By Melody Bergman
Every year, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) launches the Dirty Dozen List, calling out the 12 biggest contributors to sexual exploitation in mainstream America. Here is the list for this year:
NCOSE 2018 Dirty Dozen List
(You can find more info about each target on their individual pages.)
Amazon: https://endsexualexploitation.org/amazon
Comcast: https://endsexualexploitation.org/comcast
Steam: https://endsexualexploitation.org/steam
iBooks: https://endsexualexploitation.org/ibooks
HBO: https://endsexualexploitation.org/hbo
Roku: https://endsexualexploitation.org/roku
Backpage: https://endsexualexploitation.org/backpage
YouTube: https://endsexualexploitation.org/youtube
Poster Boys of #MeToo: https://endsexualexploitation.org/posterboys
Snapchat: https://endsexualexploitation.org/snapchat
Twitter: https://endsexualexploitation.org/twitter
EBSCO: https://endsexualexploitation.org/ebsco/
The Dirty Dozen List is a great tool for parents, because it helps us put these companies on our radar. But NCOSE also goes one step further, providing us not only with information, but also with practical ways to take action and help protect our families.
Helpful info and tips for parents from the Dirty Dozen List:
SNAPCHAT: If you have teens or Millennials, you’re probably familiar with this app, which is one of EEK’s 10 Dangerous Apps Every Parent Should Know About. Snapchat was created so that users can send an image–or a “snap’’–that presumably disappears within seconds. Although this app can be used for innocent purposes, simply for kids to keep in touch with each other, it has a bad reputation for being a “sexting” app used to exchange nude selfies.
In recent years, Snapchat has gone to the next level, partnering with Square to create Snapcash, which monetizes the app. Therefore, it is now possible to pay for sexy snaps, which are actually custom-made porn–and in the case of minors, child porn. As a result, the company is profiting off the sale of sexually explicit material. (According to NCOSE, “The app went from reported revenue of $3 million in 2014 to projected revenue of $50 million in 2015. A major contributor to this growth is the development of the feature Snapcash.”) Another problem is that there is no way for users to opt out of sexually explicit content or to report the person who is sending it.
Take action: On the Dirty Dozen page for Snapchat, NCOSE makes the following suggestions:
–Tweet about it. Here’s a sample tweet, with a hashtag NCOSE has created around the Snapchat/Dirty Dozen campaign: @Snapchat please provide prominent in-app reporting systems for users to report those that send or promote sexually exploitive content #NoThanksSnapchat
–Email Snapchat executives. NCOSE has written an email to Snapchat executives asking them to improve their policies. All you have to do is sign. Fill out the form here.
YOUTUBE: YouTube (and Google in general) have been on the Dirty Dozen list for several years running. And while they have taken steps to clean up their act, such as creating YouTube Kids, it just isn’t enough. As NCOSE puts it, “It appears that whenever they can get away with it, YouTube allows inappropriate content to remain on its platform in order to generate views and more profit.” We continue to see sexually explicit content side-by-side with cute cat videos, and current reports reveal that inappropriate videos are still available to kids, even on the new “safer” app.
Take action: On the Dirty Dozen page for YouTube, NCOSE makes the following suggestions:
–Tweet about it. Here’s a sample tweet from NCOSE: @YouTube please turn on Safe Search automatically to prevent accidental exposure to graphic material on YouTube
–Sign the petition. NCOSE has created a petition asking YouTube executives to improve their policies. Sign the petition here.
STEAM GAMES: Many parents might not recognize this company, but your kids may be using its products without even realizing it. Steam is a distributor that sells video games for PC, Mac, Linux, mobile devices, and even TVs. They also specialize in connecting gamers through community forums on their websites. The problem is that even though they have about 35 million users who are minors, they have unregulated content that is violent and sexually explicit. Categories featuring nudity, violence, exhibitionism, and even rape are available to kids simply by clicking “View Page” or after reading a short “warning” screen.
Take action: On the Dirty Dozen page for Steam, NCOSE makes the following suggestions:
–Tweet about it. Here’s a sample tweet from NCOSE: Hey @steam_games protect kids. Create an opt-in 18+ category, so they’re not automatically exposed to sexually graphic games. #parentingtips #onlinesafety
–Email Steam executives. NCOSE has written an email to Steam executives asking them to improve their policies. All you have to do is sign. Fill out the form here.
Here are some helpful guidelines for parents:
- Get educated and be involved. Learn about Snapchat and Snapcash, YouTube, and the video games they are playing. Understand how these social media and websites work.
- Have regular discussions with your children. Talk about digital safety and your rules surrounding social media. For example: Make sure they are communicating only with people they know and that they realize the pictures they send don’t just vanish forever. Remind them, “Once on the Internet, always on the Internet!” Use our template to create a Media Guideline for your Family, and then stick to it!
- Consider using the social media tools that your children use. If your child is on Snapchat, then you need to be on Snapchat. Follow your kids’ accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and everywhere else they are. When you reach out in this way, you not only learn how tech and media are used, but you also show your children you care about their world, and that you want to connect and communicate with them.
- Teach kids to #UseTech4Good. Sometimes in our digitally saturated world, it’s tempting to focus on the danger that lurks in media, apps, and tech around us. But there is so much good, too! As parents we can teach our kids to use technology for more than just chatting, browsing, and mindless surfing. As a family, make it a point to seek out ways to use tech to serve or compliment others, and to have amazing educational experiences. Check out our article, 10 Ways Kids Can Use Technology For Good, for ideas.
As we look around, there are so many companies peddling dangerous content for our families. But there are so many opportunities to educate ourselves and fight back! We can use these times to reach out into our communities and make a difference. But more importantly, we can use these times to talk to our kids and to fortify our families and our homes.
For more ideas on teaching kids to use media responsibly check out our book, How to Talk to Your Kids about Pornography. It includes simple discussions and a RUN plan for younger kids as well as thought-provoking discussions and ideas for older kids. Also, be on the lookout for –-coming later this month!
Petra’s Power to seeMelody Harrison Bergman is a mother and step-mom of three awesome boys, founder of Media Savvy Mamas, and a member of the Prevention Task Force for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. She has a bachelor’s degree in communications and has been writing and editing since 2002. Her mission is to motivate leaders and community members to educate and protect children and families.
