From We are Ultraviolet:
https://weareultraviolet.org/
When John Doe was 13 years old, a sex trafficker blackmailed him into recording and sharing sexual videos. When he finally broke off contact with the abuser, he thought his nightmare was over--until classmates started sharing his video on Twitter. Despite John and his parents filing reports and begging the company to take down the video, Twitter refused.1
It took action from law enforcement to get John's video removed from Twitter.2But, by then, it had been viewed over 167,000 times on the platform.3 At times, John considered suicide, due to the vicious bullying and harassment that he faced from classmates and peers who were sharing the video of his abuse on Twitter.
By refusing to remove videos documenting John's and millions of other children's abuse, Twitter is placing profit and clicks over the safety, well-being, and privacy of children and survivors. This is not just unacceptable, it is vile, illegal, and violates Twitter's own policies.4,5
| Tell Twitter: Allow easy reporting and quick removal of child sexual abuse images! |
| Sign the petition |
Despite its own policies, Twitter makes it extremely difficult for survivors of sexual abuse and misconduct to report and remove violating content.6 Images and videos of child sexual abuse are rampant on Twitter, which is the worst platform at catching and stopping illegal content like child sexual abuse material (CSAM).7
Twitter is violating the law by allowing child abuse to thrive on its platform and is profiting off the spread of child pornography. But we're not going to let that slide. We are demanding change to protect our children and young people from abuse.
We know this is possible, but we need your help to make our campaign successful. We've had success in the past getting platforms to change and put users and people ahead of profit: you helped pressure Facebook to protect election workers from harassment and privacy violations. That's why we're reaching out to you now, Sandra.
Thanks for fighting alongside us!
--Katie, Shaunna Kathy, Melody, Lindsay, Sonja, Kimberly, Maria, Elisa, KaeLyn, KD, Iris, Bridget, Meena, Jaya, Luna, and Isatou, the UltraViolet team
Sources:
1. Twitter Sued by Survivor of Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation, National Center on Sexual Exploitation, January 20, 2021
2. Doe v. Twitter, National Center on Sexual Exploitation, accessed August 9, 2021
3. Twitter sued by survivor of child sexual exploitation, Fox News, January 21, 2021
4. Citizen's Guide to U.S. Federal Law on Child Pornography, U.S. Department of Justice, accessed August 9, 2021
5. Child sexual exploitation policy, Twitter, October 2020
6. Ibid.
7. Reviewing Child Sexual Abuse Material Reporting Functions on Popular Platforms, Canadian Centre for Child Protection, September 23, 2020
