AI Company Donates Technology to Help Fight Human Trafficking
By Movieguide® Contributor
AI company Cellebrite is joining the fight against child trafficking by donating its technology to law enforcement and nonprofits working to fight the horrific global enterprise.
As an estimated $150 billion-a-year industry, human trafficking is one of the largest criminal industries in the world. Unfortunately, America is one of its major hubs, and law enforcement officers struggle to keep up with the overwhelming numbers.
2022 alone saw nearly 360,000 cases of missing children, while the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received more than 32 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation. Along with the unimaginable numbers, technology has made it even harder to track down the criminals.
“The pimps of the day, the gangs of today are way smarter than the sex trafficking gangs of the past,” John Walsh, the co-founder of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and long-time host of AMERICA’S MOST WANTED, told The Associated Press. “They’re way more dangerous. They move faster. They have encrypted files. They’re smart. And law enforcement just can’t keep up with them.”
Cellebrite, however, hopes to help by donating its data processing tools to nonprofits fighting against human trafficking.
“The provider of digital tools that help law enforcement and private firms find and follow investigative leads on Friday launched ‘Operation Find Them All’ – an initiative where the firm will donate its technology to nonprofits that help find endangered children, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children [and] the nonprofit The Exodus Road,” ABC News reported.
“We are the biggest admirers of law enforcement,” said Cellebrite’s CEO, Yossi Carmil. “However, they are understaffed, under-equipped, and, at any point of time, regardless of how much the government will give them, they are under constraints. They always need to do more with less.”
Cellebrite helps law enforcement by processing data, such as photos, and sorting them into more manageable groups that can be more easily processed when turned back over to humans. Cellebrite has already begun its work in this space and has found that organizations that use its tools have a higher success rate of finding and prosecuting human traffickers.
Carmil explained that he felt called to donate his technology to this cause because of his own family.
“I’ve got kids. John [Walsh] has kids. We are also citizens and parents.” Carmil said. “This is a holy mission. It goes beyond money.”
In addition to donating its technology, Cellebrite is donating money to the organizations to help fund their efforts against human trafficking.
Though Cellebrite is currently focusing the majority of its efforts within the U.S., it plans to expand to global law enforcement and has already seen major success in its overseas use.
“When you fight corruption globally, you have to have an overwhelming amount of evidence that is difficult to sweep under the rug,” said Matt Parker, co-founder of The Exodus Road. “You have to make the case a slam dunk and I’m telling you, in all the experience I have had over the last 13 years… in hundreds of cases of human trafficking when we leverage Cellebrite technology and we introduce that technology into the judicial process, the success level is significantly higher.”
Movieguide® previously reported on the fight against human trafficking:
Tim Tebow and his foundation are raising money to build the TTF Protection Center in Thailand as a place to protect up to forty girls rescued from human trafficking.
In a recent Instagram video, Tebow shared, “A few years ago, we deepened our fight in this terrible evil in the world of human trafficking and child exploitation. And in the last 365 days, we’re so excited to share with you that we have grown so much and been part of rescuing thousands and building safe homes in so many different countries.”
Movieguide® previously reported on the work Tebow’s foundation does to fight trafficking. “We’re in 67 countries and we’re building more hospitals right now and we’re building more special needs orphanages and villages and rescuing girls from trafficking. And, I just am so passionate about that.”
Tebow launched this newest campaign with RAPHA International, an organization “committed to offering hope and healing to survivors of child slavery and sexual exploitation.”
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