Apple, Roblox, and Spotify Included in National Center on Sexual Exploitation’s ‘Dirty Dozen’ List

A recent report by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation has placed Roblox, Spotify, and Meta’s Instagram on its 2024 Dirty Dozen List for contributing to sexual abuse and exploitation.

Roblox exposes children to highly sexualized content, leading to numerous cases of sexual abuse by predators.

Spotify has been found to contain sexually explicit images and networks trading child sex abuse material.

Meta’s platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, and WhatsApp, have been identified as hotspots for various crimes, including pedophile networks and sex trafficking

Apple was also included in the list for abandoning plans to detect child sex abuse material and for not implementing safety measures for teens.

The report highlights the responsibility of these tech companies to prioritize user safety over profit. Companies like Meta have been criticized for implementing features like end-to-end encryption that may hinder the prevention of online abuse.

Other companies on the list include Cash App, Cloudflare, Discord, LinkedIn, Reddit, Microsoft’s GitHub, and Telegram.

The report also calls for amendments to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which grants Big Tech immunity for facilitating abuses.