Exchange Initiative, an organization fighting back against sex trafficking has developed a new smartphone app, available on iOS and Android, that can help the fight against sex trafficking. The app, called TraffickCam, is designed to identify hotel rooms where victims are being held.

Users can upload photos of hotel rooms where they may be staying and the app compares the photos to those by law enforcement that depict suspected sex trafficking. The app uses an algorithm that matches hotel rooms by the characteristics, such as furniture and carpeting.

Sex trafficking is more common than often thought, with an estimated 5.5 million children trafficked around the world, according to Unicef. Most of the victims are recruited between the ages 12-14.

So far, the app is in use only in the US, with more than 1.5 million photos from hotel rooms in every metropolitan area. It is used by the St. Louis County Police Department.

"Law enforcement is always looking for new and innovative ways to recover victims, locate suspects and investigate criminal activity," Sgt. Adam Kavanagh of the St. Louis County Police told Reuters.

According to Reuters, one of TraffickCam’s developers, Abby Stylianou, a programming researcher at the University of Washington in St. Louis, said the app was initially tested among heavy travelers, such as flight attendants. She hoped it could be used as evidence against traffickers, although the app has its limits.

"We're a silver bullet perhaps for a very, very small problem," she said. "All of trafficking isn't happening in hotel rooms."

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