By Amanda Short

Do you know every person you add on social media? Do you know if your loved ones are adding strangers on social media? Human trafficking is the exploitation of persons for labor, services, or commercial sex.[1] Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery as victims are coerced and compelled against their will for the benefit of the trafficker.[2] As the modern age ushered in the use of social media, human traffickers have also adapted their tactics to recruit and sell victims through social media.[3] According to the Polaris Project, human traffickers use the following social media sites for recruitment purposes such as  Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Kik.[4] Traffickers are also known to find victims through dating sites like Tinder, Grinder, and Plenty of Fish.[5]

Human trafficking has been reported in every state in the United States,[6] with a disproportionate effect on children and women.[7] Reports by human trafficking victims and survivors to the National Human Trafficking Hotline increased by 20% from 2018 to 2019.[8] A few common misconceptions about human trafficking are that victims can only be foreign nationals or immigrants from other countries, there must be some type of physical restraint or force to be trafficked, and victims are only coming from poverty situations.[9] The top five recruitment techniques for sex trafficking include an intimate partner or marriage proposition, familial relationship, job offers, posing as a benefactor, and false promises. [10]

As the population has grown to enjoy the many uses of social media, so have human traffickers. 72% of the American public is reported to use some type of social media.[11] Not only are Americans using social media, but these sites are being visited every day by users.[12] Many social media sites include privacy settings, but these settings may still allow strangers to send friend requests and direct messages. In a study by the Pewter Research Center, one in six teens responded that they have been messaged by a person they did not know which incited fear or discomfort.[13]

Human traffickers often use a “loverboy” tactic to attract victims through befriending young girls in public or online.[14]The loverboy trafficker will make the victim feel special through gifts and affection, but the relationship will change drastically once the victim is demanded to provide services.[15] In 2018, the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) was enacted by Congress to allow the civil and criminal liability of online marketplaces that knowingly participate in sex trafficking.[16] On April 28, 2020, the 14th Court of Appeals in Texas denied Facebook’s motion to dismiss in response to a suit alleging that Facebook facilitated enabled sex trafficking on its site.[17] The plaintiffs are 13, 14, and 16-year old girls that claim they were recruited by human trafficking pimps on Facebook or Instagram.[18]

You may be wondering what you can do to protect yourself and others from human traffickers and here are some tips from the Department of Homeland Security: (1) set your social media platforms to private so only real friends can see your information; (2) know whom you are talking to on social media sites and refrain from speaking with people who are not real friends; (3) only share photos of yourself that you would want to be seen by family, teachers, and employees; (4) don’t share personal information like your location or contact information; (5) do not meet up with any person you have only met online; and (6) report suspicious activity to law enforcement or a trusted adult if you are a minor.[19] Follow and share these tips to ensure yourself and others are safe from the dangers of human trafficking on social media platforms.

[1] Human Trafficking, U.S Dep’t of Just., https://www.justice.gov/humantrafficking (last visited Oct. 3, 2020).

[2] What is Human Trafficking?, The United States Department of Justice,  https://www.justice.gov/humantrafficking/what-is-human-trafficking(last visited Oct. 3, 2020).

[3]  Social Media in Recruitment, Polaris, https://polarisproject.org/human-trafficking-and-social-media/, (last visited Oct. 3, 2020).

[4] Id.

[5] Id.

[6] 2019 U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline Statistics, Polaris, https://polarisproject.org/2019-us-national-human-trafficking-hotline-statistics/, (last visited Oct. 3, 2020).

[7]  Id.

[8] Id.  

[9] Common Myths and Misconceptions About Human Trafficking in the U.S., Polaris, https://humantraffickinghotline.org/sites/default/files/Common%20Myths%20and%20Misconceptions.pdf, (last visited Oct. 3, 2020).

[10] 2019 U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline Statistics, Polaris, https://polarisproject.org/2019-us-national-human-trafficking-hotline-statistics/, (last visited Oct. 3, 2020) (stating the top five recruitment tactics for labor trafficking are job offers, false promises, smuggling-related,  familial relationships, and posing as a benefactor).

[11] Social Media Fact Sheet, Pew Research Ctr. (June 12, 2019), https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/.

[12] Id.

[13] Mary Madden et al., Teens, Social Media, and Privacy, Pew Research Ctr. (May 21, 2013), https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2013/05/21/teens-social-media-and-privacy/.

[14] Michelle Lillie, How Street Traffickers Recruit Young Girls, Human Trafficking Search (2014), https://humantraffickingsearch.org/how-street-traffickers-recruit-young-girls/.

[15] Id.

[16] Tom Jackman, Trump Signs ‘FOSTA’ Bill Targeting Online Sex Trafficking, Enables States and Victims to Pursue Websites, Wash. Post. (Apr. 11, 2018, 11:41 AM), https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2018/04/11/trump-signs-fosta-bill-targeting-online-sex-trafficking-enables-states-and-victims-to-pursue-websites/.

[17] Will Neal, US Court Approves Sex-Trafficking Lawsuits Against Facebook, Organized Crime and Corruption Rep. Project (April 29, 2020, 4:16 PM), https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/12224-us-court-approves-sex-trafficking-lawsuits-against-facebook.

[18] Id.

[19] Online Safety, Homeland Sec., https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign/online-safety, (last visited Oct. 3, 2020).

Image Source: https://www.cpomagazine.com/data-privacy/new-research-study-shows-that-social-media-privacy-might-not-be-possible/