EPISODE 84
There is a new law in the U.K. that makes it a criminal offence for pornography to depict strangulation. This new amendment to the Crime and Policing bill requires tech platforms to prevent users from seeing content involving strangulation or choking. Dani Pinter and Haley McNamara take a closer look at this new legal requirement and talk about the dangers of choking as well as the difficulty of getting a similar law passed in the U.S. They then pivot to talk about Wizz, a platform that targets teens with similar matchup features that dating apps like Tinder use. What are the dangers and why did Google and Apple reinstate this app after removing it a few years ago?
*Read more about Wizz in our blog: https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/wizz-tinder-for-kids-is-not-as-safe-as-it-claims/
*Read the Guardian article about the new U.K. law: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/nov/03/pornography-depicting-strangulation-to-become-criminal-offence-in-the-uk
*Contact Congress to END Section 230 Immunity for Big Tech! https://endsexualexploitation.org/DDL230-action
Ending Sexploitation Podcast (Episode 83)
Character.AI has announced a surprising and encouraging change to their platform that would restrict usage to 18+ users. It remains to be seen how accurate and reliable their system handles age verification, and Haley McNamara and Dani Pinter discuss the lead up to this monumental change for a major player in the AI companion bot space.
Sign this petition to have other AI companies make this change! https://advocacy.charityengine.net/Default.aspx?isid=2673
Read the NCOSE press statement on the new GUARD Act: https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/children-are-victims-of-ai-chatbots-guard-act-will-add-necessary-guardrails/
Read the article on Mashable about this announcement from Character.AI: https://mashable.com/article/character-ai-teens-no-longer-allowed-open-ended-chats-with-chatbots
Read the full report From HEAT Initiative and Parents Action Together on AI Kids’ Accounts: https://heatinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/HEAT_REPORT_CharacterAI_FINAL_PM_29_09_25.pdf
Roblox continues to be one of the most popular AND most dangerous online platforms for kids. Haley McNamara (CSO and Executive Director at NCOSE) is joined by Tim Nester (VP of Communications at NCOSE) to discuss the current state of Roblox safety – or lack thereof – as well as the recent lawsuits that families are filing against the gaming company. Then Tim and Haley dive into recent reports about the Instagram algorithm that has been serving up violent content that many are labeling as “gore” content.
Learn more about Roblox on our Dirty Dozen List: https://endsexualexploitation.org/roblox/
Read the CBS News article about Instagram “gore”: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/instagram-violence/
Contact Congress to END Section 230 Immunity for Big Tech! https://endsexualexploitation.org/DDL230-action
OpenAI’s Sam Altman has announced that adult users will be able to access “erotica” as part of their efforts to “treat adults like adults” on the platform. Is this really the best use of technological innovation? Is this where the resources and priorities of companies like OpenAI should be channeled? Haley McNamara and Dani Pinter from NCOSE chat about this new development and the disingenuous context that is attempted in this announcement.
Sign this petition to call OpenAI to change this direction: https://advocacy.charityengine.net/Default.aspx?isid=2661
Learn more about the A.I. LEAD ACT: https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/ncose-supports-a-i-lead-act-to-confront-ai-harms/
Ending Sexploitation Podcast
EPISODE 80
In this special episode of the podcast, a panel of experts takes a closer look at the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and explore the details around duty of care, enforcement, and emerging tech. This legislation is vital to ongoing efforts to protect children online, and this fantastic group of speakers explain more about the bill and why it should pass.
Dani Pinter, Chief Legal Officer and Director of the NCOSE Law Center
Benjamin Bull, Senior Vice President and General Counsel in the NCOSE Law Center
Mary Graw, Tenured Professor at Catholic University and Former Federal and State Prosecutor
Chris McKenna, Founder of Protect Young Eyes
TAKE ACTION: Contact your representative to pass KOSA
http://endsexualexploitation.org/PassKOSA
The 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report has been released by the State Department of the United States, and Marcel van der Watt (President and CEO at NCOSE) joins Haley McNamara (Executive Director and CSO at NCOSE) and Dani Pinter (CLO and Director of the NCOSE Law Center) to talk about some of the surprises in this 25th edition of the annual report. Each year, it ranked countries into tiers based on their efforts to combat trafficking, and our team dives into why some of these rankings seem to miss the mark. They also watch and react to the recent video from Joseph Gordon-Levitt about the dangers of A.I. and how we need to stand up and make sure our voices are heard at every level of government.
Learn more about NCOSE’s efforts to fight Demand: https://endsexualexploitation.org/demand
Read the 2025 TIP Report: https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/
Watch Joseph Gordon-Levitt's NYT video: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1CSdXtNaVN/
Dani Pinter (Chief Legal Officer at NCOSE) and Haley McNamara (Chief Strategy Officer at NCOSE) discuss some of the recent heartbreaking stories shared by families who have been devastated by careless and out of control A.I. Chatbots. They discuss the specific stories shared at a recent Senate hearing as well as articles and studies that show this goes beyond one-time anecdotal examples. It’s time for companies like Meta to stop viewing these families as collateral damage and to make changes to their platforms and A.I. tools that will make them safe to use!
Follow Haley on X: https://x.com/HaleyMcNamara
Follow Dani on X: https://x.com/DaniBPinter
DONATE to support the work of NCOSE: https://EndSexualExploitation.org/Donate
Watch the full Senate hearing: https://bit.ly/AIchatbotHearing-Sept2025
Read the study on “Mental Health Chat Bot Agents” - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-17242-4
Tim Nester (Vice President of Communications at NCOSE) is sitting in to host this week, and he sits down with Patrick Erlandson to discuss the Truth About Fathers and their role in the fight against sexual exploitation – specifically areas of pornography and sex trafficking. Patrick’s journey into the movement to end sexual exploitation began during his time working with the United Nations Refugee Agency, where he witnessed firsthand the horrors of trafficking and exploitation. In 2018, he founded Father-Con, which is an organization that counters the lies that lead men to believe that they aren’t critically important in the healthy development of children, and emphasizes their role in combating sexual abuse and exploitation in all its forms.
Fathers set an example for their families through their actions, and Patrick and Tim chat about those realities and provide insights and tips for dads (and moms!) in changing the narrative around these issues in their home.
*Visit the Father-Con website to learn more about Patrick’s work: https://www.father-con.org
*Conversation Starters for Parents & Kids: https://EndSexualExploitation.org/ConversationStarters
*“The Most Dangerous Playground” - a FREE resource about the dangers of the devices that are damaging America’s children: https://EndSexualExploitation.org/MostDangerousPlayground
*Donate monthly to the work that NCOSE is doing and become a DEFENDER. Learn more: https://EndSexualExploitation.org/Defender
Victoria Sinis is the founder of Creating Gems, an organization created to help young women break free from harmful narratives about themselves. In this presentation from the 2024 CESE Summit, Victoria digs into the deceptive tactics used to lure individuals into the commercial sex trade.
As a former employee at a recruitment agency for OnlyFans, Victoria shares her journey of realization, her immediate departure from the industry, and her ongoing crusade to expose these harmful practices. Gain a deeper understanding of the grooming and recruitment methods employed on a large scale for online exploitation and learn how to recognize and combat these deceptive tactics.
Victoria is a passionate advocate empowering individuals - especially young women - to challenge harmful narratives perpetuated by mainstream media. With a background in startups and marketing, her recent journey led her to a pivotal realization.
Follow Victoria on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoria.sinis/
Learn more about Creating Gems: https://creatinggems.com/
Learn more about the dangers of OnlyFans and take action: https://endsexualexploitation.org/onlyfans/
Haley McNamara (Chief Strategy Officer at NCOSE) sits down with Teresa J. Helm (Public Policy Outreach Manager and Survivor Services Coordinator at NCOSE) to talk about her experience as a survivor. This past week, survivors gathered on Capitol Hill to call on lawmakers to release the government files on the Epstein case. Teresa added her voice to that gathering, and in this episode, she talks about the details of the event. She speaks out about both Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, and she gives us insight into why the recent prison transfer for Maxwell is a concern.
Read our Press Statement: https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/ncose-supports-u-s-house-effort-to-release-epstein-files-saying-survivors-deserve-answers/
DONATE to support our work in walking alongside survivors to end sexual exploitation: https://endsexualexploitation.org/donate/
Dani Pinter (Chief Legal Officer at NCOSE) and Haley McNamara (Chief Strategy Officer at NCOSE) sit down to discuss 3 major corporations that are currently OR soon will be facilitating real world harms because of the nature of their platforms. The lack of real security and safety measures for kids is astonishing. Today’s conversation takes a closer look at why the new Spotify DM feature is so concerning, as well as the active harms happening to real kids and families on Roblox as well as Meta A.I.
Contact Spotify: https://endsexualexploitation.org/action-SpotifyDM
End Section 230: https://endsexualexploitation.org/DDL230-action
Pass KOSA: https://endsexualexploitation.org/PassKOSA
Haley McNamara (Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Director at NCOSE) sits down with NCOSE President and CEO, Marcel van der Watt to chat about his background and motivations in this work to end sexual exploitation. Marcel brings incredible expertise to this leadership role including experience with law enforcement, research, training, writing, and speaking. He and Haley dive into what brought him to this point and what the future holds for NCOSE and the overall movement.
Donate to NCOSE: EndSexualExploitation.org/Donate
Dani Pinter and Haley McNamara talk about the latest developments in a case in Nevada involving sex trafficking and the 13th amendment. Dani explains how the 13th amendment’s language about slavery applies in this case as well as the realities of survivors being bullied and shamed when they are bold enough to speak up. Learn more about the Nevada lawsuit and the next steps of appealing the pseudonym ruling below.
Get Help from the NCOSE Law Center: https://sexualexploitationlawsuits.com/get-help
Learn more about the Nevada cases: https://endsexualexploitation.org/nevada-is-not-safe-for-women/
Contact our Law Center team here: lawcenter@ncose.com
Dani Pinter (Chief Legal Counsel at NCOSE) and Haley McNamara (Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Director at NCOSE) talk about the latest ruling from the 9th Circuit Court in the ongoing Twitter (Now X) case. They talk about the heartbreaking circumstances that led to the lawsuit and what the ruling means for this case as well as broader implications for Section 230. They also discuss the latest news about Grok creating deepfake nude imagery of celebrities without even being prompted to do so. Is this part of the design and programming or is Grok out of control?
Read our blog about the Twitter decision: https://tinyurl.com/3tmdsste
Donate to the Law Center to support pro bono legal work for survivors: https://tinyurl.com/8xbfce93
Urge Congress to Remove Section 230: https://tinyurl.com/ymfj57p9
At the 2022 CESE Summit, Haley McNamara sits down with German abolitionist and writer Elly Arrow for a powerful conversation about the reality of legalized prostitution in Germany. Elly shares on-the-ground insights into how the legal system has expanded the sex trade, obscured trafficking, and failed those it claims to protect. Together, they unpack the violence and exploitation faced by women in the system, the role of sex buyers, and why Elly believes real justice starts with tackling male demand. As the voice behind The Invisible Men – Germany, Elly brings data, quotes, and unflinching analysis that reveal the truth behind the headlines. This is a must-listen for anyone seeking to understand what "legalization" really means for human dignity and safety.
Read Elly’s blog: https://ellyarrow.wordpress.com/
Learn more about Prostitution: https://endsexualexploitation.org/issues/prostitution/
DONATE to the movement to end sexual exploitation: http://endsexualexploitation.org/donate
Haley McNamara (SVP at NCOSE) and Dani Pinter (SVP and Director of the Law Center at NCOSE) take a closer look at the impact that pornography use has on our sexual arousal template. More specifically, they discuss some studies that have been done to demonstrate the rise in violent sexual behavior like choking or strangulation. These experiments were able to condition men to be aroused by shapes and inanimate objects, and it demonstrates that when a person is exposed to pornography, they can be conditioned to be aroused by the harmful behaviors that are depicted.
Read the full NCOSE Blog on “Conditional Arousal” - https://bit.ly/44BGIIS
Read the Guardian article on the rise and risks of choking during sex - https://bit.ly/3IQtXl4
View or download this free resource from NCOSE on the Public Health Harms of Pornography - https://bit.ly/PornHealthHarms
Dani Pinter (Senior Vice President at the NCOSE Law Center) and Haley McNamara (Senior Vice President at NCOSE) react to the latest update to Grok which include chatbot avatars that can act as your companion – even as a romantic connection. “Ani” is depicted as a very young anime girl who is programmed to be “crazy in love” with the user and can have progressively more sexually explicit interactions as the user advances through the conversation. This even includes getting the bot to describe itself as a young child or to play along with sexual fantasies with a child-like motif. All of this is available before activating “spicy mode.” This is obviously quite disturbing for a number of reasons, but even more upsetting is the access that kids have to this tool with no meaningful age verification in place to protect minors. Also, the Apple App Store has assigned this app as appropriate for ages 12 and up.
TAKE ACTION
Contact Apple: https://advocacy.charityengine.net/Default.aspx?isid=2608
Sign the Petition for changes to Grok: https://advocacy.charityengine.net/Default.aspx?isid=2609
FURTHER READING
Read our full blog about the Grok AI companion: https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/xais-12-chatbot-designed-to-be-explicit-and-go-full-literotica/
Read Thorn’s article about hashing: https://www.thorn.org/blog/hashing-detect-child-sex-abuse-imagery/
Read The Guardian article about AI-Generated CSAM: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jul/10/ai-generated-child-sexual-abuse-videos-surging-online-iwf
Follow Dani Pinter on X: https://x.com/DaniBPinter
Follow Haley McNamara on X: https://x.com/HaleyMcNamara
Our subject matter experts and hosts, Haley McNamara (SVP at NCOSE) and Dani Pinter (SVP at the NCOSE Law Center), provide insights and reactions to the recent verdict results from the Diddy trial as well as the memo about the Epstein file that was release by the Department of Justice. Both of these outcomes leave us with a lot of frustration and very few answers. The lack of understanding of sex trafficking in our culture was reflected in the jury’s decision in the Diddy trial. Also, the efforts to hide the findings in the Epstein file are on full display as people on all sides of the political spectrum demand answers. Haley and Dani give us a detailed and insightful look into these developments.
Learn more about Sex Trafficking: https://endsexualexploitation.org/issues/sex-trafficking/
Read our press statement about the recent DOJ memo regarding the Epstein case: https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/epstein-case-illustrates-need-for-sex-buyer-accountability/
Instead of waiting to publish this episode on July 3rd to keep with our normal episode schedule, we wanted to get this conversation to you as quickly as possible. We will be back to our normal release schedule with episode 67!
Today the Supreme Court issued their opinion that the Texas Age Verification law is constitutional and paves the way for other states to pass similar legislation!
It’s an incredible day in the movement to end sexual exploitation as the Supreme Court ruled that the age verification law in Texas is constitutional – pushing back on the arguments from the opposition that it violates the First Amendment.
Haley and Dani chat about the details of this ruling and the ripple effect this will have across the country. It’s notable that the dissenting opinions were actually in agreement on the core issue at play here: pornography is harmful – especially for kids.
As congress considers whether or not to implement a proposed 10-year moratorium on A.I. state regulation, Haley and Dani talk about the potential devastating effects this could have. Some have even referred to this as “Section 230 on steroids” so this episode is essential for understanding what the moratorium is and what the impacts would be. Big Tech doesn’t need another layer of immunity or security to allow them to hide while they profit off the exploitation of human beings in the name of advancing technology. Listen and share this episode and use the links below to take action and learn more!
Urge Congress to oppose this moratorium: https://endsexualexploitation.org/AImoratorium
Read more about this on our blog: https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/a-trojan-horse-in-congress-10-year-moratorium-would-block-a-i-safety-bills/
Nicki Petrossi (from Scrolling2Death) joins Haley to discuss big tech, social media, and protecting our kids online. They talk about the need for these companies to do MORE while also calling on parents to learn about the devices and apps their kids are using. Some of these apps look incredibly kid-friendly but have virtually no meaningful protections between young kids and predatory adults. Roblox is a great example of this, and Haley and Nicki dive into the details behind this popular game platform. They also highlight the importance of whistleblowers at companies like Meta to reveal the truth of what’s going on behind the scenes and how these corporations are prioritizing profit over people.
Nicki Petrossi is a mom of three and former social media executive turned social media reform advocate. In late 2023, Nicki launched Scrolling 2 Death, a podcast for parents who are worried about social media. Since then, Nicki has published over 250 podcast episodes which include conversations with U.S. Senators and lawmakers, tech whistleblowers, doctors, attorneys, teachers and most importantly – parents and youth – to learn about their experiences online.
Nicki travels the country, speaking to large audiences at schools, conferences and summits on topics related to online safety. She regularly appears on news segments like America’s Newsroom on Fox, NBC and Morning on Merit Street by Dr. Phil, in addition to appearing as a guest on dozens of parenting and health-related podcasts.
Follow Nicki on social media and subscribe to the Scrolling2Death podcast:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scrolling2death/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Scrolling2Death
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/nickireisberg
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0cXhBYHDOgmKL8SmMW3fMa?si=22397a71ebff4568
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/scrolling-2-death/id1700331740
Read about the App Store Accountability Act and take action:
https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/app-store-accountability-act-addressing-the-chokepoints-for-online-child-exploitation/
Read about this group’s test of Instagram’s Teen Accounts:
https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/instagram-teen-accounts-put-to-the-test-promises-vs-reality/
Expert Attorney and Director of the NCOSE Law Center, Dani Pinter, Esq., joins Haley McNamara to take a closer look at the ongoing trial for Sean “Diddy” Combs. Dani provides a summary of the charges as well as giving us an explanation of the true definitions of sex trafficking and coercion in direct response to what is being claimed in court when using those terms.
Learn more about Sex Trafficking: https://endsexualexploitation.org/issues/sex-trafficking/
Learn more about the NCOSE Law Center: https://endsexualexploitation.org/law-center/
Our Commitment to Walking Alongside Survivors: https://endsexualexploitation.org/walking-alongside-survivors/
This week, we hear from Kathryn Rifenbark, the Director for CyberTipline, Public Reports, in the Exploited Children Division (ECD) at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). In this talk from the 2024 CESE Summit, she shares about the impact of Sextortion on today’s young people and talks about a powerful new service that can be used to help.
Self-generated content is a normative behavior of today’s youth. But it can have a destructive impact when it’s non-consensually shared or when they have been blackmailed or coerced into producing it. Take It Down is a new, anonymous, and free service that can help prevent the spread of online sharing of nude, partially nude, or sexually explicit images or videos of those under the age of 18. This session will provide an overview of Take it Down, operated by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). Launched in December of 2022, participants will learn the amazing impact of this global program, how it works and how you can share this resource with children, victims, and families in your community.
Kathryn has worked at NCMEC for over 14 years, and in her current position, Kathryn is responsible for enhancing NCMEC’s efforts to improve resources for survivors of child sexual abuse material by liaising with law enforcement, victim service providers, and child serving professionals as well as managing the team who processes public CyberTipline reports. She received a Master of Arts in Forensic Psychology and a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.
NCMEC’s Take It Down service: https://takeitdown.ncmec.org/
Learn more about NCMEC: https://www.missingkids.org/
Read the article “Sextortion: The Largest Blackmail Operation In Human History” https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/sextortion-the-largest-blackmail-operation-in-human-history/
In this episode, we get to hear from Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls for the United Nations. We were honored to have her join us to speak at the 2024 CESE Global Summit, and this session is titled “Beyond Consent: Prostitution, Pornography, and Human Rights” in which she looks at prostitution as sexual exploitation and a violation of the human right to dignity. She also looks specifically at pornography and other forms of technology facilitated forms of prostitution as she busts 7 myths about prostitution.
Reem Alsalem is an independent consultant on gender issues, the rights of refugees and migrants, transitional justice and humanitarian response. She has consulted extensively for United Nations departments, agencies and programmes such as UN-Women, OHCHR, UNICEF and IOM, as well as for non-governmental organizations, think tanks and academia. Previously, she worked as an international civil servant, serving with the UNHCR in thirteen countries. During her service, she has planned, implemented, and monitored programs that served to protect persons that were survivors of gender-based violence, particularly women and girls.
Read our blog article about Reem’s report to the U.N. and get a full copy here: https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/united-nations-must-adopt-report-that-tells-truth-about-prostitution/
Learn more about the issue of Prostitution and how it is a major form of sexual exploitation: https://endsexualexploitation.org/issues/prostitution/
Haley McNamara and Dani Pinter discuss the groundbreaking lawsuits against multiple pornography websites that were recently filed in Kansas. These cases are the first of their kind as the new Age Verification Law was allegedly violated when a minor was able to access sexually explicit content without any age verification efforts from multiple websites. Haley and Dani talk about the real people affected in this case as well as the larger effects of pornography on children.
Read the blog: https://bit.ly/KansasAVlawsuit
Read the New York Times article: https://nyti.ms/4msXL6R
Read about the upcoming Supreme Court ruling on Age Verification: https://bit.ly/3SM38Am
FREE Resource: The Most Dangerous Playground | View Resource: https://bit.ly/MostDangerousPlayground
Get Help from the NCOSE Law Center: https://sexualexploitationlawsuits.com/get-help