GROOMING…. let’s talk about it

GROOMING…. let’s talk about it

The destiny of so many
Pizzagate is real

Let’s start back in 1919. Charlie Chaplin, who would become one of the most famous and celebrated movie stars of all time, was 29 when he married 16 year old aspiring actress Mildred Harris. Their marriage only lasted 2 years. In 1924, Chaplin repeated the pattern with another 16 year old, Lita Gray. He met Lita when she was just 6 and began taking her on dates around the age of 12.

1954 — Sam Cooke meets a 12-year old Aretha Franklin and brings her to his hotel room. Before her father interrupted, Aretha said the conversation “took another turn.” Cooke was 23 years old.

Sam Cooke was 18 and Barbara Campbell was only 13 when they met on the South Side of Chicago.

In 1957, 23 year old Jerry Lee Lewis married his cousin, 13 year old Myra Brown. She still believed in Santa.

Also in 1957, 16 year old Anna Mae Bullock met 24 year old Ike Turner. He quickly took her into his band, helped make her a star, and began to treat the newly christened “Tina” as if he owned her. They married 6 years later. Tina once wrote that she was afraid not to accept his proposal.

In 1959, Elvis Presley met his future wife. He was 25 and she was 14. They stayed in touch via phone and letters for the next 2 1/2 years. At that time, Elvis took her on a drug romp to Vegas, followed by moving her into his Graceland mansion. They didn’t marry until 1967. While both parties claimed that Priscilla was a virgin on her wedding night, biographer Susan Finstad makes a strong case that this could not be true. Priscilla herself has admitted that she & Elvis slept in the same bed and that Elvis “taught (her) other ways to please him.” Elvis reportedly had a predeliction for 14 year old girls, both before and after his marriage to Priscilla.

Chuck Berry was arrested and found guilty of transporting an underage girl across state lines for immoral purposes, spending two years in jail in 1960.

In 1969, Sable Starr, queen of the so-called “baby groupies”, had a brief relationship with Iggy Pop. She was 13. He later wrote a song about it. Starr had sexual relationships with many other band members, including encouters with David Bowie, Mick Jagger, and Rod Stewart.

It’s 1972 and Rock stars are still having sex with little girls and everyone knows it, but no one does anything about it. Lori Mattix tells of losing her virginity at age 14 to David Bowie. She went on to start “dating” Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page that same year, a relationsihp that began when Page’s manager kidnapped her and brought her to Jimmy’s hotel room. Page kept Lori essentially locked up in his house for most of their 18 months together. The “baby groupie” also reports a sexual relationship with Mick Jagger when she was just 17.

In 1973, married singer Marvin Gaye met and pursued 17 year old Janis Hunter. He wrote “Let’s Get it On” as a tribute to his lust for her. Marvin took his teen date to dinner shortly after they met, where he bribed the waiter to bring her alcohol, then had sex with her later that night. They had a baby by the time she was 18, and married in 1977. The marriage lasted just 3 years.

In 1975, Steven Tyler purchased the guardianship of a 16 year old girl (Julia Holcomb) from her mother when he was 27 so that he could legally take her with him across state lines while he was on tour.

In 1978, Ted Nugent also purchases the guardianship of a teenager from her parents. He was 30, Pele Massa was 17. Years later, Ted reportedly received oral sex from a 12 year old Courtney Love.

March 10, 1977. One of the most well-known cases. Director Roman Polanski drugs and rapes 13 year old Samantha Gailey. Allowed to plead guilty to a lesser charge, Polanski nevertheless fled to France before sentencing and remains exiled from the United States. He has not been exiled, however, from Hollywood and continues to make movies and win awards to this day.
Eagles drummer and vocalist Don Henley was arrested in 1980 in Los Angeles after paramedics were called to his home to save a naked 16-year-old girl who was overdosing on cocaine and Quaaludes.

Colored over as a a “grand romance” and a “decades long relationship”, Celine Dion was 12 years old when 38 year old Rene Angelil became her manager. They went public with their relationship when she was 19.

In 1984, Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman started dating Mandy Smith. She was 13. Although they did not marry until she was 18, Mandy says she was 14 when they first had sex. Mr. Wyman has never been investigated, much less prosecuted.

Red Hot Chili Peppers’ lead Anthony Kiedis readily admits to having sex with a 14 year old girl when he was 23. According to him, once he confirmed her age he “had sex with her again.” In 1986, the 24-year old musician began dating 16 year old Ione Skye.

In 1990, 16 year old Mayte Garcia’s mother sent a video of her belly-dancing to Prince. He arranged to meet her, confirmed she was 16 and a year later moved her into his house. When she was 19, he initiated a sexual relationshi by informing her it was time to go on birth control. They married when she was 22 and he was 37. Before Mayte, Prince met “Anna Fantastic” when she was 15. At 17, she moved into his compound where they had a two year long relationship.

In 1991, 32 year old director Luc Besson met and eventually married model Maïwenn Le Besco when she was 15. Their relationship inspired his movie Léon: The Professional (1994), which followed an emotional relationship between an adult man and a young girl.

In 1993, Jerry Seinfeld picked up a high school student in a public park. He was 39 and she was 17. He and Shoshanna Lonstein dated for four years — through her college years.

Also in 1993, MC Ren of N.W.A. was accused of raping and impregnating a 16 year old girl in the group’s tour bus. The case never went to trial, however a paternity test showed that he was the father of the girl’s baby.

Noted paedophile R Kelly secretly married R&B singer Aaliyah in 1994 when she was 15 and he was 27. They met when she was 12 and he later helped write and produce her first album — “Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number.”

In 1995, teen star Brandy (age 16) started dating 21-year-old Boyz II Men member Wanya Morris. Keeping their relationship under wraps due to her age proved too stressful for the couple and they broke up soon after.

In 1997, Woody Allen should have become notorious when he married his de facto step-daughter. Though she was 21 at the time of the wedding, the two met when she 8. No matter the spin, the facts are stark. This wasn’t the only time Allen dated a much younger woman. Actress Babi Christina Engelhardt began a years-long love affair with Allen when she was 16 and he was 41. When Allen was 42, he romanced 17-year-old actress and high school senior Stacey Nelkin.

It’s the early-mid 2000s and “That 70s Show” actor, Wilmer Valderrama, continues to date teenage girls in an effort to deny that he is now over 30. He dated 16-year-old Mandy Moore despite being four years her senior. At age 24, Valderrama dated 17-year-old Lindsay Lohan though they kept the relationship a secret until her 18th birthday in 2004. In 2010, the 30-year-old began dating 17-year-old Demi Lovato.

In 2001, Fast & Furious star Paul Walker (28 at the time) was dating 16-year old Aubrianna Atwell. This was not Paul’s last time to date a teenager. His girlfriend at the time of his death, Jasmine Pilchard-Gosnell, was 23 to his 40. They met when she was 16.

Back in 2004, 26 year old Joel Madden and Hilary Duff did the familiar dance of being “just friends” until her 18th birthday in 2006. When asked about whether she was intimate with Madden or not in a 2015 interview with Cosmopolitan, Duff stated, “I had a 26-year-old boyfriend. So everyone can make their own assumptions about what I was doing.”
In 2005, clean cut TV heartthrob Chad Michael Murray begins dating a girl in high school. They get engaged when she turns 18 and Murray calls her a “little sweetheart” and says they have been together “for awhile.”

Similarly, in 2006, co-stars Hayden Panettiere and Milo Ventimiglia began dating. She was 17. He was 12 years her senior.

Actor Doug Hutchison married 16-year-old Courtney Stodden in 2011, when he was 51 years old. The dysfunctional pair became famous as reality stars, with Courtney undergoing extensive plastic surgery to maintain their image.

Rapper Tyga and Kylie Jenner began “hanging out” an awful lot beginning in 2014 when she was 16 and he was 24. They dated on and off after that, though they became a lot more openly “on” after her 18th birthday in 2016.

In late 2018, 44 year old Leonardo DiCaprio publicly reveals that he is dating 21 year old model Camilla Morrone. It’s not the age gap that puts Leo on our list, it’s the fact that he’s known Camilla since she was 11.

2018 — 14 year old Millie Bobby Brown innocently revealed that rapper, Drake, age 31, has been close friends with her, for the last year giving her advice about boys. He texts her, “I miss you.” This is the same Drake who has, more than once, skated around that “just friends until she turns 18” line — most recently with 18 year old model Bella Harris.

1992 – Fashion was a major part of Kimora Lee Simmons and Russell Simmons’ story from the start. The pair met at a New York Fashion Week show in 1992, when Kimora Lee was 17 years old.

At the time, the young model was making waves on the catwalks and was particularly favored by Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld. She was also still finishing her education in high school.

Simmons was 35 years old when he started a relationship with the teenager. He was known as a “ladies man”

A number of women, some of whom were aged 17 at the time of the alleged incidents, have accused Simmons of sexual harassment, assault or rape.

Guys, this isn’t a friendship. This is GROOMING. No one will stop it. They’ll “date.” He’ll have sex with her, probably in a couple of years. No one will care because he’s a man and a star.

NO ONE WILL CARE UNLESS WE START MAKING PEOPLE CARE.

Make them care. No free passes. No 2nd chances. A ruined career is the least they deserve. It’s not cute. THIS IS NOT OK.

~ Verity Violet

My personal views:

Why have hardly any of these predators been prosecuted? and just as disturbing is why family and friends and employees of both parties involved seemingly turned a blind eye!

The true list will no doubt be double this length, also adding sexual assaults by Hollywood stars, music artists and others in the limelight that over the years were brushed under the carpet.

The culture of power, money and fame isn’t a defence, neither should the perpetrators be allowed to get away with it.

Too much victim blaming goes on in the world of stardom and Hollywood, even for the youngest of victims who are labelled gold diggers or fame hungry by many…. What’s forgotten is that THESE ARE CHILDREN!!

Please follow Scales of Justice page:

https://www.facebook.com/Scales-of-justice-112354220935199/

Protecting our children and our children’s children 💙❤️

TikTok app safety – What parents need to know

TikTok app safety – What parents need to know

Internet Matters Team | August 31st, 2021 

We work collaboratively across industry, government and with schools to reach UK families with tools, tips and resources to help children benefit from connected technology smartly and safely. 

‘Your In Control’ safety videos to promote privacy, safety and positivity to users

TikTok is a social networking app that replaced the popular Musical.ly app when it went offline in 2017. Know as Douyin in China, it gives users the ability to watch and create short clips of up to 60 seconds.

What is TikTok?

TikTok is a free social media app that lets you create, share, and watch short clips. The app is popular for viral dances and celeb cameos and is a creative and fun platform for all ages to enjoy.

Currently, the app is available in 75 languages with over 1 billion active users (Jan 2021). Like Musical.ly before it, it is most popular with under 16s. It has also now become the most downloaded app of 2019.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/IVrezXbS3n8?rel=0TikTok parent guide from Josh Ochs at SmartSocial.com

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TikTok safety guide – Get to grips with the safety tools available on the app and ways your teen can make the most of their time on the platform.SEE GUIDE 

What can you find on TikTok?

Short videos up to 60 seconds of everything from popular songs to users dancing, lip-synching, performing comedy sketches, and more.https://www.youtube.com/embed/McTOIPLVGfE?rel=0Example of videos you will find on TikTok platform 

What are the current trends and challenges?

TikTok trends and challenges are a popular part of the app that change often. Users can re-create content from dance challenges to memes about current events. While many are harmless and fun, there are others that need to be monitored closely.

These challenges and trends can harm a child’s physical health and mental wellbeing:

  • The silhouette challenge: users create images or videos that are edited using a filter so they appear as a silhouette. Many are sexualizing themselves with this challenge. Filters can also be removed by others, so users must be careful about what they are wearing behind the camera.
  • The blackout challenge: around before TikTok existed, it involves users interrupting their oxygen until they get close to losing consciousness. This challenge has lead to the recent deaths of multiple children aged 9-12.
  • Back cracking challenge: a user cracks the back of their friend without any training. Medical professionals warn that this can twist and pull on the spine, resulting in long-term damage.
  • Nutmeg challenge: consuming large amounts of nutmeg has been shown to affect the nervous system, potentially causing hallucinations. However, research shows it can also cause dizziness, nausea, drowsiness, dry mouth, confusion, and seizures.
  • Full face wax trend: presented as a skincare routine, users cover their entire face with wax. There is risk of suffocation if the wax enters the airways. Because wax is designed to harden, once in the airways, it can only be removed surgically.
  • The magnet challenge: using small magnetic balls, users pretend to have piercings on their ears, noses, and lips. More extreme versions see users swallowing these magnetic balls so that they can stick magnets on their skin and be ‘magnetic’ themselves. This has resulted in serious hospitalisation and surgery to remove these harmful magnets.

Visit TikTok Safety Centre to learn more about it’s educational video series, “You’re in Control” – foster a safe, positive environment where users are in control and can express themselves creatively.

VISIT SITE  

What is the minimum age for TikTok?

13 is the minimum age according to TikTok’s terms and conditions.

How does TikTok work?

Once signed up and logged in, you can either search for popular categories, creators, or find people via your friend’s contact list, or you can create the videos yourself. But many people just use the app to follow content creators.

How to create an account

Click on the ‘person’ icon and you can choose to sign up with an email, phone number, or existing Google, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram account.

Once you have selected an option, you are then asked to enter your date of birth, if it is below the age of 13, the app displays the following message: “Sorry, looks like you’re not eligible for TikTok. But thanks for checking us out!”

Your feed highlights what is going on in your community and a separate ‘For you’ feed shows tailored recommendations for you.

Why do teens love TikTok?

It is a way to express themselves and create short-form video clips to gain a following and build a community around their passions. It also features some great special effects that users can apply to their videos to make them more unique. You can also cross-post the content on other platforms (such as Instagram) to share it with more people.

What do parents say about the app?

Seeing inappropriate content

Parents have expressed concerns about the inappropriate language of some of the videos posted which may make this less suitable for younger children.

Contact from strangers

Predators seeking to connect with children is another risk that parents have said to their children. A parent review can be found on Common Sense Media.

What should parents be concerned about?

When you download the app users can see all the content without creating an accountalthough they are not able to post, like, or share anything until they’ve set up an account on the app.

You can set up your account by using your existing Google, Facebook, Instagram account, via email or phone.

By default all accounts are public so anyone on the app can see what your child shares. However, only approved followers can send them messages.

Users can like or react to a video, follow an account or send messages to each other, so there is the risk that strangers will be able to directly contact children on the app.

Children may be tempted to take risks to get more of a following or likes on a video so it’s important to talk about what they share and with who.

Need to delete your account? Go to Me>Tap , located on the top right corner>Tap Manage account > Delete account. Follow the instructions in the app to delete your account.

TikTok has said: “Today’s announcement is about going one step further to put in place stronger proactive protections to keep younger members of our community safe.

We look forward to the feedback of our community and all of our stakeholders as we constantly improve with new features and resources to help our community manage their TikTok experience.”

Does TikTok have any safety features?

Digital Wellbeing
Like Facebook and Instagram, it has a digital wellbeing element (which is password protected) that alerts users who have been on the app for more than two hours. You can also turn on ‘restricted mode’ to filter out inappropriate content on the app.

Private account
You can set an account to be private so that all videos can only be seen by the creator and no one else on the platform. With a private account, you can approve or deny users and limit incoming messages to followers only.
Please note that even with a private account, your child’s profile photo, username, and bio are still visible to all users on the platform. You can manage who can comment, duet and direct message your child on the app.

Privacy settings
TikTok users under 18 will have their accounts set to private-by-default, which means only someone who the user approves as a follower can view their videos. The change is part of a wider package of measures designed to drive higher standards of user privacy and safety. Download the updated privacy settings here.

Internet Matters CEO Carolyn Bunting adds: “The safety of children and young people online needs to be a priority for organisations across the industry.

The disabling of direct messaging on the TikTok platform for under 16s is a significant move in prioritising the safety of their young users and we are pleased to see the protection of their younger users taking precedence in their product changes.

TikTok provides fantastic opportunities to be creative and have fun, especially in these unprecedented times and it is encouraging to see them invest in a number of initiatives that help to create a safer environment for young people.”

Check out our TikTok privacy and safety parental controls to learn more.

Latest TikTok updates

As of late 2019, the following features were rolled out globally:

Live streaming: The minimum age limit to host a live stream will still remain 16.

Additionally, users wishing to use the live streaming feature will need to have a track record of creating quality content that follows TikTok’s Community Guidelines. Users who want to live stream will be required to have a certain number of fans before they can use this feature.

As of 16 April 2020, the following features have been implemented:

  • Family Pairing (previously Family Safety Mode): TikTok’s new Family Safety Mode which will be rolled out globally in the next coming weeks, is an in-app feature designed for parents to help keep their kids safe whilst using TikTok.
  • Changes to the virtual gifting policy: The new policy will only allow those over 18 to purchase, send or receive virtual gifts – read more here.
  • You’re in Control Education series:TikTok is continuing this series to help TikTok users understand how they can filter comments, choosing a private account, restricting duets, and much more.
  • Opening a Trust and Safety Hub in Dublin: The Trust and Safety Hub is designed to strengthen TikTok’s policies, technologies, and strategies.
  • Voluntary Principles: Supported by Five Eyes nations globally, to counter online child exploitation. Read more here.
  • Changes to Direct Messaging:  Now, only those aged 16 and over will be able to send and receive Direct Messages.

As of Jan 2021, the following features have been implemented:

  • New privacy settings: TikTok users under 18 will have their accounts set to private-by-default (as of Jan 2021) as mentioned above.
  • Tackling fake news and misinformation:A new fact-check feature that will confirm and remove content if false (as of Feb 2021). Read more here.
  • Prevention of bullying feature: Creators are now able to control what comments can be posted on their content before it goes live. In addition, users who comment will get a prompt advising them to reconsider their comment if it’s inappropriate (as of March 2021). Read more here.
  • Tightening the options for commenting on videos created by those ages 13-15: Younger users can now choose between “friends” or “no one,” and the “everyone” comment setting is being removed.
  • Changing Duet and Stitch settings: The broader TikTok community won’t be able to use those features with content created by people under 16, though anyone can Duet and Stitch with eligible content from users over 16. For users aged 16-17, the default setting for these features will now be set to Friends.
  • Removing the ability to download videos created by those under 16: For users ages 16-17, this function will now be set to “off” by default, with the option to allow downloads of videos if a user chooses.
  • Setting “suggest your account to others” to “off” by default for accounts ages 13-15.
  • Bedtime block on app alerts – TikTok has announced a feature that prevents teenagers from receiving notifications past their bedtime. They will no longer send notifications after 9 pm to users 13-15 years old. But for 16 and 17 year-olds, notifications will not be sent after 10 pm.

How to report inappropriate content on the TikTok app?

You can report content that doesn’t follow TikTok’s Community Guidelines within the app, click here to find out how to do it on the app.

You can block followers ‘ by choosing the fan you’d like to remove and selecting ‘Block’ from the menu of options.

Be sure to update the TikTok app to ensure you are kept up to date with the latest features.Parental controls 

Internet Matters TikTok guide

Learn how to set privacy and safety settings on the TikTok social platform to help your child have a safer experience.
SEE GUIDE 

Six things you can do to keep them safe on the app