Cyber Harassment of Children Jumps 42 Percent in a Year, Experts Warn

Cases of children falling victim to cyber harassment in Bangladesh are rising at an alarming rate. Data from the National Child Helpline 1098, run by the Department of Social Services, shows that calls related to children's cyber harassment have increased by 42 percent this year compared with last year — raising fresh questions about children's online safety.

Experts say that once children get mobile phones in their hands, they grow curious about the online world and social media. Sometimes it is the parents themselves who, for studies, communication or entertainment, open social media accounts for their children by inflating their age — unknowingly increasing the risk of cyber danger.

One official of a multinational organisation described exactly such a case. During the pandemic in 2020, he opened a Facebook account for his daughter by raising her age so she could attend online classes; she was then in fifth grade. Through that account, a stranger posing as a peer befriended her. Eventually the man tricked her into revealing her password, took control of the account, and began blackmailing her with objectionable photos and videos he had recorded.

Terrified, the girl told no one at first. The bright student eventually became mentally ill and her studies stopped. After long counselling with a psychiatrist she recovered and passed her secondary exams, though the old trauma still returns from time to time. Those working in the field say countless children like her are passing through such ordeals.

The helpline figures make the growth clear. In 2025 the helpline received a total of 769,861 calls, of which 597 concerned cyber harassment of children; legal steps were taken in 179 of those cases. In the first eight months of this year, out of 527,954 calls, 565 were about cyber harassment, with legal action in 170 cases. In monthly averages, last year brought roughly 50 cyber-harassment calls a month; this year the figure exceeds 70 a month.

Experts caution that these are only the incidents reported to the helpline. Many more cases of cyber harassment of children occur that are never reported and so never enter any record.

Chowdhury Md Mohaymen, manager of Helpline 1098, says families are breaking into smaller units, and instead of family members, children are coming into contact with strangers online. Yet they cannot always tell who is using a real identity and who is using a fake one. Offenders often befriend children while posing as peers, then collect personal photos, videos or information and try to blackmail them. Parents, he stresses, must stay alert after opening an account for a child — who is becoming their friend, what kinds of messages are arriving, and whether anyone is asking for personal information.

Facebook, TikTok and several other platforms do not allow accounts under the age of 13, but many open accounts by inflating their age, and through those accounts they build contacts and relationships with all sorts of people. Incidents of children leaving home along this path regularly make the news. Recently in Cumilla, three fifth-graders left home taking a third-grader with them; they were later rescued from Habiganj. In the same district, a seventh-grade girl who went to Cox's Bazar after meeting a young man over a mobile phone, and was raped and murdered on her way back home, sparked widespread discussion and criticism.

Mohiuddin Ahmed, president of the Bangladesh Mobile Phone Consumers' Association, says cyber safety measures are not properly used in the country. Internet service providers do not follow parental guidelines, so adult content can appear before children while they watch cartoons or scroll through social media. A survey his organisation ran on 100 families from January to May 2024 found that 95 percent of children aged two to five are addicted to mobile phones; about 95 percent of them watch cartoons and video games, and about 50 percent watch TikTok.

Older data is no less worrying. A 2019 UNICEF Bangladesh survey of 1,281 children aged 10 to 17 found that 32 percent had experienced cyberbullying, violence or harassment online, and 25 percent had entered the digital world before the age of 11. In the same survey, 70 percent of boys and 44 percent of girls said they accepted friend requests from strangers online. Workers in the field say the number of harassed children has since multiplied several times over; many parents publish photos of children's birthdays, school days, awards or everyday moments on social media — a habit that can later put the child in danger. The spread of artificial intelligence is raising the risk further.

Cyber security expert Tanvir Hasan Zoha says ordinary family photos posted on social media are being converted with AI into abusive images or videos. The UK-based Internet Watch Foundation identified 3,440 such videos in 2025, compared with just 13 in 2024. His advice: parents must first understand that a child is not content; there is no need to open public social media accounts in a child's name.

The experts' recommendations include keeping social media accounts private, regularly checking follower lists, using strong and separate passwords, and keeping two-step security turned on. Children must be warned about clicking links sent by strangers, gift lures, offers to join video calls, requests to chat in secret, and demands for personal photos; and families must create an environment where a child can tell a parent without fear if any online contact makes them uncomfortable or frightens them.

Laila Khondker, convener of the child-protection organisation "Shishurai Shob", says online safety cannot be ensured merely by regularly checking a child's phone or switching off the internet for set hours. Children must be taught the importance of personal information, the risks of contacting strangers, and what to do if they are harassed. If a photo or information is misused, instead of hastily deleting everything, the link, username, messages, screenshots, time of the incident and original files should first be preserved, and then the platform authorities and law enforcement should be informed.

Miraj Ahmed Chowdhury, managing director of Digitally Right Limited, says banning account creation alone is no solution; alongside monitoring, what is needed is widespread public awareness, a responsible role by the platforms, and greater skill and capacity among law enforcement to investigate child abuse crimes. He also urged including online safety education in school curricula from the school level. The experts agree: protecting children online now demands a combined effort by families, the government, law enforcement and technology platforms.