You’re Invited! Critical Event RE: Protecting Children from Pornography

We are at a pivotal moment in the fight to protect children from pornography. 

The Supreme Court is currently considering whether Texas’s age verification law, which would require pornography websites to verify that users are over 18 before granting access, should be allowed to stand.

This is the most significant case to come before the Supreme Court on the issue of pornography in 20 years. The Court’s decision will lay the foundation, either for good or for bad, for protecting future generations of children from exposure to online pornography.

NCOSE is hosting a press briefing on this case, January 14, 1:00-2:00 pm EST. Tune into the livestream using the link below!

Rotten Ratings: 24 Hours in Apple's App Store

Heat Initiative recently released a scathing report about the Apple App Store, revealing the lack of proper safeguards that leave children at great risk for sexual exploitation. Below are some of the most alarming findings:

• Within 24 hours, they found 200+ risky or inappropriate apps in the Apple App Store rated as appropriate for kids as young as 4.
• Heat Initiative and ParentsTogether Action found more than 24 sexual games in the Apple App Store rated as appropriate for kids as young as 4. Many of these games included language like "adult party game" or "XXX spicy" in the app titles and descriptions, which should have been a clear indicator these apps are not appropriate for kids.
• The "Shock My Friends" app's primary purpose is to deliver mild shocks to players as part of a roulette game, but the app advertises other games: truth or dare and the drinking game King’s Cup. A number of user reviews complain that the game, while marketed to kids, contains inappropriate adult themes.
  • One review by a child user: “...it had inappropriate content and questions like ‘have you ever made out with a stranger’ and I’m like what? I’m TEN.”

📣ACTION: Appeal to Apple to do More to Safeguard Children!

The Children of CDA 230: Story Spotlight

Jasmine (pseudonym), a minor, frequently used the app Kik to message her friends. It seemed innocent at first. They texted on Kik to set up plans to hang out or share funny memes. But things quickly took a turn. 

Numerous adult men messaged Jasmine on Kik, sending her sexually explicit photographs and pressuring her to do the same. The young girl was confused, but didn't know any better. She eventually conceded and sent them many sexual pictures of herself. 

Jasmine's family filed a lawsuit against Kik for allowing this grooming to occur, but the court dismissed the case under a law known as the Communications Decency Act Section 230.

Unfortunately, this law gives tech companies, like Kik, immunity from taking responsibility for the malevolent behavior that occurs on their platforms. Even when preventable tragedies, like this one occur, this law inhibits any type of legal accountability for Big Tech.

Kik was well-known for harboring predators seeking to exploit child users. After immense public scrutiny, Kik was shut down and has since been relaunched with security improvements. But the fact remains that without CDA Section 230 reformed, tech companies will continue to be legally protected, even when their platforms run rampant with sexual exploitation.

📣ACTION: Urge Congress to Reform CDA 230!

CDA 230 is the single greatest enabler of sexual exploitation in the digital age. It must be repealed or reformed. 

Reuters: Enslaved on OnlyFans: Women describe lives of isolation, torment and sexual servitude

On an August morning in 2022, a young woman slipped out of a house in suburban Wisconsin and dashed to a waiting police car.

Her hands shaking, she told officers it was the “most brave thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

For nearly two years, her boyfriend had held her captive, prosecutors say. She feared he’d kill her if she tried to leave. But she started plotting her escape, secretly messaging family and friends to alert police.

The young woman later explained her desperation to detectives: Almost every night, her boyfriend had forced her to record sex acts on camera to sell online. Among his chosen outlets was OnlyFans, the hugely successful website famous for porn.

OnlyFans says it empowers content creators, particularly women, to monetize sexually explicit images and videos in a safe online environment. But a Reuters investigation found women who said they had been deceived, drugged, terrorized and sexually enslaved to make money from the site.

📣ACTION: Demand the DOJ Investigate OnlyFans for Sex Trafficking and CSAM!

Sincerely,