One of the organizations fighting human trafficking that I have much respect for is Love 146. Unless you are in the United States you may not have heard of them. I am told that international expansion is in their plans. We would certainly love an opportunity to collaborate with them in Southeast Asia. Love146 has a great newsletter and recently they published an article entitled META IS CHOOSING PROFIT OVER PROTECTING CHILDREN.
I asked Love 146 for permission to post the article and was told in part:
…. the article can't be republished in full, as we don't want it duplicated elsewhere online. But highlighting and pointing people to it is very appreciated.
The article starts with "New reporting has revealed that Meta suppressed internal research that showed risks to children in virtual reality spaces. As we’ve seen too many times before, tech companies are prioritizing growth and profit over the safety of children. Tech executives and lawmakers alike have been warned for years about the dangers children face online, and for too long, they have failed to pass meaningful legislation and implement effective guardrails to proactively protect children. In this case, Meta actively suppressed information and research on potential harms to children in order to avoid regulation and prioritize profit". You can see the entire article and much more at https://love146.org.
Gentle reader, perhaps it’s time for all of us to stop and take a personal moral inventory maybe asking:
- Are there situations where I place profit before the protection of children?
- Are there times when something should be done but I find an excuse to avoid?
- Does my organization have policies / rules in place that interfere with the task of protecting the children we are supposed to serve.
- If the all-knowing universe were to write a review of my efforts to eliminate child trafficking, would I be happy for my your friends, family and colleagues to read it?
- Have I read Matt Friedman’s very powerful book “Where were you? – A Profile of Modern Slavery” If yes, how did it make me feel? If no, why not?
- Today, what will I do to help prevent child human trafficking?
It really is about our real priorities!
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