The Internet has proven fertile ground for exploitation. Reported child sexual abuse content in the U.S. alone has grown seven-fold since 2011. It is violent, features younger children, and is globally networked. In the dark corners of the web, online marketplaces cultivate dedicated communities that normalize abuse, create demand for new abuse, and groom new abusers. Law enforcement lacks capacity and up-to-date tools to identify perpetrators and victims, and many of the tech companies built on user-generated content have failed to root out abuse on their platforms.
Thorn builds technology to defend children from sexual abuse. Thorn’s Spotlight tool combines publicly available classified ad and online forum data with smart algorithms to help law enforcement identify an average of eight child sex trafficking victims every day. Thorn also works to speed the identification of children featured in sexually abusive material. Thorn also leverages its growing dataset to deliver deterrence campaigns designed to reach potential consumers of abusive content.
Law enforcement in every U.S. state and in over 30 countries now use these tools, facilitating interagency and cross-border collaboration that speeds investigations. Thorn is building a future in which abusers can no longer act with impunity, where the problem of child sexual abuse is brought into the light, and the networks that support it disintegrate.
In 2015, approximately 26 million Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) files were reported in the U.S alone.
Thorn works with an extensive network of partners to stop and defend children from sexual abuse.
Julie leads Thorn’s efforts to bring the best minds in technology to address the rise in technology-facilitated exploitation.
By 2020, Thorn expects nearly 100 percent of law enforcement officers investigating child sexual assault on the dark web to use its tools.
The online sexual abuse of children is no longer a problem hidden in the dark, but instead one that technology providers, law enforcement agencies, NGOs children and caretakers have the awareness, tools and ability to address.
Expanded partnerships with law enforcement result in increased adoption of Thorn’s tools, a reduction in time to stop abuse and an increase in risk for perpetrators. Activation of the tech industry helps eliminate abuse content from their platforms. Education and engagement with the public change risky and abusive behaviors.
CEO, Thorn
Julie Cordua is the CEO of Thorn and has helped grow the organization from inception in 2012. She previously served as the VP of Marketing/Communications of (RED), where she helped establish the brand as one of the most successful cause marketing initiatives in history, delivering more than $160 million to fight HIV/AIDS across Africa. Earlier in her career she worked for Motorola’s mobile phone division and helped launch HELIO, a mobile virtual network operator. Julie was raised in Lindsay, California, a small farming community in California’s Central Valley. Julie holds a B.A. from UCLA and an M.B.A. from Northwestern.
We are delighted to announce the five winners of the 2019 Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship, one week before we head into the 16th Annual Skoll World Forum: Crisis Text Line, Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, mPedigree, mPharma, and Thorn. …
