We Can’t Arrest & Censor Our Way to Safety

Freedom of expression on the internet — Lux Alptraum wrote an excellent piece for New York Magazine about age verification laws, the war on p*rn, and the ongoing fight for freedom of expression on the internet. Legislators are vulnerable to moral panics, but we will not keep our kids safer by censoring the internet.

Why helping law enforcement doesn’t help victims — This deeply researched essay by Angelina Chapin for The Cut shows what Ashton Kutcher’s “anti trafficking” work gets wrong, highlighting the problems with Thorn and their tool Spotlight. This investigative piece articulates the harm that is done when anti trafficking efforts focus their resources on helping law enforcement make arrests, instead of focusing on actually helping victims of exploitation.

Myths about trafficking hurt the very people they claim to help — Melissa Gira Grant wrote a piece for the New Republic drawing parallels between Ashton Kutcher’s Thorn and Tom Ballard’s Operation Underground Railroad. Both of these organizations capitalized on myths about trafficking, at the expense of victims.