12/10/23, 12:11 PM Technology’s Complicated Relationship with Human Trafficking | The Administration for Children and Families

Technology’s Complicated Relationship with

July 30 is World Day Against Trafficking in Persons , an opportunity to raise awareness of human
trafficking and further support those impacted by it. This year’s theme—"use and abuse of technology”—
underscores the positive and negative impacts technology has on anti-trafficking efforts. As the use and
reliance on technologies in our personal and professional lives continues to grow, it is important to recognize
how they can be used as innovative tools to prevent and respond to human trafficking while simultaneously
creating more opportunities for trafficking and other forms of abuse to flourish.

Data from the National Human Trafficking Hotline indicates that technology plays an increasingly significant
role in human trafficking. Funded by the ACF Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP), the hotline identified
remote interactive sexual acts (PDF) as one of the 25 most frequently reported types of human trafficking
experienced by individuals in the U.S. They found that traffickers exploited individuals through technologies
such as webcams, text-based chats, and phone lines, and that traffickers feel more emboldened due to the
lack of physical contact between them and the individuals they recruit.

More recently in 2020, the hotline identified a 22% increase in online recruitment into trafficking schemes
and reported the internet as the top recruitment location for all forms of trafficking. Public health measures
implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g. social distancing, quarantining, temporary closures
of commercial and public spaces) made it more difficult for traffickers to recruit from traditional physical
locations, so traffickers increasingly turned to the Internet.

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Understanding the escalated use of the internet to facilitate violence, the White House recently established
the Task Force to Address Online Harassment and Abuse , an interagency effort to increase prevention,
response, and protection measures related to the proliferation of technology-facilitated violence—including
human trafficking. The Task Force will develop programs and policies addressing the disproportionate
impact of online violence on women, girls, people of color, and 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals.

Traffickers use technology to increase the efficiency of their operations, remotely identifying and recruiting
individuals on a larger scale than what is possible through traditional offline schemes. Social media is a
common venue, as traffickers abuse these platforms to gain insight into a person’s life. In 2020, the hotline
identified a 125% increase in reports of recruitment into trafficking through Facebook and a 95% increase
in reports of recruitment on Instagram compared to the previous year. Individuals often share posts, updates,
and content that describe their hobbies and interests and express their frustrations and hardships. Traffickers
leverage this information to exploit vulnerabilities and tailor escalating manipulation tactics, grooming
individuals by offering empathy and support, forming emotional connections, and building trust and
confidence. In cases of labor exploitation, traffickers will use social media to scout job seekers or those
experiencing financial hardships and then use online job boards and employment websites to recruit them
through false advertisements.

Once a trafficker has an individual under their control, they can use technology to market and transfer sexual
abuse material to buyers. According to a recent report published by the Organization for Security and Co-
operation in Europe’s Office of the Special Representative and Coordinator for Combating Trafficking in
Human Beings, traffickers use adult service websites to advertise material and cloud applications like
Dropbox and Google Drive to distribute and store exploitative content. Additionally, technology allows
traffickers to operate with greater stealth; they can even receive illegal proceeds from their trafficking
operations anonymously through cryptocurrencies. Perhaps most troubling, the indelible nature of the
internet allows exploitive material to be continuously reuploaded and reshared, causing ongoing harm.

Despite all the ways it can be abused by traffickers, technology presents us with new and innovative tools to
disrupt human trafficking. Thorn , an anti-trafficking non-government organization, develops technology to
protect children from sex trafficking and other forms of exploitation. Law enforcement has used Thorn's
Spotlight identification tool to identify over 17,000 children who have experienced sex trafficking and
reduce investigation time by 63%.

The technology industry is working to prevent human trafficking and online child exploitation through
collaborations including Tech Against Trafficking and the Tech Coalition . One global report (PDF)
identified more than 300 technology tools used to combat human trafficking. The Federal government is also
working with the social media and technology companies to implement the National Action Plan to Combat
Human Trafficking (PDF), including improving technology for human trafficking interdiction and
identifying technical barriers impeding investigations.

At ACF, we use technology daily to strengthen our anti-trafficking prevention and response efforts. In 2019,
OTIP partnered with the ACF Office of the Chief Information Officer to launch the Shepherd Case
Management System, allowing us to enable more individuals who have experienced human trafficking to
request support and expedite service provision. In 2021, Shepherd won a FedHealthIT award for reducing

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case processing time by 50%. OTIP also manages SOAR Online , virtual training modules tailored to teach
professionals how to prevent and respond to human trafficking in their workplace. In 2021 alone we trained
112,233 recipients through this virtual platform. Just as traffickers use the internet and social media to
extend their reach, we use the same tools—social media, listservs, and other digital channels like this blog—
to broaden our outreach, connect with diverse audiences, spread awareness, and ensure everyone knows
that help is available.

As Vice President Harris said during the launch of the Task Force, technology and the internet are an
essential part of our lives, and "no one should have to endure abuse just because they are attempting to
participate in society." Technology advances rapidly, and traffickers have shown they are eager to abuse this
progress to exploit more people and cause more harm. We, too, must readily adapt by incorporating
technology into our anti-trafficking work. This World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, ACF renews its
commitment to working with its federal and non-federal partners, through the new Task Force and beyond,
to invest and bring more attention to technology’s complicated relationship with harassment, abuse, and
exploitation. Together, we can work toward ensuring everyone is safe from human trafficking, both online
and off.

Types:
Blog

ACF Issues:
Communities , Children & Youth

Blog Topics:
Human Trafficking , Partnerships , Technology

Tags:
Assistant Secretary

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