U.S. News and World Report included research from a report by the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy in an article about the increased use of prepaid mobile phones for human sex trafficking.

According to the article, prepaid cell phones appeal to human traffickers because they are cheap and provide anonymity. They can also track the people they’re exploiting by monitoring the prepaid phones using the GPS on a smart phone.

"They can keep tabs on those they're exploiting with the various apps that tell them where their [workers] are," CCLP's Mark Latonero said. "There's a control element to it."

Fortunately, this transition to mobile technology can also be used to the advantage of those trying to end human sex trafficking.

"Once it moved to digital and network technologies, [we gained] a perspective into the business and social dynamics on a scale we never had access to before," Latonero said. "It's a real opportunity."

Latonero is the research director and deputy managing director at the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy. He is also a research assistant professor at USC Annenberg.