Dear Friend,
I would like to personally wish each and every one of you a Happy New Year, and thank you for the incredible progress you made possible in 2025. This past year has shown what happens when passionate and dedicated individuals come together to make a difference. Each phone call, letter, testimony, donation, and advocacy action you took created ripples that became waves of change. From historic policy wins to survivor support and global awareness, your voice, your action, and your commitment made these moments happen. NCOSE is proud to stand beside you, connecting your efforts to create maximum impact. Looking ahead to 2026, we are excited to see how the waves of change you set in motion will continue to rise against the forces of sexual abuse and exploitation. Read on for the latest news and a taster of what's to come.
Sincerely,
Marcel van der Watt
President & CEO National Center on Sexual Exploitation |
NCOSE Calls out X (formerly Twitter) for Sexually Exploiting Women and Generating CSAM
NCOSE is calling out X (formerly Twitter) for normalizing the sexual exploitation of women with its new feature allowing pictures of real women to be undressed without their consent. This follows on the heels of X’s Grok apparently generating virtual child sexual abuse material (CSAM), for which Grok issued an apology.
“New year, same Big Tech playbook. X is further normalizing the sexual exploitation of women with Grok’s new feature allowing pictures of real women to be undressed without their consent. This is an egregious violation of women’s privacy and safety,” said Dani Pinter, Chief Legal Officer and Director of the Law Center for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
“Additionally, Grok’s meager ‘apology’ tweet for reportedly generating virtual child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is an abysmal reaction to a serious, criminal act. This was an entirely predictable and avoidable atrocity as Business Insider reported in September that the xAI model was being trained on user requests for CSAM and child exploitation themed content.”
📝 Read our press statement here. |
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Lessons Learned from FOSTA-SESTA: Narrow Reforms to Section 230 Aren't Enough
On March 21, 2018, the anti-sex trafficking movement celebrated a monumental victory: the passage of the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act and Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (FOSTA-SESTA). FOSTA-SESTA was the result of a decade of advocacy, begging Congress to take action against the proliferation of online sex trafficking on sites such as Backpage.com. Survivors filed lawsuits. Chilling documentaries were released. Citizens raised their voices and petitioned for change.
It all culminated in the passage of this law. And we thought the world would never be the same again…
But fast forward to the present. Seven years later, we’re faced with a difficult truth: FOSTA-SESTA has not accomplished what it set out to do.
Because concessions were made to Big Tech during the drafting of FOSTA-SESTA, Tech was able to lobby for language that gutted the bill. In the end, it was rendered almost useless for survivors. And this is bearing out in the court cases.
📝 Read more in this blog. |
Lynn's Warriors: NCOSE Backs Sunset Section 230 Act
NCOSE's Dani Pinter joined Lynn's warriors to discuss the introduction of the Sunset Section 230 Act, introduced by Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) shortly before the New Year.
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act has long shielded tech giants from responsibility when their products cause harm. This crucial bill would repeal Section 230 and remove wherever it is referenced in other sections of the U.S. code.
This is a pivotal step to holding tech companies accountable for sexual exploitation and prevent future exploitation,
🎧 Listen to the podcast with Dani & Lynn's warriors.
📝 Read NCOSE's blog explaining the Section 230 Act. |
Washington Times: Senators fume as child safety measures collect dust; lawmakers blame Big Tech influence, leadership
Lawmakers are tired of teaming up on bipartisan bills to protect children online, only to have the broadly supported measures languish ... Frustration was the theme of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressed a desire to turn their bipartisan proposals into law.
Sen. Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat, said the panel has approved plenty of legislation that both parties “think would change things for the better, and then it disappeared.”
“When it comes to taking them to the floor to enact them on the floor and eventually send them over to the House, we drop the ball completely,” he said. “That’s got to end.” Sen. Josh Hawley, Missouri Republican, is skeptical that anything will happen as long as big technology companies have a “hammer hold” on Congress...
Mr. Hawley said the only things he believes can break that influence are the voices of victims: parents who have lost their children to the harms of social media and have become advocates to prevent other children from dying.
📝 Read more here. |
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