What a Year: 365 Days Defending Kids

If I’ve learned anything during my time at Thorn, it’s that every day has the potential to be extraordinary. This time last year, I had just kicked off my heels and collapsed onto my couch with a sigh of relief. It’s not every day that you celebrate the first month of a new job with your boss’ congressional testimony going viral.

When our co-founder, Ashton Kutcher, testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for Chairman Corker’s annual END IT hearing, he shared Thorn’s work to defend children from sexual abuse. He brought a clarity to the issue by sharing the stories of survivors whose strength and hope make them the true heroes of this work. His testimony was a milestone for our organization, but also for everyone who has worked this issue for years, hoping it will get the attention it needs.

Celebrating Wins

On the anniversary of this testimony, we want to thank you for being a part of this work with us, and celebrate the progress we’ve seen in 12 short months:

• Our sex trafficking investigations tool, Spotlight, is now being used by over 6,000 officers, with an expanded user base to Canada. A growing user base meant that our impact doubled in 2017.
• With the support of Members of Congress, we held three demos of our products on Capitol Hill with law enforcement to educate lawmakers on how technology can help identify child victims faster.
• We’ve endorsed legislation that helps victims seek justice and secure the resources they need (Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act, Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2017, Stop, Observe, Ask and Respond (SOAR) to Health and Wellness Act).
• We met with 30+ States Attorneys General to learn how we can support their work to fight child sex trafficking in their states.
• We continued to expand globally, meeting with religious leaders in Rome, law enforcement in Australia, government officials in the UK, and tech experts in San Francisco to see how we can better work together to protect children online.

One year later, we’ve doubled down on our commitment. We’re setting big goals, growing our team, and investing in the technology we need to make the internet safer for kids. When there are children still abused, we know we have more work to do. Join us to be a force for good and commit to defending happiness with us today.