trafficking

Google battles human trafficking with global hotline

It's estimated that more than 20 million people worldwide are currently victims of human trafficking. Put in perspective, that's nearly the equivalent of the entire population of Australia.

In an effort to combat human trafficking and provide help for victims, Google has launched a new joint project with three advocacy organizations -- Polaris Project, Liberty Asia, and La Strada International. Dubbed the Human Trafficking Hotline Network, this project aims to create a consolidated global hotline connected to a data-driven network.

Here's more on the project from a blog post by Google Ideas director Jared Cohen and Google … Read more

Google think tank tackles traffickers and terrorists

Google doesn't just want to just "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful," as its mission statement says. It also wants to figure out how to use technology to improve the world under the auspices of its think tank, Google Ideas.

Google Ideas, which launched 18 months ago, is working with the Council on Foreign Relations and the Tribeca Film Festival to sponsor a conference, "Illicit Networks: Forces in Opposition" in Los Angeles this week. The aim is to bring together government officials, tech leaders, researchers and victims to explore … Read more

Craigslist urged to shut erotic-services ads worldwide

A hundred organizations fighting sex trafficking have joined the chorus of voices asking Craigslist to remove its erotic services section worldwide as the company has in the U.S.

In a letter sent Tuesday (PDF) to Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster and founder Craig Newmark, human rights groups throughout the world thanked the company for bringing down its adult and erotic ads in the U.S. But the groups said that these services, where trafficked children and women are sold for sex, remain open in 250 cities worldwide. And in not making the same improvements globally, the groups told Craigslist that … Read more

AGs call on Craigslist to banish adult ads

Craigslist's adult services section is under fire once again.

Attorneys general from 17 states sent a joint letter (PDF) on Tuesday that asks the site to immediately remove the section because it promotes prostitution and child trafficking.

In the letter to Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster and founder Craig Newmark, the attorneys general state that ads for both adult and child prostitutes are "rampant" on the site. And because Craigslist cannot or will not adequately screen these ads, the attorneys general said, the section should be taken down.

Asserting that women and children are being exploited by the … Read more

Lurid charges dropped in Broadcom founder case

Salacious charges in a federal case against Henry T. Nicholas III, co-founder and former CEO of chip giant Broadcom, have been dropped, bringing the scandal-packed case to a close.

On Thursday, a judge threw out the remaining charges against Nicholas, granting a request by the prosecutor to dismiss drug-trafficking counts, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. This comes after the judge dismissed criminal charges connected to stock-option backdating against Nicholas and co-founder Henry Samueli.

Nicholas was indicted in 2008 on charges that he had provided cocaine and Ecstasy to friends and business associates. One of the more … Read more