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Numerous studies have attempted to identify instances of human trafficking through online sex advertisements. In this paper, I critically examine why these studies fall short of their claims, highlighting a paucity of empirical evidence to back their assertions. I identify seven issues in this research area: overstated objectives, a lack of evidence concerning the accuracy of human annotators and trafficking indicators, subjective interpretation of these indicators, an assumption of the veracity of ads as true representations of sex workers, a tendency to conflate human trafficking with sex work, and an oversimplified understanding of the experiences of human trafficking victims. While offering potential solutions to these problems, the paper ultimately concludes that it remains unlikely for research to detect victims of human trafficking based solely on online ads.
Luca Giommoni (2024) studied this question.