New Research Could Help Reveal Who is Buying Online Trafficking Ads
- Ellen Wulfhorst for Reuters August 17th, 2017
- Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trafficking-ads-idUSKCN1AX2RD
A U.S. researcher says she has developed automated ways to identify links between online sex trafficking ads and the digital currency Bitcoin, techniques that may help locate children being sold for sex.
Law enforcement and anti-trafficking groups could use the methods to investigate Backpage.com, an online classified advertising site where sex ads can be found, said a statement by the University of California Berkeley, where the research was based.
Some 1.5 million people in the United States are victims of trafficking, mostly for sexual exploitation, according to anti-trafficking groups.
