Los Alamos Reporter

Albuquerque Conference Call Victimized By Wave Of Child Sexual Abuse Material Displayed During Zoom Meetings

 

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Albuquerque FBI Division is investigating child sexual abuse material being displayed during Zoom meetings. Photo Courtesy FBI

FBI NEWS

The FBI has received almost 250 reports of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) being displayed during Zoom meetings in the last few months, including an incident where the victims were participating in a conference call with a non-profit corporation in Albuquerque.

The FBI is looking into the incident, which underscores a warning the agency issued earlier this week for organizers of Zoom conference calls to take precautions.
The incident occurred earlier this month. Approximately 20 minutes into the non-password protected call, an unknown person showed a video of CSAM.

The FBI considers this activity to be a violent crime, as every time child sexual abuse material is viewed, the depicted child is revictimized. Furthermore, anyone who inadvertently sees child sexual abuse material depicted during a virtual event is potentially a victim, as well.

The FBI is committed to apprehending any individual who produces or distributes child sexual abuse material and is seeking the public’s assistance to identify the person or persons responsible for these egregious crimes.

  • If you are the administrator or host of a Zoom meeting in which CSAM was broadcast, please contact the FBI; do not delete or destroy any of your computer logs without further direction.
  • If you recorded a Zoom meeting in which child sexual abuse material was broadcast, please contact the FBI for assistance in removing the CSAM from your device.
  • If you believe you are a victim of a child sexual abuse material broadcast during a Zoom event, as defined above, please contact the FBI to learn about your victim rights and possible victim assistance.
  • If you know who is committing these most recent egregious crimes, please contact the FBI.

The following steps may mitigate future child sexual abuse material issues during Zoom events:

  • Do not make meetings or classrooms public. In Zoom, there are two options to make a meeting private:

o          Require a meeting password, or

o          Use the waiting room feature and control the admittance of guests.

  • Do not share a link to a teleconference or classroom on an unrestricted, publicly available social media post. Provide the link directly to specific attendees.
  • Manage screensharing options. In Zoom, change screensharing to “Host Only.”

If you are a victim of child sexual abuse material being broadcast during a Zoom event, or if you have information regarding the identity of any individual distributing or producing CSAM, please report it to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324) or anonymously online at tips.fbi.gov.