Pizza, lollipop and emojis: how common symbols can be used by child groomers on the internet

Contrary to popular belief, there is no single profile that can be used to identify people involved in grooming children pa/Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa/picture alliance Emojis, expressions and other seemingly harmless symbols can be part of grooming strategies to approach children and adolescents in digital environments. In certain contexts, these elements no longer have their original meaning and start to function as forms of communication within closed groups, which makes it difficult for users and the digital platforms themselves to identify them. Although there are recent reports of these codes circulating on dating apps and social networks, experts warn that the phenomenon is not restricted to a single platform. According to researchers interviewed by DW, more important than knowing each symbol is understanding how the grooming process works, which constantly changes and adapts as certain practices become known. "The indiscriminate dissemination of these codes can expand their reach and make it easier for malicious people to adopt them. Therefore, publishing them should be avoided precisely because of the risk of operationalizing the practice", says psychopedagogue Patrícia Espíndola de Lima Teixeira, coordinator of the Youth Observatory at PUC-RS. According to her, researchers, police authorities and protection organizations have prioritized explaining the grooming mechanisms and not reproducing the codes used by these groups. The grooming process is known internationally as grooming. The concept describes a gradual strategy of building trust, emotional manipulation and reducing the adolescent's defenses. Generally, in the initial stages, there is no explicit sexual content. "There is gradually an appropriation of symbols, emojis, words and images in everyday use. In practice, within closed digital communities, there is a recoding, and what was innocent becomes another message", says Teixeira. The expert also highlights that these codes are dynamic and are usually replaced as soon as they are identified. 'Scary increase': how 'machosphere' caused gender-based violence among teenagers to explode The most common symbols Symbols used in sexual grooming in digital environments Reproduction/TV Globo What differentiates a code used by people involved in the sexual exploitation of children and teenagers from a common symbol is the context in which it appears. In isolation, an emoji, a word or an image do not indicate criminal activity. Meaning comes into existence when these elements are combined and inserted into a set of behaviors that may indicate an attempt to approach, groom or share child sexual abuse material. "I always explain that the emoji alone doesn't mean anything", highlights educator Sheylli Caleffi. According to her, everyday symbols end up being appropriate precisely because they arouse less suspicion. Among the best-known examples are references to pizza, the American football, the blue spiral and the lollipop. In some cases, the word "fan", short for moleque, can also be associated with pedophilia. "The American football ball, for example, criminals usually associate with an American football player who was arrested for raping a vulnerable person", he says. "It's also important to point out that you're not going to report a person because they use an emoji. There's no way. That's a sign between them, precisely to camouflage their real intentions. The important thing is that you start to notice and quickly report it as soon as something more explicit is said," says Caleffi. Lawyer Bernardo Fico, specialist in Digital Law and director of the Legal Wings Institute, explains that there is no universal or permanent code. According to him, the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), an international organization specialized in identifying and removing child sexual abuse material, maintains a list of words, expressions and symbols used exclusively by its members and updated monthly. "Certain words may be completely common when considered in isolation, but acquire illicit meaning when used in specific combinations or within a certain context", he states. One of the most documented examples involves references to the English expression cheese pizza, whose initials, CP, began to be used by some groups as a way of hiding mentions of child sexual abuse material. "The initials CP are used as a coded form of allusion to the expression child pornography", explains the lawyer. Another case cited by Fico is the use of the word corn ("corn", in English), used in some digital environments as a substitute for the word "pornography" to try to circumvent the platforms' moderation mechanisms. The lawyer points out, however, that this use also appears widely in contexts related to legal adult content and, therefore, may not have any automatic relationship with crimes involving children and adolescents. The way these symbols are used also raises questions about the platforms' search and recommendation mechanisms. During the investigation of this report, it was possible to find results associated with some of these terms on TikTok. According to Fico, codes change as they become identified by platforms and authorities. "The evidence only acquires relevance when it appears associated with a set of factors, such as an adult account that repeatedly interacts with children's profiles, uses purchase or exchange language, tries to migrate the conversation to private applications or adopts other behaviors compatible with grooming strategies", he says. 'It's not the education you have at home': Reprimand from mother to son over sexist post goes viral and exceeds millions of views Use of cell phone/telephone/messaging and communication app Victor Lebre/g1 How to identify groomers Contrary to popular belief, there is no single profile that can be used to identify people involved in grooming children and adolescents in the digital environment. "What tends to appear frequently is a behavioral pattern of manipulation, patience and adaptation to the victim's vulnerabilities", says Teixeira. According to her, it is important to deconstruct the stereotype of the "mysterious stranger", since, in many cases, the groomer is someone who already has some type of access to the victim – through family, school or extracurricular activities – or who builds this closeness deliberately and patiently over the internet. The specialist explains that this process usually occurs progressively. The criminal tests limits, observes the reaction of the child, adolescent and family, retreats when he perceives the risk of being discovered and adapts his approach according to the response obtained. On the internet, you can also operate with multiple profiles simultaneously and use different strategies for each victim. According to the educational psychologist, different platforms end up being used at different stages of this process. Social networks can be used for the first contact, which then migrates to private messages. Online games offer integrated chats, reducing the perception of risk on the part of parents and teenagers. Encrypted messaging applications tend to be used at a later stage, making conversations difficult for third parties to detect. For the researcher, although platforms have expanded their security mechanisms, there are still limitations in age verification and recommendation systems, which can bring together profiles with similar interests. She points out, however, that codes represent only part of the problem. "The main risk continues to be relational vulnerability. Predators exploit emotional needs, loneliness, the need for recognition and trust, long before resorting to any symbol."