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Featured

6 min read

News

Thorn’s Safety by Design for Generative AI: 3-Month Progress Report on Civitai and Metaphysic

Three months ago, some of the world’s most influential AI leaders made a groundbreaking commitment to protect children from the misuse of generative AI technologies. In collaboration with Thorn and […]

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What’s trending now?

6 min read

Research

Deepfake Nudes and Other Trends in Youth Behavior Online in 2023: New Research From Thorn

  Kids’ digital lives are flush with positive experiences, but also with very real risks — some of which are emerging so fast, society is racing to grasp them. Yet […]

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11 min read

News

Thorn and All Tech Is Human Forge Generative AI Principles with AI Leaders to Enact Strong Child Safety Commitments

  We are at a crossroads with generative artificial intelligence (generative AI). In the same way that the internet accelerated offline and online sexual harms against children, misuse of generative […]

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5 min read

Research

New Research from Thorn: Financial Sextortion on the Rise, Targeting Teen Boys

  The headlines are gut-wrenching. Young boys, targeted online by perpetrators in disguise, are being manipulated to produce sexual imagery only to be immediately exploited for monetary gain under the […]

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News

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6 min read

News

Thorn’s Safety by Design for Generative AI: 3-Month Progress Report on Civitai and Metaphysic

Three months ago, some of the world’s most influential AI leaders made a groundbreaking commitment to protect children from the misuse of generative AI technologies. In collaboration with Thorn and […]

Read Article

36 min read

News

TrustCon 2024 Panel: Enacting Generative AI Safety by Design Principles to Combat Child Sexual Abuse

Reflections on enacting the principles At 2024 TrustCon, Thorn’s Vice President of Data Science, Rebecca Portnoff, hosted a panel including some of the generative AI leaders who made commitments this […]

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11 min read

News

Thorn and All Tech Is Human Forge Generative AI Principles with AI Leaders to Enact Strong Child Safety Commitments

  We are at a crossroads with generative artificial intelligence (generative AI). In the same way that the internet accelerated offline and online sexual harms against children, misuse of generative […]

Read Article

2 min read

News

A new chapter for Spotlight and Thorn’s continued commitment to child safety

  At Thorn, we are dedicated to empowering those on the frontlines of defending children by providing them with the necessary technology and tools to succeed. One such tool, Spotlight, […]

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Technology for Good

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5 min read

Technology for Good

Introducing Safer Predict: Using the Power of AI to Detect Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Online

Our ability to upload content to our favorite apps or chat with others online is part of how we socialize with our digital communities. Yet, these same features are also […]

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6 min read

Technology for Good

How Thorn Helps Investigators Find Children Faster

It’s a common scenario in the fight to identify and defend children from sexual abuse: A popular social media platform discovers child sexual abuse material (CSAM) circulating on its site. […]

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6 min read

Technology for Good

Why we research: Connecting and moving the entire child safety ecosystem

  These days, technology moves faster than ever, and the ways in which young people use it evolve rapidly with it. New apps, social trends, and cultural norms constantly shift […]

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4 min read

Technology for Good

We’re Creating a Safer Internet, Together

At Thorn, we’re dedicated to building technology to defend children from sexual abuse. Key to this mission is our CSAM detection solution, Safer, which allows content-hosting platforms to find and […]

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Support Us

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3 min read

Support Us

Thorn Messages of Support

What keeps professionals dedicated to defending children from sexual abuse? Collaboration, grit, and vision. Hear four diverse perspectives from our team.

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4 min read

News Support Us

Thorn’s 2023 Achievements To Date

Thorn addresses child sexual abuse from three focus areas: accelerate victim identification, equip platforms to stop the viral spread of CSAM, and empower the public with resources for youth and their caregivers to navigate digital safety conversations.

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4 min read

Support Us

How to Create a Facebook Fundraiser for Thorn

Here at Thorn we’re inspired by you—our supporters. And we’re really proud of the number of supporters fundraising for us on Facebook. Here’s how you can join in rallying your […]

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2 min read

Support Us

Support Thorn at Checkout with PayPal

Did you know that there’s an easy way to give back while shopping online? If you use PayPal as a payment method for your purchases, you can help defend children during checkout.

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The Issue

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5 min read

The Issue

“Will I be Believed?” How deepfakes risk eroding kids’ confidence in the people around them

Imagine a 14-year-old boy sitting in his bedroom, staring at his computer screen, his heart pounding. He’s just received a message from someone he thought was a friend — now […]

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7 min read

The Issue

The Dual Role of Technology: Thorn’s Insights From NCMEC’s 2023 CyberTipline Report

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children recently released its 2023 CyberTipline report, which captures key trends from reports submitted by the public and digital platforms on suspected child […]

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5 min read

The Issue

How Thorn Empowers Parents & Youth to Prevent Abuse

Our connected world has transformed what it means to be a child and a parent today. Young people grow up with phones in their hands and — depending on their […]

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Research

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6 min read

Research

Deepfake Nudes and Other Trends in Youth Behavior Online in 2023: New Research From Thorn

  Kids’ digital lives are flush with positive experiences, but also with very real risks — some of which are emerging so fast, society is racing to grasp them. Yet […]

Read Article

5 min read

Research

New Research from Thorn: Financial Sextortion on the Rise, Targeting Teen Boys

  The headlines are gut-wrenching. Young boys, targeted online by perpetrators in disguise, are being manipulated to produce sexual imagery only to be immediately exploited for monetary gain under the […]

Read Article

4 min read

Research

New International Research from Thorn: Youth Perspectives on Online Safety in France and Germany

In an exciting expansion of Thorn’s research initiatives beyond the U.S., we are proud to share insights from our first international quantitative studies focusing on youth experiences with digital safety, […]

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Our Bold Goal

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5 min read

Our Bold Goal

Thorn CEO Julie Cordua: My Vision for 2024

As we look ahead to 2024, I’m taking time to reflect on the significant strides Thorn has made last year in our vital mission to defend children from sexual abuse.  […]

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3 min read

Our Bold Goal

Thorn CEO Julie Cordua: My Vision for 2023

As we look ahead to 2023, I’m taking a moment to pause and reflect on the work Thorn is doing to create a different – a better – future for our children. 

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5 min read

Our Bold Goal

Thorn at Ten: A Decade of Progress

In Thorn’s first decade, the digital pioneer became a powerhouse in defending children from sexual abuse. Check out our proudest moments in our latest blog.

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4 min read

Our Bold Goal

Thorn CEO Julie Cordua: My vision for 2022

“​​A world where every child can simply be a kid—where they can live connected lives without being sexually exploited or revictimized.” This is a key message from what I call […]

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4 min read

Our Bold Goal

Thorn turns 9: Celebrating our top 9 moments from 2021

On this day 9 years ago, Thorn was born. It was comprised of a handful of people just beginning to understand the role of technology in child sexual abuse. Today, […]

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4 min read

Our Bold Goal

Two years after TED, we stand at a critical moment in the fight to eliminate CSAM

Two years ago, I stepped onto the TED stage to deliver a message about what my team at Thorn was working on:  “We’re building the technology to connect these dots, […]

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3 min read

Our Bold Goal

Thorn’s 2020 impact

Thorn’s impact in 2020 was only possible because of you — our partners, our supporters, and everyone working on the front lines to ensure children can be safe, curious, and […]

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5 min read

Our Bold Goal

A Bold Goal: Eliminating Child Sexual Abuse from the Internet

Julie Cordua, CEO of Thorn, on setting big goals, TED and The Audacious Project — At Thorn, our vision has always been clear, but the path has not. At every […]

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3 min read

Our Bold Goal

Looking Forward: A Letter from Thorn’s CEO

We’re excited to share with you what we have planned for 2015, but we first want to reflect on the amazing progress that has been made in the last two […]

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Prevention

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5 min read

Prevention

Celebrating the 2024 Youth Innovation Council’s Impact

Building a safer digital world for kids requires more than cutting-edge technology. At Thorn, we believe youth voices and experiences are essential to building safer spaces online. That’s why we […]

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4 min read

Prevention

Recognizing Abuse Masquerading as Love: Grooming, SG-CSAM, and Sextortion

At Thorn, we understand how perpetrators deliberately emotionally manipulate and misrepresent “love” to abuse their victims – often without them even knowing it.

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6 min read

Prevention

Why Youth Voices Matter on Safer Internet Day — and Every Day

Youth voices are essential to shaping a safer internet. After all, the internet is a place where kids explore their identities and make valuable connections — so it’s important that […]

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4 min read

Life at Thorn Prevention

Meet the Team: A Conversation with Dr. Rebecca Portnoff

Dr. Rebecca Portnoff, Head of Data Science at Thorn, shares more about her career and what working to defend children with tech is like.

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Life at Thorn

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Melissa

3 min read

Life at Thorn

Meet the Team: A Conversation with Melissa Stroebel

At Thorn, we bring together the best hearts and minds from tech, child protection, business and nonprofit fields to create powerful products and programs to defend children from sexual abuse. […]

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4 min read

Life at Thorn Prevention

Meet the Team: A Conversation with Dr. Rebecca Portnoff

Dr. Rebecca Portnoff, Head of Data Science at Thorn, shares more about her career and what working to defend children with tech is like.

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3 min read

Life at Thorn

10 Wellness Tips for World Mental Health Day

Once you know about child sexual abuse, you can’t un-know it. In order to stay resilient in the fight to defend children from sexual abuse, protecting mental health is paramount. 

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