Children and parents need to be made aware of the potential for grooming on online social media apps a Glasgow MSP has warned.

Pauline McNeill, Glasgow Labour MSP said that there had been an increase in child sex abuse crimes logged by Police Scotland.

She said almost 2000 were recorded, which she said was 25% higher than the five year average.

McNeill asked the Justice Secretary Keith Brown what action was being taken.

She said: "Police officers have warned that parents should be particularly vigilant when it comes to apps such as TikTok.

“One of the most popular kinds of videos from TikTok’s users, who are mostly young and female, are lip-synch videos, where they dance and sing along with their favourite songs. These performances are sometimes sexualized by older men who lurk on the app, sending the young creators explicit messages”.

Brown said some of the proposed provisions in the UK Government’s draft Online Safety Bill will seek to address some of those issues.

He said:"There are sanctions of 10 per cent of turnover, and there is the blocking of sites for firms that fail to protect users.

"The UK will reserve the power for senior managers to be held liable. There are also new regulations that apply to any company in the world that hosts user-generated content online that is accessible by people in the UK or enables them to privately or publicly interact with others online. That goes back to the point that Pauline McNeill made."

He noted the NSPCC has also raised the issue and said it is "very clear that the UK Government should proceed with the bill and deliver on its promise".

He said: "We will encourage it to do just that."