Corporations Who Contribute To Sexual Exploitation in 2024

“No corporation should profit from or facilitate sexual exploitation.”

This is the firm stand being taken by The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), a leading non-profit organization seeking to eradicate sex trafficking. They recognize that corporations are what drives today’s society. They influence the information received and the fashion standard set among this generation.

These corporations even influence the words and body language used to communicate with one another. And each one of these companies has the chance to set a positive example in our culture. Sadly, some are instead relinquishing that opportunity to pursue dishonest gain. They are doing so at the expense of countless victims to the sex trafficking industry.

Advocating for Change

Annually, NCOSE creates a list, known as The Dirty Dozen List. It annually exposes 12 corporations that have risen in power and monetary value while also promoting pornography, prostitution, and/or sex trafficking.

Since 2013, The Dirty Dozen List has called out and rallied for change among major corporations. Many, including Verizon, Walmart, the Department of Defense, and various hotel chains, have since significantly improved their policies.

One of the most recent victories came after United Airlines found their name on The Dirty Dozen List in 2019. They have since adopted a zero-tolerance policy for any videos promoting hardcore pornography, or anything over an R-rating. Additionally, United Airlines has implemented improved flight attendant training. This upgraded program will now include information about how to recognize, address, and respond to any issues that occur in-flight.

More recently in March 2022, Roku, a leading media streaming company, announced their decision to remove Pornhub and other exploitative pornography channels from its platform. NCOSE shares, “Other corporations to similarly distance themselves include Unilever, Kraft-Heinz, Comcast, Mastercard, and Paypal—the pornography industry and Pornhub itself is losing its infrastructure of mainstream support!”

Who Made the List In 2024

While multiple companies unfortunately continue to hold their place, several new corporations have been placed on the list. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation is calling out these major companies and urging them to revisit their policies to take a stand against sexual exploitation.

While we’re not reviewing all of them here, we are taking a look at 5 of the top corporations listed.

Telegram

Telegram has earned a sinister reputation as "the new dark web" due to its facilitation of various forms of sexual abuse, including deepfake pornography, revenge pornography, sextortion, and the distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

The platform's lack of adequate policies and refusal to moderate content directly contribute to the proliferation of sexual exploitation. Telegram serves as a hub for a wide range of criminal activities, including:

• Sadistic torture and sextortion rings operated by pedophiles, and even children
• Pedophiles connecting to view, trade, and sell child sexual abuse material (CSAM)
• Image-based sexual abuse creation and dissemination, including “revenge pornography” networks and “nudifying” technology
• Deepfake pornography development and monetization – including of minors
• Sex trafficking (including of children) and prostitution
• Children having sexual interactions online, including with adults
• Selling of “date rape” drugs

Despite widespread awareness of the crimes occurring on the platform, Telegram continues to operate with minimal oversight. The app has been banned in numerous countries, and warnings have been issued by law enforcement agencies, nonprofit organizations, cybersecurity analysts, and investigative journalists.

However, Telegram's design, including end-to-end encryption and a lack of content moderation policies, creates a low-risk environment for criminals to operate without fear of consequences.

Related Article: How Porn Is Poisoning Society

Telegram's channels allow for the rapid dissemination of abusive material to unlimited audiences, with some groups containing tens of millions of members. With over 1 billion downloads from the Google Play Store and 800 million average monthly users, the impact of what happens on Telegram extends far beyond its own user base.

Countless individuals are being abused and exploited on and through the platform, leading to devastating consequences for families and communities.

Cash App

Cash App has gained notoriety as a top platform for illicit activities such as sextortion, child sexual abuse material (CSAM) transactions, prostitution, and sex trafficking, according to law enforcement and experts.

Its design features, including anonymity and quick transfer capabilities, attract criminals, leading a former employee to remark that "Every criminal has a Square cash app account."

Despite Cash App's claims to reject payments linked to illegal activities, reports and indictments suggest otherwise, positioning it as a mainstream facilitator of sexual exploitation and abuse.

Recent reports highlight Cash App's prevalence in criminal activities, with the senior director at Polaris, an anti-trafficking non-profit, noting its frequent mention in trafficking cases,

“…when it comes to sex trafficking in the U.S., by far the most commonly referenced platform is Cash App…It is probably the most frequently referenced financial brand in the hotline data.”

This contradicts Cash App's assertions of rejecting payments associated with sex trafficking.

Related Article: Parents Beware: Porn Companies Are Targeting Video Gamers

In fact, the 2023 Federal Human Trafficking Report identifies Cash App as the most utilized payment platform in commercial sex transactions, followed by PayPal and Venmo, reinforcing concerns about its role in facilitating exploitation.

As a widely used peer-to-peer money transfer app, Cash App faces increasing pressure to overhaul its structure and operations to ensure a safe and legal environment for users.

Spotify

Spotify's failure to address the pervasive issue of sexual exploitation and pornography on its platform has escalated, according to recent findings by NCOSE. Despite promises to improve safety measures, evidence suggests that Spotify has become a hub for a network of individuals sharing hardcore pornography, child sexual abuse material (CSAM), deepfake pornography, and self-harm imagery.

The platform lacks effective reporting mechanisms for users to flag such content, putting vulnerable individuals, particularly minors, at risk.

While Spotify updated its policies in October 2023 to address issues like targeting minors and sharing non-consensual intimate content, these changes have not been effectively implemented. Pornographic content, including thumbnails depicting sexual activity and nudity, as well as "audio pornography" and "video podcasts," remains easily accessible on the platform.

The introduction of a "Spice Meter" for audiobooks, categorizing content from sexually suggestive to pornographic, further underscores Spotify's inadequate content moderation.

Related Article: What The Porn Industry Doesn’t Want You To Find Out

Despite claiming to be appropriate for listeners aged 13 and above, Spotify's lack of effective content filtering and enforcement of policies continues to expose users, especially young ones, to harmful material. The platform's failure to address these issues not only perpetuates sexual exploitation but also contradicts its commitment to user safety.

As concerns about sexual exploitation on Spotify intensify, the platform faces mounting pressure to take meaningful action to protect its users, particularly minors, from harm.

Meta

Meta's platforms, including Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp, have become notorious for hosting a range of criminal activities and harms, particularly related to child exploitation and abuse.

According to NCOSE, despite warnings and evidence, Meta has consistently prioritized profit over safety, with features like the "view results anyway" button for potentially illegal content on Instagram highlighting its negligent approach.

Whistleblower accounts and investigations have revealed alarming statistics, such as one in eight children under 16 experiencing unwanted sexual advances on Instagram within a week.

A leading psychologist who provided guidance to Meta on suicide prevention and self-harm resigned from her position on Meta’s SSI expert panel, alleging that the tech giant is willfully neglecting harmful content on Instagram, disregarding expert recommendations, and prioritizing financial gain over saving lives.

Related Article: How The On-Demand Era Is Changing Attitudes Towards Sex

As many as 100,000 children every day were sexually harassed on Meta platforms in 2021, such as receiving pictures of adult genitalia.

Despite knowledge of multiple cases of 16-17-year-olds dying by suicide due to Instagram sextortion schemes, Meta refuses to provide 16-17-year-olds with the same life-saving features given to 13-15-year-olds, such as blocking messages from accounts they aren’t connected to and preventing all minors from seeing sexually explicit content in messages.

According to NCOSE, since October 2023, Attorneys General in all 50 states have taken action to hold Meta accountable. 42 states have taken legal action to sue Meta with 12 lawsuits for perpetuating harm to minors, while Attorneys General from 26 states sent a joint letter to demand that Meta cease monetizing child exploitation. Congress has also called Meta to account for its permittance and perpetuation of harm to minor-aged users, and dozens of child safety activists have decried Meta’s move to E2EE.

Meta's consistent pattern of minimal intervention and prioritization of financial gain over user safety underscores the urgent need for accountability and comprehensive reforms to protect vulnerable users, particularly children and teenagers.

Roblox

According to NOCSE, if you have a child, they or their friends are likely playing Roblox. Yet while the wildly popular platform allows kids to actualize and enact their dreams on screen, rampant dangers have trapped countless kids into real life nightmares.

Like the 11-year old New Jersey girl who was kidnapped by a predator who played video games with her on Roblox, a platform her parents understandably assumed was safe.

Or the 13-year-old Utah boy who also fell victim to an abuser on Roblox who kidnapped and sexually assaulted him before the authorities intervened and thankfully brought him home.

Related Article: This Is How Porn And Sex Trafficking Are Linked

Tragically, these are not isolated incidents. Since Roblox inception, countless children have been sexually abused and exploited by predators they met on Roblox.

Children are also exposed to highly sexualized content and themes – children’s avatars have been raped, “condo” games revolve around sex (interactive pornography), and kids can enter virtual “strip clubs.” These are prime areas for grooming that also normalize this type of activity to children. While these incidences happen in the virtual world, the negative effects on kids are devastatingly real.

Related Article: Major Porn Site Suffers Tremendous Blow

Roblox should be leading the industry in the highest safety standards – but instead, it’s leaving young users at grave risk on a platform many parents and kids themselves reasonably believe will be a safe space.

• Roblox still allows adult strangers to direct message, chat, and “friend” children – even with case after case of children being groomed and abused through the platform, like this 9-year-old girl who was abused and exploited by two predators who befriended her on Roblox.
• A five-year-old can sign up with no email or parental permission and access games where their character may be sexually assaulted.
• The default setting upon creating an account can expose an eight-year-old to ‘experiences’ of strippers leading naked men on a leash across the floor and couples having sex.

It’s Time to Take Action

This is only a small sample of the companies that have made The Dirty Dozen List this year. The National Center for Sexual Exploitation also acknowledges that they have proactively placed corporations on a watch list. Some of the practices of the companies on that list are leaning more toward fostering an atmosphere that promotes sex trafficking.

We, as Americans, cannot sit back and helplessly watch as non-profit organizations rally to protect our human rights. Boycotting these corporations will not make the problem go away, though you can allow your voice to be heard. Instead, we must take an internal look into our own lives, families, and churches to see how we are further contributing to sexual exploitation in our own backyards.

Studies conducted by various organizations such as Covenant Eyes, the Barna Group, and Pure Desire Ministries have highlighted that pornography is a huge issue – even among church-goers. Not only is pornography an accelerant to sex trafficking, but it also contributes to violence towards women, sexual abuse, and more.

Related Article: 15 Mind-Blowing Statistics About Pornography And The Church

As a result, prisons are reporting an increase in the population by those who have been charged with sex crimes. And children often have the greatest risk of becoming addicted, which can result in poor choices, failed marriages, sexual dysfunction in men, and an increased risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease.

Related Article: 4 Ways Porn Is Hurting Our Children

What Can Be Done

First, we must educate parents and children alike about the dangers of pornography. We must also examine our own lives to see if any issues of sexual sin may be present. And then, in response to that discovery, we must take appropriate action to seek healing and freedom. This will not only benefit us but also significantly benefit the generations to come. And don’t worry, you don’t have to figure this out on your own.

The Conquer Series, a cinematic study exposing the truth about sexual sin and providing a battle plan for purity, has been helping those who are willing to champion this fight for more than six years. Already, more than one million men have started their journey to a life free from porn as a result of this riveting study.

Not only are individuals learning how the brain changes when viewing pornography, but they are learning the importance of finding their identity in Christ.

Related Article: Who Am I? Knowing Your Identity Brings Freedom From Porn

Men are learning why trying harder does not work and are able to identify, sometimes for the first time, lies that are hiding in their belief system. The enemy loves to feed us lies, and will often embed them at the point of our greatest pain.

Taking A Stand

The Conquer Series has been a real game-changer for individuals, families, and churches alike. Many parents have started using it with their teens, finding it to be extremely educational. It exposes them to the truth that Satan is attacking sexuality, and it’s providing a battle plan to maintain purity.

For those who have struggled, sometimes for years, it’s giving them hope that they can be free. And it’s becoming a weapon in the hands of pastors and church leaders who are ready to tackle this issue head-on within their congregations.

Marshall Hoberecht, Pastor at First Missionary Church in Newton, Kansas shared,

“I’m a pastor, and 90% of my work is when people come to a conclusion that they need help. The Conquer Series is the most amazing tool I’ve ever seen to help.”

It’s time to let your voice be heard. Let corporations know that you’re advocating alongside NCOSE for change. Take the first step to bring about healing in your life, or the lives of those around you. As the demand decreases, the profitability of such a vile industry will also diminish. Change starts with you.