Maya Lahav

Doctorate Researcher | Oxford University
Online Exploitation • Tech & Crime

About

Organised Crime on Online Platforms - Research conducted at University of Oxford. Former lead of Human Exploitation Team at a high-tech intelligence company and later served as Head of Section in Denmark’s Ministry of Defence, Department of Cyber and Information Security. Additionally, trafficking mitigation work with NGOs in South Asia.
2025 Schmidt Futures Fellow.

Research

Human trafficking was a crime once operating in the shadows of society, but it now flourishes on social media. This shift relocates risk into everyday technologies and exposes gaps in how we govern digital environments. We need evidence that explains why traffickers choose particular platforms, why they change tactics when products or rules change, and why current approaches often arrive too late. My research responds to that need by explaining the mechanisms that sustain illicit markets online and the conditions under which platform design and user routines may produce harm. I focus on offender motivations and on features of platforms that shape opportunity and reach, including the growing use of generative AI. The purpose is to deliver findings that travel directly into policy and product decisions.The PhD research data so far has helped consult the UK Home Office, the European Commission, the Swedish Police Authority, and The Guardian.

Recent Engagements

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