tech battle to the war against tobacco companies. They say that it’s easier to get clips breaching music copyright removed than it is to get child abuse content taken down.
At NCMEC (National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children) in Washington DC, James meets NCA (UK National Crime Agency) officer Andy. He learns they get around 100k reports of harmful content on social media reported to them every day. Andy investigates UK-related material and sends it to the relevant police force. He tells James that the toughest cases involve the end-to-end encrypted live streaming of abuse of under 18-year-olds.
In the Philippines, James meets another NCA officer who works in a global task force made up of police from countries including the Philippines, Australia, the USA and the UK. He learns that, according to Filippino government data tracking online transactions, men from the UK are some of the biggest consumers of online content exploiting children.
James joins a police raid in the Philippines using intelligence gathered from devices belonging to a British man who has admitted offences against girls aged nine to 16. Back in the UK, James sees this offender sentenced to eight years in prison.
James also meets Cassie (not real name), who was trafficked and abused from the age of 12, to learn of the devastating impact of this crime. He hears how she ended up testifying in court and saw her abuser sent to prison.
Hunting The Online Sex Predators (formerly announced at the Belfast Media Festival as Hunting The Cybersex Crime Gang) was commissioned by Fiona Campbell for BBC Three and Eddie Doyle for BBC Northern Ireland. It is produced and directed by Pete Grant and executive produced by Mary McKeagney for BBC and Kelda Crawford McCann for Strident. It was made with support from Northern Ireland Screen.
Tuesday 25 February, BBC iPlayer from 6am, BBC One & BBC One NI from 10.40pm, and Wednesday 26 February, BBC Three from 9pm.