How to Eliminate the Global Problem of Online Child Abuse

The spread of child sexual abuse material on the internet has grown at an exponential pace in the last fifteen years, since the advent of social media. This is truly a global problem, affecting every country on earth.

The tools of technology can be harnessed to combat the spread of images and videos depicting child abuse and one non-profit is leading the way.

Thorn is a technology driver non-profit founded by Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore that develops tools to combat online child abuse and child sex trafficking. On the line with me to discuss some of these tools and strategies is Julie Cordua, the CEO of Thorn.

In this conversation, Julie Cordua describes the scope of the problem, which she refers She also describes how emerging technologies developed by Thorn are being used to detect when this material is being uploaded and is aiding law enforcement around the world.

We kick off discussing a recent announcement that Thorn was one of the winners of the Audacious Project, housed at TED, and will share in $280 million prize to eliminate Child Sexual Abuse Material from the Internet. We discuss how Thorn will work toward that goal and we have a broader conversation about how global efforts to combat the spread of child sexual abuse online have evolved since the early days of the internet and social media.

This episode is part of a content partnership with the Skoll Foundation to showcase the work of the 2019 recipients of the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. The Skoll Awards distinguish transformative leaders whose organizations disrupt the status quo, drive sustainable large-scale change, and are poised to create even greater impact on the world. Recipients receive $1.5 million in core support investments to scale up their work.