While you may know him best from That 70’s Show and being the young ex-husband of Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher has interests far wider than acting.
After leaving parts of Hollywood behind him, he’s worked on launching several companies that have done well, including a charity start-up that wants to eliminate technology when it comes to abusing kids. The initiative is called Thorn.
Ashton Kutcher is a co-founder and works along with a fairly large group of professionals, including his ex-wife, Demi Moore, who is also a co-founder of Thorn.
The initiative was inspired after seeing the spread of child sexual abuse being facilitated through the internet. The web has allowed some child sex trafficking to slip under the radar, whilst also helping facilitate it.
According to Thorn’s website, the charity builds powerful products using technology to help child victims. That includes everything from resources to awareness campaigns. The charity encourages tech companies, law enforcement, and NGOs to get involved.
The website explains that they work to identify the victims, try to deter abusers and disrupt the platforms where crimes taking place.
One of the ways they do this is by their Spotlight product. It’s based on insights from survivor surveys, and helps law enforcement identify patterns, locations, and people.
According to Thorn’s website, Spotlight was introduced in 2016 and has helped law enforcement identify on average eight children per day who are victims or potential victims. It has also reduced the time it takes to find them by 65 per cent, locating a total of 5,791 victimized kids.
The charity is run by volunteers, so visit the website to see how you can get involved.