Following findings by the National Police that some applications widely used by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community have been used by pedophiles to prey on the nation’s children, a House of Representatives lawmaker has urged the government to take action immediately by shutting the apps down.

"Revelation of the 18 [LGBT-oriented] apps uncovered by the National Police should be followed up by the Communications and Information Ministry by taking immediate action to block them," said legislator Reni Marlinawati as quoted by Antara news agency.

Reni also advised the ministry to take a more proactive role to track down other apps allegedly containing pornographic content and intensify supervision on apps in the market.

"In addition, the ministry and law enforcers should impose stern sanctions on those who use social media for running online-prostitution businesses," she asserted.

The National Police made the claim after discovering that AR, a suspected pimp and pedophile who allegedly sold children for sex, was aggressively using applications to post pornographic pictures of the victims in an attempt to lure male customers.



One of the apps AR used was a mainstream social and dating app called Grindr, which is intended for gays and bisexuals to chat, share photos and meet up. The app makes use of a mobile device’s geo-location to allow users to locate other users nearby. (dmr)