Internet a potent weapon in fight against human trafficking: Report offers recommendations for industry & government

The rapid expansion of the Internet is being used to facilitate human trafficking, yet it also can be harnessed to monitor and combat this form of modern-day slavery. The result of a year-long investigation by research director Mark Latonero, Ph.D., and his team, Human Trafficking Online: The Role of Social Networking Sites and Online Classifieds focuses on how technology and online tools can be used to prevent trafficking, protect victims and prosecute perpetrators…….

Amb. CdeBaca highlights CCLP efforts to combat human trafficking in year-end report

The director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Human Trafficking for the US State Department, Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, released his end of the year report on the initiatives pursued to combat human trafficking and forced labor. Annually, the State Department releases the Trafficking in Persons Report which not only focuses on the issues that are pervasive in human trafficking, but also laying out future plans in order to end this crime. The Center on Communication Leadership & Policy hosted Amb. CdeBaca and other officials from the State Dept., including Senior Advisor for Innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,……

Spotlight on TIP efforts in Investor’s Business Daily

Investor's Business Daily recently profiled the Center on Communication Leadership & Policy's research project on human trafficking. CCLP's Research Director Mark Latonero shared his expertise on communication technology and trafficking in persons as well as some of the highlights from his August fact finding trip to Thailand and Cambodia and the research that has been undertaken so far by CCLP. —————————————————————————————————————– Tech Gets Enlisted In The War Against Human Trafficking By Shelia Riley, for INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY The fight against human trafficking is using a few new weapons: texting, iPhone apps and smarter passports. An estimated 12.3 million adults and……

Communication technology serves as a rare bright spot in Haitian recovery, CCLP research trip finds

The Republic of Haiti continues to struggle in its recovery efforts following the devastating January 2010 earthquake, but information and communication technologies are among the few infrastructure bright spots in the country, based on the observations from a recent fact-finding trip, in which the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy (CCLP) participated. CCLP Research Director Mark Latonero, who was selected for the week-long research project because of his work in communication technology and emergency management, found that cell phones and text messages were critical tools for sharing information about recovery efforts in the earthquake ravaged country. "Port-au-Prince still……

Anti-Trafficking Forum Highlights Need for Global Information Sharing Platform

International nonprofit organizations are gaining ground in the fight against human trafficking, but would be better served with the development of an information sharing platform, a team of researchers from the Center on Communication Leadership & Policy confirmed after a two day conference in Yorba Linda, Calif. Led by CCLP Research Director Mark Latonero, the team participated in the Global Forum on Human Trafficking, an international symposium hosted by a San Francisco based anti-trafficking non-profit. "This conference reinforced the findings from our August fact-finding mission to the Mekong sub-region," explained Latonero, who led the research initiative in Cambodia and Thailand…….

TIP team prepares findings after research trip to Mekong Sub-Region

The Center on Communication Leadership & Policy's research team of Mark Latonero and Erin Kamler have returned from a fruitful exploratory trip for the Technology and Trafficking in Person project the Center is launching in Southeast Asia. According to a report prepared by the research team, an information sharing platform could provide significant assistance to agencies and organizations working to combat human trafficking in the Region. The full report of their findings can be downloaded here . Latonero and Kamler are working with Senior Fellow Jeremy Curtin to move the project forward after a promising start. From August 8 to……

Technology and Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Research Team Travels to Mekong Sub-Region

From August 6 – 15, 2010, USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy Research Director Mark Latonero and Research Associate Erin Kamler will visit Thailand and Cambodia to conduct initial research for CCLP's Technology and Trafficking In Persons (TIP) initiative. This trip developed out of the enthusiasm garnered at the June 3rd meeting in Washington, D.C., in which CCLP convened members of the State Department, the NGO community, academics and leaders in the technology field to brainstorm finding innovative technological solutions to combat this global problem…….

CCLP & State Department launch exploration of ways to use Technology to combat Human Trafficking

State Department and Congressional policymakers, along with nongovernmental organization and technology industry leaders convened in Washington, D.C. Thursday, June 3, 2010 to explore new ways communication technology might be used in global efforts to combat human trafficking. The meeting held at the USC Washington, D.C. Center was organized by USC Annenberg's Center on Communication Leadership and Policy in partnership with assistance from the U.S. Department of State. Geoffrey Cowan, CCLP director and USC University Professor, co-chaired the gathering with Alec Ross, Secretary of State Clinton's senior adviser for innovation (pictured right). Ross opened the meeting with remarks about 21st Century……

McClatchy Newspapers publishes award-winning series on human trafficking

In April of this year, The Kansas City Star was awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for their groundbreaking series, "A New Slavery." The series, written by reporters Laura Bauer, Mike McGraw, and Mark Morris investigates the US' weak enforcement of human trafficking. The multi-piece series contains interviews with victims of trafficking, government officials, and other who have been affected by the crime and enforcing the laws to end it. The Kansas City Star is a subsidiary of The McClatchy Company. Congratulations to the writers of The Kansas City Star as well as Gary Pruitt, Center on Communication Leadership……