Thorn Launches Innovation Lab in Silicon Valley with Support from Top Tech Companies

Thorn, a non-profit organization fighting child sexual exploitation, has announced the launch of The Thorn Innovation Lab in Silicon Valley, a physical think tank for engineers and data scientists to research technologies and build innovative solutions to prevent child sexual exploitation. The lab has partnered with tech giants including Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Expedia, IAC, Sabre, Twitter, Amazon Web Services, and Pinterest, who will provide financial donations, expertise, and engineering support.

Key Takeaways:

• The Thorn Innovation Lab will focus on research and development of technologies to combat child sex trafficking, dark web child abuse and exploitation, and social platform cybersafety.
• The lab will employ a team of engineers and data scientists, with some positions currently available on the Thorn website.
• Partnerships with tech companies will enable the lab to access expertise, guidance, and engineering support, in addition to financial donations.
• Thorn's Technology Task Force, established in 2010, has grown to become the largest industry group of its kind, with over 25 companies participating.
• The task force has contributed to the development of several tools and initiatives, including the Thorn Sound Practices Guide, industry hash-sharing, and online child sexual abuse deterrence programs.

Statistics:

• Google.org has invested nearly $20 million in organizations fighting child exploitation and human trafficking.
• Thorn's online child sexual abuse deterrence programs have reached more than two million people.
• The Thorn Technology Task Force has over 25 participating companies, including Google, Facebook, Salesforce, Microsoft, and others.
• In its initial year, the Lab will include several full-time engineering and data science staff members.

Sources:

• Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children, a non-profit organization dedicated to driving technology innovation to fight child sexual exploitation.
• Thorn Launches Innovation Lab in Silicon Valley, PR Newswire, November 12, 2015.
• Thorn, official website.
• Susan Molinari, Vice President of Public Policy and Government Relations at Google, quoted in Thorn Launches Innovation Lab in Silicon Valley, PR Newswire, November 12, 2015.
• Thorn drives technology innovation to fight child sexual exploitation, about Thorn, Thorn official website.