A U.S. woman who was abused as a child has pleaded with Elon Musk to stop links to images of her abuse from circulating on X, his social media platform.
Knowing that the abuse I endured along with that of countless others is still being shared and profited from is absolutely enraging," said “Zora” (a pseudonym), who was first victimized over two decades ago. "Each time child abuse material is distributed or sold, it perpetuates and amplifies the original trauma we suffered."
During an investigation into the global trade in child sexual abuse material (CSAM), the BBC discovered images of a child named Zora.
According to Childlight, the Global Child Safety Institute, this illegal industry is estimated to be worth billions of dollars annually. Thousands of explicit images and videos were found being promoted for sale via X accounts connected to a trader based in Indonesia.
Zora’s images, once confined to the dark web, are now openly linked on X, despite the platform’s claim of “zero tolerance” for CSAM. She told the BBC: “My body is not a commodity. It never has been, and it never will be.”
The trader identified by the BBC was offering “VIP packages” of abuse content through Telegram, allegedly overseeing more than 100 near-identical X accounts. Canadian experts who reviewed sample files confirmed they included thousands of images, among them Zora’s.
X said it continues to invest in detection technology and works with the U.S. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, while Telegram said it has banned more than 565,000 groups and channels related to CSAM this year.
But activists say platforms are not doing enough to prevent repeat offenders from returning. “It’s great that accounts are taken down, but that’s the bare minimum,” said Lloyd Richardson of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.
In a message directed at Musk, Zora added: “Our abuse is being shared, traded, and sold on the app you own. If you would act without hesitation to protect your own children, I beg you to do the same for the rest of us. The time to act is now.”
