WhatsApp warning to SA parents after 9-year-olds exposed to porn in friend group call
South African digital law expert Emma Sadlier has warned parents not to give primary school children access to WhatsApp after a group of nine-year-olds were shown pornography during a group call.
A South African digital law expert has issued a stern warning to parents after nine-year-old children were allegedly exposed to pornography during a WhatsApp group call. Emma Sadlier, who provides assistance to families dealing with online safety issues, shared the incident in a video on her business page. The incident came to her attention through an email from a concerned mother.
According to the email, the girl's mother reported that her nine-year-old daughter and several friends were exposed to explicit material by another child of the same age. The mother had confronted the other child's parents, who responded by punishing their child and taking away their devices. The digital law expert emphasized that young children should not have access to devices with WhatsApp.
She expressed particular concern over the use of group chats, stating that it is "completely mad" to allow nine-year-olds to be part of such chats. Sadlier also highlighted the risks posed by features like Meta AI chatbot and the large number of people typically in these groups. She advised parents to give their children basic phones instead and not to let them engage in social media.
When a child does get exposed to such content, Sadlier stressed the importance of offering support rather than punishment, encouraging parents to provide counselling and help to their children.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
