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Human Trafficking

Google Building an Online Network to End Human Trafficking ... Launching the Global Human Trafficking Hotline Network ... Collaboration involving Polaris Project, La Strada and Liberty Asia

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Google Building an Online Network to End Human Trafficking

Global Human Trafficking Network Internet giant Google announced this week that it is donating $3 million to help a trio of non-profits create the Global Human Trafficking Hotline Network, a data-based solution for ending human trafficking.

According to the Polaris Project, one of the anti-trafficking non-profits receiving grant money from Google, over 27 million people in the world live as slaves. That number includes an estimated 100,000 to 300,000 children living in the United States. By doing what Google does best – collecting and analyzing data – the company thinks it can make a major impact on a growing problem.

“This new Global Human Trafficking Hotline Network will collect data from local hotline efforts, share promising practices and create anti-trafficking strategies that build on common patterns and focus on eradication, prevention and victim protection,” explains Google in the official announcement. The company has donated a total of $14.5 million to the cause of stamping out trafficking since 2011.

Since human traffickers frequently use the web to find and exploit victims, it’s great to see Google stepping up to make the world they profit off of just a little bit safer. Hopefully, a lot of innocent people will be rescued along the way. Check out the video below for more information about the project.

Launching the Global Human Trafficking Hotline Network

Polaris Project, Liberty Asia, and LaStrada International are tackling the question of how to connect local, national, and regional anti-trafficking helplines through a data-driven network, an idea conceived at the Google Ideas INFO Summit. We're excited to announce this 'Global Human Trafficking Hotline Network,' an international collaboration between nonprofits that will enable better coordination and victim protection across borders, a project funded by Google's Global Impact Awards.

Polaris Project La Strada Liberty Asia