School's Remote Class Ends in Disgust as Naked Man Enters Video Chat: Report
The new world of online classes poses new dangers for children, as one incident from Norway reveals.
According to a report in a Norwegian government-owned media outlet that was passed along by TechCrunch, a man managed to find his way into a class of 9-year-olds and display his genitals.
Classes in Norway, just like in most of America, have moved online due to the coronavirus.
According to an English translation of the Norwegian media account, three 9-year-old girls who attend an Oslo school signed on and saw a man “wearing underwear.”
The man reportedly encouraged the girls to talk to him, and then, according to the account, “exposed [himself] and masturbated in front of the webcam.”
The girls, the report said, thought the episode was “terrifying and disgusting.
“They were a little afraid of who this person was,” the report added.
School officials were unsure of how the man obtained a link to the class, and have reported the incident to police.
The school also decided to stop using the app, called Whereby, and shift to a different online platform.
PARENTS/GUARDIANS: The FBI is warning parents about predators targeting their children online while classes have moved from in-person classrooms to at-home laptops.
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The Norwegian report quoted Ingrid Odegaard, a product and technology manager for Whereby, as saying she believed the man guessed the link.
“Unfortunately, some users are looking for links,” Odegaard said.
She also said the company is trying to block those who try to misuse the service.
“It is very regrettable and something that should not happen at all. We take it very seriously and work actively on all cases we hear about and block users out,” she reportedly said.
“Of course, we do not want the service to be used for this. We encourage everyone who experiences unwanted things to contact us so that we can act quickly.”
Odegaard said that despite existing security, “it has happened before. We have millions of users all over the world, but this is the first case in Norway I’ve heard of in a long time.”
“We have tools that allow you to have completely private conversations, but you have to balance usability and security. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible for internet services of this scale to prevent this from happening,” she added.
The video conferencing app Zoom has also come under fire for its privacy practices, according to the BBC.
“Zoom has had a checkered history, security-wise, with a number of instances where one has had to question whether it really gets it when it comes to users’ privacy and security,” consultant Graham Cluley said.
“Right now, lots of people are using Zoom for the first time and may not be au fait with the safest settings to keep unwanted people out of their chats,” he said.
“They also probably haven’t read the terms and conditions, but just clicked ‘Yes’ to everything to get online. Zoom and other video messaging apps provide a valuable service right now but folks should be careful in their choices as they rush to connect online.”
