Logistics software firm joins fight against trafficking

Human trafficking is a $150 billion criminal enterprise that exploits 40 million victims globally and affects every state in the U.S., according to Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT), an industry group that trains truck drivers to assist law enforcement in the recognition and reporting of sex trafficking.

That mission recently got a boost from technology, thanks to logistics software provider FourKites Inc.

Chicago-based FourKites has added a feature to its CarrierLink driver-communication smartphone app that provides one-touch access to the National Human Trafficking Hotline (NHTH), giving truckers an expedited way of reporting suspected trafficking activities. That simple software tweak could be a powerful way to combat trafficking, enabling the app's 150,000 users to help police by being their "eyes and ears on the road," according to FourKites and TAT.

"Human trafficking is a horrific violation of human rights that should concern everyone," FourKites CEO Mathew Elenjickal said in a release. "With our technology in the hands of hundreds of thousands of truckers out on the roadways every day, we wanted to do our part to provide a simple, powerful new way for them to reach TAT and the National Human Trafficking Hotline."