Tech Fights Back Against the Sexual Exploitation of Children

Children are being exploited and trafficked not only in the deepest corners of the Internet, but on some of the same websites you use every day. The fast-paced nature of technology has not only changed the way in which children are being exploited, but it has also sparked an incredible movement of innovative approaches from those working to combat the issue. Law enforcement, organizations, communities and individuals are working together like never before, with one common goal: To more effectively address the sexual exploitation of children in communities across the United States.

What is Thorn’s role?

At Thorn, we are aware that technology is a powerful facilitator of the sexual exploitation of children, so we’re focused on staying on the front lines of technology to combat this issue directly. By developing partnerships across the tech industry, law enforcement, government agencies and various NGOs, we are harnessing and driving technological innovation to accomplish three important goals:

Combat Predatory Behavior

We focus efforts towards tackling the very roots of this problem: demand. Our Deterrence Program intervenes with potential consumers of child sexual abuse material as early as possible—before they get involved — urging them to stop and seek help.

Identify and Assist Victims

Children who are being trafficked for sex may not always able to pick up the phone and call for help. However, through our survivor survey and field research, we found that they often times have some level of access to a cell phone and often text.

Recognizing this as an opportunity, we brought The National Human Trafficking Resource Center (Polaris Project) with Twilio and the Salesforce Foundation to launch the BEFREE text shortcode, an SMS-based hotline integrated into the National Human Trafficking Resource Center. Available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the BeFree (233733) text shortcode allows victims to anonymously and discretely reach out for help. It also empowers individuals who are witness to a sex-trafficking related crime, to report it to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) hotline.

Protect Vulnerable Children

Our Spotlight tool is a web-based tool that provides law enforcement with intelligence and leads about suspected human trafficking networks and individuals in order to identify and assist victims. Spotlight helps prioritize leads by leveraging machine learning algorithms and insight from officers in the field, and it connects disparate data sources to provide deep investigative tools to help officers understand the historical and full geographic reach of a victim’s trafficking situation.

Technology can be both an asset and an obstacle in our efforts to combat the sexual exploitation of children. However, we are confident that if we continue harness the best and brightest minds in this field to develop new technologies and tools to better identify victims and connect them with resources, to deter predatory behavior, and to disrupt environments where this abuse takes place, that we will win this fight.

Will you join us? Take action