Emerging Online Trends in Child Sexual Abuse 2023
In this report from Thorn, they share critical insights and action steps for tech companies regarding emerging online trends in CSAM in 2023.
Child exploitation
Online Grooming: Examining Risky Encounters Amid Everyday Digital Socialization
Thorn's latest research sought to understand kids’ online social networks to better disentangle high-value versus high-risk relationships. In a survey of 1,200 youth (aged 9-17), we explored young people’s attitudes and experiences with friendships and flirting online, and how they respond to threats of manipulation, grooming, and abuse. With 2 in 5 of all kids reporting they’ve been approached online by someone they thought was attempting to “befriend and manipulate” them, relevant and scalable interventions are urgently needed.
Self-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material: Youth Attitudes and Experiences in 2021
Thorn’s latest research monitors the evolution of youth attitudes and experiences with SG-CSAM among 9-17 year-olds for the third consecutive year. Findings from 2021 reveal a sustained increase in the number of young people sharing their own SG-CSAM as well as the perceived normalcy of non-consensually re-sharing another child’s SG-CSAM. The data also underscored heightened risk among boys and Hispanic/Latino youth.
Responding to Online Threats: Minors’ Perspective on Disclosing, Reporting, and Blocking in 2021
Thorn's latest research on youth’s attitudes toward online safety features found that 22 percent of minors report having online sexual interactions with adults—the same percentage of minors who report having sexual interactions with peers their own age. The research, which builds on our 2020 report on the same topic, also underscores that the features provided by platforms are simply insufficient when it comes to keeping kids safe.
Tech Coalition Industry Classification System
A voluntary and open source image classification system adopted by members of the Tech Coalition that is used by many electronic service providers to categorize images and videos that depict apparent child sexual abuse and exploitation.
Trust: Voluntary Framework for Industry Transparency
Trust: Voluntary Framework for Industry Transparency (the Framework) was developed by the Tech Coalition to provide principles-based guidance to tech companies seeking to build trust around their efforts to address online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) risks on their services. The Framework outlines principles that provide a general basis for considering how to approach transparency reporting and recommended report categories.
