Snapchat say they use 'cutting-edge technology' to stop sexual exploitation of users as police officer jailed

Snapchat has said that it works in “multiple ways” to detect and prevent abuse of its users after a paedophile police officer used the social media platform to obtain explicit messages from more than 200 girls.

Lewis Edwards, aged  24, targeted 210 young girls between the ages of 10 and 16 and forced them to send him sexually explicit images and videos. He has been jailed for a minimum of 12 years for his crimes. Many of the online messages were secretly recorded by Edwards and he also sent some victims videos in return which showed him performing sex acts on himself. 

He then attempted to blackmail some of his victims and told them that he would tell their friends and family about what had happened unless they sent him new images and videos of themselves which were more graphic.

Snapchat released a statement following the sentencing of Edwards at Cardiff Crown Court earlier today (Wednesday 25 October). It said: “Any sexual exploitation of young people is abhorrent and illegal and our hearts go out to the victims in this case. We work in multiple ways to detect and prevent this type of abuse including using cutting-edge detection technology, and we work with police to support investigations.

“We have extra protections for under 18s and recently added a new pop-up warning for teens if they are contacted by someone who they don’t know. Our Family Centre allows parents to see who their teens are talking to.”

Family Centre is a Snapchat feature which allows parents over the age of 25 to have parental control over their children’s accounts. It enables them to see which Snapchat friends their children have sent messages, photos or videos to in the last seven days. However, the content of the conversations is not revealed. 

Edwards was a former police officer at South Wales Police. He joined the force in January 2021 and has since resigned from his role, but the court heard that all but one of the victims were abused while he was serving as a police officer. Investigators on the case also found that Edwards had been in contact with his victims at least 30 times during working hours.

He previously pleaded guilty to 22 counts of blackmail, 138 child sex offences and a further offence of refusing to disclose the password to a mobile phone and USB stick. He would go on to plead guilty to a total of 161 offences, including blackmail, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, making a child watch a sex act, demanding indecent images of children, and making indecent images of children.

Ease of Edwards’ social media use is ‘deeply concerning’

NPSCC Cymru also spoke out after Edwards’ sentencing, and said he would have been aware of the impact of his crimes due to his profession. The statement from them read: “It is incredibly distressing that Edwards committed these abhorrent crimes against children when, as a serving police officer, his role was to protect the vulnerable and he would have been aware of the devastating impact sexual abuse can have on young people.

“It is also deeply concerning the ease with which he was able to use social media to target children, and threaten and blackmail his victims to provide him with explicit material. This case demonstrates why the Online Safety Bill, which will soon become law, is so important, as it will require tech firms to design their sites with children’s safety as a priority, so they will be at less risk of harm from offenders like Edwards.”

The Online Safety Bill aims to protect users, particularly children, from harmful online content and also places the onus on social media companies to shield users from things like abusive comments, bullying, and pornography. The NSPCC advised children and young people to contact Childline on 0800 1111 if they had concerns about their safety, while adults were asked to contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000.