Developing games that uphold child traffickers

Write Althea and Asclepius, LUDCI.eu Editorial team

Trafficking in human beings is a widespread and highly profitable crime. It is reported to be the third-largest criminal activity in the world, behind drug trafficking and counterfeiting. Human trafficking as a business involves low cost and significant profit. This is sufficient for criminals to continue with this heinous activity. In addition, the likelihood of identifying, prosecuting, and sentencing these predators is very low.

The global prosecution rate of traffickers between 2015 and 2018 decreased by 42%. This demonstrates the impunity with which human traffickers operate with very little resistance from security systems to expose and prosecute them. Misuse of technology has further widened the already large divide between the high profitability of trafficking and the impunity of criminals. The perpetrators of human trafficking employ technology in the many stages of their trafficking operations.

It is in the recruitment stage that the video gaming industry comes in.

Online gaming has become part of the 21st-century youth culture. It is not only a platform for fun but also a billion-dollar industry. Some gamers...