Current We Protect Data Shows Problems

A Portland, Oregon area businessman, Dominic O'Dierno is also an advocate of programs that protect children from exploitation. In addition to supporting the American-based National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), Dominic O’Dierno is also involved with the UK-based We Protect Global Alliance, an organization that monitors online sexual exploitation of children.

The Global Alliance comprises 51 companies, 54 civil organizations, and nine international organizations spanning 98 countries that aim to fight child sexual exploitation and abuse online. Data from the We Protect Global Alliance illustrates that online child exploitation is not only a reality but a major issue.

Technology has become a wonderful tool in making information accessible to isolated and underrepresented populations. However, it has also been wrongly used as a tool to what has been described as a borderless crime.

According to We Protect Global Alliance, figures reveal 18.4 million referrals of child sexual abuse materials to the NCMEC from technological companies in the United States in one year. Moreover, 94 percent of images found by the Internet Watch Foundation containing child sexual abuse material were of children younger than 13. Worse yet, the organization reported an estimated 750,000 instances of adults looking to connect with children in the online landscape.