Online Sexual Exploitation Creeping Back into U.S. Due to Lack of FOSTA-SESTA Enforcement
The passage of FOSTA-SESTA in 2018 was a major legislative victory for survivors of sex trafficking. It gave survivors a route to justice by providing a civil right of action. It also empowered state Attorney Generals to prosecute websites that facilitate sex trafficking. Furthermore, its impact on the online commercial sexual exploitation landscape was immediate…
International Coalition Calls on Major Card Companies to Cease Work with Porn Industry
As detailed in coverage from the BBC, an international coalition of child safety and anti-sexual exploitation organizations and advocates—spearheaded by our newly-launched International Centre on Sexual Exploitation (ICOSE)—has launched a trailblazing grassroots advocacy campaign against the exploitative hardcore pornography industry by sending a joint letter to major credit card and payment processing companies. The letter…
How to Secure Zoom Calls and Protect from Exploitative “Zoombombing”
As more groups and individuals turn to Zoom for video conferencing during the COVID-19 pandemic, a problematic trend called “Zoombombing” is on the rise. Unfortunately for the many thousands (likely millions) of people who are using Zoom video conferencing for the first time for work, school, and socializing, Zoom isn’t as secure as it should…
Kids online more thanks to COVID-19? Here are five Internet filtering services for families.
Setting up parental controls, limiting screen time, and monitoring your child’s Internet use are all great ways to make sure your child is safe online. But it is also important to have the extra layer of security that Internet filtering services, which automatically block and filter unwanted sites and ads, can provide. To help you…
5 Things You Can Do to Ensure Your Children are Safe Online During Quarantine
COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2. Call it what you want, but the novel coronavirus is all anyone is talking about anymore. The COVID-19 health pandemic has closed schools, cancelled most activities, and isolated a large swath of the population at home all at once. In the midst of the social distancing, self-isolation, quarantines, and lockdowns, we’re all feeling…
EARN IT Act Will Help Protect Children from Online Sexual Exploitation
Why is the EARN IT Act important? Online child sexual exploitation is devastatingly real. The proliferation of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online is growing at exponential rates. The technology companies driving the rapid ascent of digital platforms have built and fed into a global tragedy of sexual abuse and exploitation that humanity is only…
Cardi B Confronted by the Exploitative Reality of Pornography
Many pornography users try to avoid the disquieting and exploitative realities of the pornography industry, but the truth is impossible to avoid forever. In late February 2020, popular music artist and self-described pornography consumer Cardi B publicly opened up about being confronted by the exploitative nature of pornography in a way she could not shake….
Porn Industry Normalizes Children Using Porn with “Baby Yoda” Meme
Odds are good that you have seen at least one version of this viral Internet meme being shared countless times across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (and beyond): an adorable tiny green alien known colloquially as “Baby Yoda.” Baby Yoda is a character from a Disney+ series called The Mandalorian. Although said to be 50 years…
13yo girl was abused and exploited on Instagram in her own home. It could have been prevented.
Maria* was 13 years old when she first got Instagram on her cellphone. She had her parent’s permission because Instagram is rated as appropriate for “Ages 12+.” She loved sharing photos as well as “liking” and commenting on her friend’s images. She mostly posted about being in Girl Scouts, babysitting her younger brother, and going…
STATEMENT: Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Revisions (COPPA 2.0) Endorsed by NCOSE
Washington, D.C. – National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) has agreed to endorse the Children’s Online Privacy Act (2019) (S748/HR3900) introduced by Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Josh Hawley (R-MO.). “In 1998, Congress passed the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). It was a significant step towards protecting the personal information of children online….