Traditionally, tech companies focus on data first and social issues second. But in an industry driven by number of users and impressions, this has caused the human trafficking crisis to fall into obscurity.
At Seeking, we want to change that. As a pioneer in online dating, our primary goal is to help our members find authentic connections and help keep them safe. By staying true to this mission, we’re also taking a stance on online security and fighting human trafficking. Here are some of the ways we are helping put an end to this crisis.
Establishing Priorities
Designed with engagement in mind, the sole objective of many online platforms is for users to upload and share content all the time. Unfortunately, most dating and social apps also fall into this category. This creates a situation where traffickers can easily tap into these sites to find new victims.
Seeking aims to create a safe environment where relationships can thrive based on honesty. As a community that brings like-minded people together, we measure success beyond likes, comments, or shares.
Taking an Active Approach
Many tech firms use some form of software as a passive moderation tool to detect inappropriate content. While this can help identify explicit material, it’s not an active approach to combat the problem.
At Seeking, we promote a culture of online safety from within and our site may only be used by adults looking for romantic relationships. Behind the scenes, our workflows are designed to employ real-world safety solutions that tackle issues immediately upon detection. With the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and human moderators (Human In the Loop or HITL) technologies, we can identify red flags in both images and text to take an immediate, active role to protect our members. This could include, but is not limited to soliciting personal information; using the site to engage clients for an escort or prostitution service; engaging or facilitating human trafficking of any kind; past escort activities or affiliation with an escort site or service; posting or sending material that exploits people under the age of 18; failing to report knowledge of a person under the age of 18; using the site to interact in any way with anyone you know or believe is under the age of 18. Any violation of these prohibitions will result in termination of membership and possible referral to law enforcement or other agencies.
At the same, we are working hard to raise awareness on the issue of human trafficking by supporting and partnering with groups like FreedomLight.org, among others. By making this topic part of the conversation and setting the standard for online dating platforms, we strive to create a culture of Internet safety.
Partnering with Freedom Light
To further support anti-trafficking efforts, Seeking has partnered with Freedom Light, an organization that provides operational guidance, thought-leadership, best practice training, and technical assistance through a carefully crafted, evidence-based, and victim-centered approach in the fight against human trafficking.
Seeking is committed to using our platform to assist in combatting all types of potential human trafficking crimes. Every staff member at Seeking has received extensive training from Freedom Light and continues to receive ongoing coaching to further strengthen the security of our platform. Thanks to the training received, our team gained invaluable knowledge about the subject, as well as guidance and concrete insight to avoid these illegal activities on our site.
Identity Verification
Simple, fast, and efficient. That is what Seeking’s identity verification process offers, and that is why we encourage all our users to use it. To keep our community of online daters safe and help you feel more comfortable, we partnered with third-party firms to provide an extra layer of security.
This easy feature only takes minutes and can create a huge impact for our community. With ID-verified profile badges, we continue to promote online safety and security while helping you maintain your online privacy.
Creating Meaningful Connections
Putting an end to human trafficking is possible. By changing data-driven business models and bringing the focus back to meaningful connections, online platforms can lead the way to safer online communities. It is in the hands of corporations and developers to make good use of cost-effective technologies that can provide privacy while reframing the industry.
As always, our commitment at Seeking is to effectively balance privacy with safety. Our promise, to the entire online community, is to actively maintain a safe online dating environment based on lifestyle interests and authentic compatibility.
