The Dirty Dozen: – East Texas News

The Dirty Dozen – That name once brought to mind a classic, action-packed war film starring late greats like Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson and John Cassavetes. Now that name has another connotation that parents and educators should be aware of.

Each year, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCSE) releases its Dirty Dozen list, which serves as a compendium of twelve applications and websites that contribute to online sexual abuse and/or exploitation of minors.

According to the NCSE’s recent release of the list, the Dirty Dozen has been around since 2013 and has “involved thousands of individuals… to call on companies, government agencies and organizations to change problematic policies and practices,” making it easier for predators is to use technologies. and platforms to lure their prey.

NCSE claims its efforts have yielded major wins with tech giants such as Google, Netflix, TikTok and Verizon, among others.

Many of these companies have, unknowingly, facilitated and enabled predators. This year the list is topped by Apple.

It seems that not all the platforms mentioned are popular with children, but adults use them and therefore children can have access to them if the adults leave them logged in on devices that children may be using.

In addition to the 12 platforms to look out for, The Dirty Dozen also contains a ‘Watch List’ of potentially harmful sites. This year only Snapchat is mentioned, which according to NCSE can change a child’s life forever in an instant. “The impact of child sextortion, grooming and sexual abuse can last a lifetime. This app is dangerous by design.”

NCSE invites victims of sexual exploitation to share their stories because “sometimes it is helpful to focus on personal healing first. But for many, sharing their past or current experiences can be a restorative and liberating process.” The agency’s website, endsexualexploitation.org, has information on how to do this.

The Dirty Dozen, courtesy of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation

• Apple –The leading tech giant has been cited by NCSE for refusing to scan for child sexual abuse material and hosting dangerous apps with misleading age ratings and descriptions.
• Cash App –This popular peer-to-peer payment application is cited for “appealing to pimps, predators and pedophiles looking for a secret way to carry out criminal activities.”
• CDA article 230 – The Communications Decency Act, Section 230, is “the single largest enabler of online sexual exploitation,” according to NCSE. According to the NCSE, the law grants Big Tech complete immunity from any abuses they facilitate, and unless Section 230 is amended, companies cannot be held liable.
• Cloudfare – According to the NCSE, this provides a platform for sex buyers and traffickers, as well as prostitution forums and deepfake sites.
• Disagreement –This platform is a ‘hotspot for dangerous interactions and deepfakes’ according to NCSE and is popular with predators who want to create, trade or find sexual abuse of children and unsuspecting adults.
• LinkedIn – LinkedIn is a professional networking platform that doesn’t seem like a place where kids would want to live. According to NCSE, it combats sexual exploitation by legitimizing Pornhub, and also ignores the promotion of deepfake tools.
• Meta –The launch of Meta’s end-to-end encryption, open-source AI and virtual reality have unleashed ‘new worlds of exploitation’, according to NCSE, and the brands remain among the most dangerous for children.
• Microsoft’s Github – This platform is the global hub for creating sexually exploitative AI technology, according to NCSE. “The vast majority of deepfakes ‘nudifying’ apps and AI-generated child sexual abuse content come from this platform.”
• Reddit – Reddit is “riddled with sexploitation,” according to NCSE. Materials about child sex abuse, sex trafficking, and image-based sexual abuse hide in plain sight among the platform’s “endless” porn subreddits.
• Roblox – According to NCSE, this game provides many opportunities for children to be exposed to predators, rape-themed games, and age-inappropriate content such as sex parties.
• Spotify According to NCSE, the music streaming giant also has sexually explicit images, sadistic content and networks that traffic in child abuse material.
• Telegram –Telegram, a messaging app, is known as “the dark web alternative” and serves as a “safe haven for criminal communities around the world,” according to NCSE.