Twitter: A Pedophile's Porn Hub

There are far better writers on the subject; however, this article is more about a point of view on the widespread issues facing the internet, specifically child exploitation. This article is also a spring board to more in depth analysis and education of what drives online platforms and providers to turn a blind eye to child exploitation. It also touches on the need for change in legislation.

If you don't know about the CDA (Communication Decency Act of 1996) start here https://www.eff.org/issues/cda230 to get up to speed on what significance its legislation represents, as well as where it needs to be overhauled. After you've read that website continue below.

People will agree there is nothing more precious than a child in their youthful years and all its innocence. With that being said, there's a dark side of today's youth. For the sake of this article, we're only going to concentrate on the problem of child pornography on Twitter. Child sexual exploitation (CSE) is not exclusive to Twitter. Other platforms are experiencing the same affects from child porn being posted openly on a daily basis. Even sex trafficking, strange pervasive language used during photos and videos and other nuances can be construed as blatant ways of communicating to the viewer their wants and needs on the black market, either in the real world or digital. For the sake of this article, it will be only about Twitter and its issue with policing an increasingly problematic stance.

Since the addition of photo & video features to the Twitter platform it has given a gateway to exploiters by using the platform as a vehicle to reach broader audiences more efficiently. Long gone are the exclusive days of catalogs and news forums to gather child pornography. Why use those when Twitter and others conveniently provide all the tools needed to reach as many viewers possible? Besides, it's free, easy to download and quickly distributes worldwide.

Child pornography is claimed to be over a billion dollar industry https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB114485422875624000. There are no solid figures as exploiters do not report to the Securities & Exchange Commission. It makes sense for them to use the technology driving the demand. What is troubling is technology to quash child sexual exploitation and trafficking on all levels of social platforms are likely available, but they are failing to implement it quickly enough. Until now no one really understood what was happening. More people began bumping into instances of blatant child exploitation out in the open on platforms they use for their own entertainment purposes. Another aspect to child exploitation is the creation of accounts by unsupervised minors. As technology advances more minors began creating accounts unknowingly exploiting their selves.

You may find yourself wondering why Twitter has been slow to fixing the child exploitation issue. If you are to report an account there is no option for more than one link. The report process is slow and painful. There are zero bulk uploading features and additionally if too many are reported it's considered spamming.

So back to the Communication Decency Act of 1996, a little known amendment called Section 230. Section 230 essentially grants Twitter and other platforms immunity from posts created by third-party content. In other words, Acct A can post CSE all day, the person behind Acct A may go to jail for distribution of child pornography, but Twitter will likely not see any fines, litigation or prosecution.

In addition, Twitter may find (discrepancy of the support member) that the account you reported, even though the digital images are in clear violation, are claimed to not be in violation of their abuse policies. If you have experienced this type of treatment you know the feeling of frustration. I have had several accounts denied suspensions for promoting pedophilic propaganda for the preservation of First Amendment rights, yet lock someone out of their accounts for twelve hrs due to a disagreement with another user. While Twitter touts it wants to provide a safer environment it suppresses true freedom of speech, while enabling the machine of perversion. The frustration is never ending. Anyone can see why spending time online can lead to increased depression and anxiety. So why isn't Twitter doing more to combat child exploitation? That's a really good question. After all, The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) Twitter handle @missingkids partnered with Microsoft to create PhotoDNA (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/photodna), which essentially filters any known images that would be repetitively used on Twitter or other servers, as well as many other useful functions. It is quite apparent that Twitter refuses to use this technology to combat a growing problem. Legislation needs overhauling. It has been over 21 years (1996) since the last revision to any telecommunications i.e. the internet has seen changes. It's time something be done to the combat the problem of child exploitation on the internet. At any moment, there are thousands of accounts openly trading child pornography without any fear of punishment. Twitter rarely suspends accounts that retweet child pornography, making the issue magnified. Until the platforms are forced to start taking actions and quashing the rampant problem of openly traded child pornography, we will see minimal results. Child exploitation should never be politicized. Children are our future. What will this say about our society and how far we are willing to make others feel at ease about their perversions, if we are not to protect the innocent? I would urge you to contact our state legislatures to begin a movement that would protect millions of children online every day.

This article will be kept updated for further information on how you can become involved in the legislative level of combatting child pornography.

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