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Are big tech companies able to prevent child porn from circulating on the internet?

Thursday, April 8, 2021
By Dana Ford
NO

No one owns the internet -- a network of connected computers on which the World Wide Web operates via a common programming code that allows users to search for, display and transfer files.

The big tech companies (Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook and Microsoft) have control over what their users post, and they impose rules. Those companies have influence over some sectors of the web because the five of them serve the most customers, sell the most advertising and other products online and have become synonymous with "The Web." But, there are vast parts of the web—including the child porn industry and other criminal enterprises—that operate independently.

The confusion over control of the internet is common, says Jevin West, director of the Center for an Informed Public, a University of Washington research unit that studies online disinformation and misinformation.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Information School, University of Washington Profile of Jevin West, Center for an Informed Public
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