Thorn

Thorn was born in 2012. Our co-founders Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore had learned about the issue of child sex trafficking from a documentary highlighting what was happening to children in Cambodia. They describe it as this moment where you learn something about the world that you can’t un-know. As they started learning more, they realized that it is just as prolific of a problem here in the United States as it is overseas.

Tarrant County 5 Stones Human Trafficking Coalition September 2022 Meeting
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Tarrant County 5 Stones Human Trafficking Coalition September 2022 Meeting

ByBilly Joe Cain

Here is our recorded meeting link and chat notes for our 5 Stones September 2022 meeting! Our 5 Stones meeting this September featured Brooke Istook, Vice President of Youth & Communities with Thorn – a tech non-profit dedicated to developing technology to defend children from sexual abuse.  She discussed the dangers of online predators and the importance of…

New Report Shows an Increased Effort by Tech Companies to Detect CSAM on the Internet
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New Report Shows an Increased Effort by Tech Companies to Detect CSAM on the Internet

ByEyes on Trafficking News

If you’re following Thorn’s work, you know the critical role that tech companies play in identifying and reporting child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on their platforms. Today, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) released its annual overview of the number of CSAM reports they received in 2021. The findings are encouraging, especially…

How the European Union can lead in combating the spread of CSAM
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How the European Union can lead in combating the spread of CSAM

ByEyes on Trafficking News

54% of children across the world have experienced at least one harmful sexual encounter online. That’s one of the many startling statistics from WeProtect’s most recent Global Threat Assessment report, coming from a survey of 5,000 respondents now aged 18-20. And on the heels of WeProtect’s report, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children…

Thorn CEO Julie Cordua: My vision for 2022
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Thorn CEO Julie Cordua: My vision for 2022

ByEyes on Trafficking News

“​​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 Thorn’s guiding star: the vision by which we navigate this complex and increasingly urgent issue. It’s what grounds me and the amazing Thorn team as…

Write to your MP about the Nationality and Borders Bill
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Write to your MP about the Nationality and Borders Bill

ByEyes on Trafficking News

LOOKING FOR HELP? Home > Write to your MP about the Nationality and Borders Bill For Anti-Slavery Day this year, we broke down the proposed Nationality and Borders Bill (which encapsulates the Government’s ‘new plan’ for immigration) and now we’re asking for your help to get the message across. 23 November 2021 Shiva Foundation is…

Thorn research: Trends confirm need for parents to talk about online safety with kids earlier, more often
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Thorn research: Trends confirm need for parents to talk about online safety with kids earlier, more often

ByEyes on Trafficking News

Thorn research: Trends confirm need for parents to talk about online safety with kids earlier, more often
At Thorn, we believe digital spaces should and can be safe for every child. 

But we have arrived at a moment when the speed and scale of digital platform adoption has left many parents feeling disconnected with how their kids are navigating online spaces. That’s why we’re invested in continuing to deepen our understanding of the online risks and harms youth face today — and how those risks, along with our responses, are evolving. 

Thorn turns 9: Celebrating our top 9 moments from 2021
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Thorn turns 9: Celebrating our top 9 moments from 2021

ByEyes on Trafficking News

Today, we’re a team of nearly 100 people, working across the digital child-safety ecosystem to accelerate victim identification, provide the tech industry with the tools and resources they need to eliminate child sexual abuse material (CSAM) from the internet, and working directly with youth and communities to prevent and address the online sexual exploitation of kids.

Talking with kids about online safety: Q&A with child and family therapist Amelia Aburn
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Talking with kids about online safety: Q&A with child and family therapist Amelia Aburn

ByEyes on Trafficking News

Kids today face a very different set of challenges than most adults did growing up. Navigating growing up online, where normal sexual development and technology collide, isn’t something that needed to be included In conversations between parents and kids in previous generations. This digital knowledge gap is why we created Thorn for Parents, offering resources,…

Thorn statement on Apple’s pause of implementing child safety measures
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Thorn statement on Apple’s pause of implementing child safety measures

ByEyes on Trafficking News

We’re disappointed in Apple’s decision to pause its work to implement child safety features without providing a new roadmap or timeline for implementation. Our expectation of Apple is that they publish a detailed timeline and clear deliverables to demonstrate how…

The post Thorn statement on Apple’s pause of implementing child safety measures appeared first on Thorn.

Apple’s expanded child protections and the future of digital child protection
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Apple’s expanded child protections and the future of digital child protection

ByEyes on Trafficking News

Today we commend Apple as a global technology leader in taking a critical first step in announcing their commitment to identify and report CSAM within encrypted environments— and detailing the technology they’ll use to do so.

The post Apple’s expanded child protections and the future of digital child protection appeared first on Thorn.