The 2025 Dirty Dozen List is Here... And it Comes with a Twist! TRIGGER WARNING: The following content contains descriptions of child sexual abuse and may be upsetting for some readers.
The world was on lockdown during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Seeking connection, 11-year-old C.H. logged onto Omegle to video chat with other kids. After ending the call with them, she was randomly placed in another chatroom, but this time, she could not see the other person on the line. The screen was black… Suddenly, text began to appear on the screen.
The stranger whom Omegle had connected this 11-year-old with started rattling off C.H.’s personal information. He threatened to hack her devices if she did not comply with his demands to remove her clothes and touch herself in a sexual way. She pleaded for him to stop, but he was relentless. She eventually complied, as the predator took screenshots. After the horrific experience, C.H. and her parents sued Omegle for its lack of regulations, which allowed C.H. to be connected with an unknown adult man, ultimately leading to her exploitation.
But their case never went anywhere. Why? Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act allowed Omegle to escape any accountability. Section 230 is the greatest enabler of sexual exploitation, which is why ending it is the sole focus of this year’s Dirty Dozen List. Rather than our traditional Dirty Dozen List approach of targeting 12 corporations who facilitate sexual exploitation, we are focusing on 12 survivor stories that unmask the real root of the problem: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. |
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Victory! Cash App Has Begun Reporting CSAM to NCMEC! Cash App, a target of last year's Dirty Dozen List campaign, has recently begun reporting child sexual abuse material (CSAM) found on their platform to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. This was on of NCOSE's primary recommendations for the 2024 Dirty Dozen List.
Since October 2024, Cash App has made on average . These reports include suspected CSAM, online enticement (including sextortion), and child sex trafficking to the CyberTipline.
The company is also working on age assurance machine learning to on their app, in response to NCOSE's request for more robust age verification.
Certainly, there is more for Cash App to do, but these updates are notable victories in response to YOUR advocacy and support. We could not have done this without you! |
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Cosmopolitan: The lawyer gearing up to fight Andrew Tate has no fear – in fact, she's ready for the challenge NCOSE Vice President, Dani Pinter, was featured in a Cosmopolitan article in response to the frenzy surrounding the Tate brothers' arrival in the United States. Pinter is representing Jane Doe, a woman who has filed a lawsuit against the brothers for sex trafficking. "'They've been very brazen and public about their crimes. It is unfortunate that they've gotten away with it this long, they seem to get these little wins… But honestly, I have a lot of hope that whether it's in the UK, the US, Romania, they're going to face some accountability.'" Pinter, as well as the survivor client she represents, have faced retaliation from the Tates in the form of frivolous lawsuits designed to intimidate them into silence. But they are not backing down.
"'It was a mistake for them to come here, but I'm glad they did. It made America pay more attention and the Tate brothers can't survive scrutiny, that's the thing,' she continues, confidently." |
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WORLD: Stopping Sextortion
An article from WORLD highlights the increasing prevalence of sextortion. Sextortion frequently involves predators manipulating someone into sending sexually explicit images of themselves, and then using those images to blackmail them.
"Most sextortion ... starts on social media platforms, not text messages, and targets naïve teens, not savvy adults. Indeed, one target demographic is 14- to 17-year-old boys, easily flattered into thinking that a cute girl wants to chat with them, and easily terrified into paying off the scammers lest their parents, teachers, and friends find out what they’ve done. In some cases, unable to come up with the cash, the victims resort to suicide."
NCOSE's issue briefing on sextortion was cited in the article.
"In a recent briefing, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation drew attention to the scale of this crisis and the abysmal job that most tech companies have done in combatting it. Although determined criminals will always find a way to get to their victims, it is shocking just how easy many of these platforms have made their job."
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