2. Do you think there were specific platforms or specific functions within social media that made it "easier" for the perpetrators?
The use of machine learning in insecure and private ways facilitates technically advanced human trafficking.
3. Do you think there were ways that the platform could have prevented this from happening?
It is crucial that we are in control of the algorithms that filter and rank our social relations. We need to be able to understand exactly how they make decisions, and change what these decisions are. We need channels to work with support when the decisions are severely harmful.
Another thing that is incredibly important is having immutable records of what these algorithms have done. Facebook lets me download my history, but not of how their algorithms have treated me, only of what I have posted.
I don't trust corporations here. They aren't used to transparent protocols and design. I trust open source technologies.