Apple App Store, Discord, Microsoft’s GitHub, Snapchat, Spotify, and Others Called Out for Facilitating Sexual Exploitation
WASHINGTON, DC (May 2, 2023) – Tech platforms including Reddit, Twitter, Discord, Roblox, and GitHub are among those on the National Center on Sexual Exploitation’s (NCOSE) 2023 Dirty Dozen List, an annual list of 12 mainstream entities that facilitate, enable, and even profit from sexual abuse and exploitation.
Apple representatives reached out to NCOSE ahead of the list’s release with an offer to renew meetings around safeguarding concerns—it is yet to be seen what steps Apple will take to address the concerns contained within the Dirty Dozen List, but NCOSE is hopeful that Apple will step up its efforts to protect children in the App Store.
“Sexual abuse and exploitation are on the rise and are facilitated by digital platforms. It is past time for tech platforms to stop their products from threatening the safety of children and enabling sexual abuse to happen to people of all ages. Those on our 2023 Dirty Dozen List were included for facilitating a diverse set of sexual exploitation issues including sex trafficking, image-based sexual abuse, child sexual abuse material, grooming children for exploitation, and childlike sex abuse dolls. We call for urgent change from those who made the 2023 Dirty Dozen List,” said Lina Nealon, Vice President & Director of Corporate Advocacy, National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
“Over the past decade, the Dirty Dozen List campaign has instigated major policy changes at Google, TikTok, Comcast, Delta Airlines, Amazon, the Department of Defense, and many other influential institutions. The list exposes practices and products that endanger and harm people and galvanizes the public to press on the named entities to act ethically and promote human dignity,” said Nealon.
Here is the 2023 Dirty Dozen List:
Apple App Store: Deceptive to the core: Apple App Store age ratings and descriptions mislead parents about the content, risks, and dangers to children on available apps. When caregivers aren’t informed, kids pay the price. Apple must #fixappratings. www.endsexualexploitation.org/Apple
Discord: Discord is a Haven for Sexual Exploiters: This messaging platform is popular with predators who want to groom children and find and trade child sexual abuse materials, as well as adult image-based sexual abuse. www.endsexualexploitation.org/Discord
eBay: “Whatever it is, you can get it on eBay.” Unfortunately, that includes childlike sex abuse dolls and spycams advertised specifically for filming women without their consent. www.endsexualexploitation.org/eBay
Instagram: Instagram’s slogan is “Capture and Share the World’s Moments” – for countless children and adults that includes their worst moments. Grooming, child sexual abuse materials, sex trafficking, and many other harms continue to fester on Instagram. www.endsexualexploitation.org/Instagram
Kik: Kik’s Crawling with Criminals. The anonymous messaging app is a “predator’s paradise” for grooming kids and sharing images of their abuse, in addition to hardcore porn and prostitution ads. Kik needs to be called to account for harm. www.endsexualexploitation.org/Kik
Microsoft’s GitHub: GitHub is the go-to place to create sexually exploitative technology. Deepfakes, “nudify” apps, and AI-generated pornography originate on this collaboration platform for software development. Microsoft’s GitHub must get rid of image-based sexual abuse. www.endsexualexploitation.org/GitHub
OnlyFans: Empowerment or Exploitation? OnlyFans promotes itself as giving porn performers power, but in reality it empowers sex traffickers, child exploiters, and “revenge porn” posters. www.endsexualexploitation.org/OnlyFans
Reddit: It takes less than 5 seconds to find sexual exploitation on Reddit. This “front page of the Internet” is a hub of child sexual abuse materials, sex trafficking, and image-based sexual abuse. Reddit must rid its platform of sexual violence. www.endsexualexploitation.org/Reddit
Roblox: Roblox isn’t all fun and games. Among the blocks and buildings, kids may be exposed to predators and inappropriate content. Roblox must keep its “imagination platform” free of sexploitation. www.endsexualexploitation.org/Roblox
Snapchat: Is Snapchat Dangerous by Design? Year after year, Snapchat is named a top spot for sextortion, sexual interactions between minors and adults, and pornography exposure. No more excuses! Snap must end its apathy and fix safety measures now. www.endsexualexploitation.org/Snapchat
Spotify: Porn is too easy to spot on Spotify – and the parental controls are tone deaf. Insist this popular streaming platform fix its filters to remove sexually explicit images and prevent predators from accessing kids. www.endsexualexploitation.org/Spotify
Twitter: “Twitter was asked to take [child sexual abuse material] down and Twitter said, ‘we’ve looked at it and we’re not taking it down.’” – Judge at the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. www.endsexualexploitation.org/Twitter
About National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE)
Founded in 1962, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is the leading national non-partisan organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health harms of pornography.
