TFCF Survey: Over 15% of Minors Willing to Trade Private Photos for Free Game Equipment
A Taiwan Fund for Children and Families (TFCF) survey reveals digital safety risks for minors, showing nearly 16% are willing to trade private photos for game items. The organization urges enhanced digital literacy and awareness of online exploitation.
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- 📰 Published: April 24, 2026 at 16:12
- 🔍 Collected: April 24, 2026 at 16:31 (19 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 24, 2026 at 21:49 (5h 17m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(CNA, Reporter Wu Hsin-yun, Taipei, 24th) The online safety of children and youth cannot be ignored. Data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare shows that nearly 70% of child sexual exploitation crimes involve the internet. A survey by the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families (TFCF) also found that when faced with the lure of free game equipment, over 15% of minors expressed willingness to send private photos of themselves in exchange, a concerning revelation.
The TFCF held a press conference for the 428 Child Protection Day today, announcing the "Children and Youth Digital Safety Survey." This survey invited children and youth aged 9 to under 18 to participate from December 26 last year to January 31 this year via online questionnaires. A total of 5,275 valid questionnaires were collected, with a 95% confidence level and a margin of error of plus or minus 1.35 percentage points.
Tsai Wen-chin, Director of the Social Work Department at the TFCF, stated that official data indicates that over the past five years, cases of child sexual exploitation utilizing the internet account for about 70% annually. Furthermore, the number of reported victims of child sexual exploitation grew from 1,691 in 2020 to 3,582 in 2024, a staggering 112% growth rate over five years.
Tsai noted that the TFCF survey also revealed that children's daily lives are closely tied to the internet. 74.48% of minors use social media, and over 90% (97.40%) add friends on social media platforms. Among them, over 30% add "people they met online," and 4.63% even add "strangers" as friends.
Tsai pointed out that the survey included common online "temptation traps" to test children's reactions when faced with the lure of "free limited-edition equipment" in a gaming context. The results showed that 31.35% of minors would choose to add the other party's LINE account. If the other party induced them to send private photos as a condition of exchange, 15.91% of minors said they would send their private photos, indicating that minors' awareness of digital risks and bodily boundaries still needs strengthening.
In addition, the survey found that 33.33% of minors had been asked for personal information, with 15.24% asked by netizens. Alarmingly, 24.43% of minors were asked for "their own photos," exposing the risks associated with personal data and photos.
Beyond making friends and temptation traps, Tsai also mentioned warning signs regarding children's personal information and bodily boundaries in the digital environment. The survey showed that 61% of minors had lifestyle photos or videos shared on social media in the past month, with parents being the primary sharers in 60% of cases. However, 19.62% of all surveyed minors found it unacceptable for their parents to share their photos on social media.
Further investigating whether minors had learned about digital sexual exploitation, the survey indicated that over 90% of children had. Among those who had learned this knowledge, 86.22% learned it from teachers, while only 48.99% stated their parents had taught them.
Chou Da-yao, CEO of the TFCF, stated that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child emphasizes that nations should protect children from all forms of violence and exploitation. For this year's 428 Child Protection Day, over 30 events have been linked across Taiwan, launching the "428 National Child Protection Task Force - Digital Forest Adventure" interactive game to invite parents and children to participate together and enhance their digital safety protection capabilities. (Editor: Li Hsi-chang) 1150424
(CNA, Reporter Wu Hsin-yun, Taipei, 24th) The online safety of children and youth cannot be ignored. Data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare shows that nearly 70% of child sexual exploitation crimes involve the internet. A survey by the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families (TFCF) also found that when faced with the lure of free game equipment, over 15% of minors expressed willingness to send private photos of themselves in exchange, a concerning revelation.
The TFCF held a press conference for the 428 Child Protection Day today, announcing the "Children and Youth Digital Safety Survey." This survey invited children and youth aged 9 to under 18 to participate from December 26 last year to January 31 this year via online questionnaires. A total of 5,275 valid questionnaires were collected, with a 95% confidence level and a margin of error of plus or minus 1.35 percentage points.
Tsai Wen-chin, Director of the Social Work Department at the TFCF, stated that official data indicates that over the past five years, cases of child sexual exploitation utilizing the internet account for about 70% annually. Furthermore, the number of reported victims of child sexual exploitation grew from 1,691 in 2020 to 3,582 in 2024, a staggering 112% growth rate over five years.
Tsai noted that the TFCF survey also revealed that children's daily lives are closely tied to the internet. 74.48% of minors use social media, and over 90% (97.40%) add friends on social media platforms. Among them, over 30% add "people they met online," and 4.63% even add "strangers" as friends.
Tsai pointed out that the survey included common online "temptation traps" to test children's reactions when faced with the lure of "free limited-edition equipment" in a gaming context. The results showed that 31.35% of minors would choose to add the other party's LINE account. If the other party induced them to send private photos as a condition of exchange, 15.91% of minors said they would send their private photos, indicating that minors' awareness of digital risks and bodily boundaries still needs strengthening.
In addition, the survey found that 33.33% of minors had been asked for personal information, with 15.24% asked by netizens. Alarmingly, 24.43% of minors were asked for "their own photos," exposing the risks associated with personal data and photos.
Beyond making friends and temptation traps, Tsai also mentioned warning signs regarding children's personal information and bodily boundaries in the digital environment. The survey showed that 61% of minors had lifestyle photos or videos shared on social media in the past month, with parents being the primary sharers in 60% of cases. However, 19.62% of all surveyed minors found it unacceptable for their parents to share their photos on social media.
Further investigating whether minors had learned about digital sexual exploitation, the survey indicated that over 90% of children had. Among those who had learned this knowledge, 86.22% learned it from teachers, while only 48.99% stated their parents had taught them.
Chou Da-yao, CEO of the TFCF, stated that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child emphasizes that nations should protect children from all forms of violence and exploitation. For this year's 428 Child Protection Day, over 30 events have been linked across Taiwan, launching the "428 National Child Protection Task Force - Digital Forest Adventure" interactive game to invite parents and children to participate together and enhance their digital safety protection capabilities. (Editor: Li Hsi-chang) 1150424