02 Dec News – Technology more.
19/04/2021: Priti Patel: Facebook encryption plan ‘must not hamper child protection’
Facebook’s plans to roll out encryption across its messaging services could jeopardise ongoing work to combat child abuse, the Home Secretary is to warn. Such encryption means only the sender and recipient can read messages. “We cannot allow a situation where law enforcement’s ability to tackle abhorrent criminal acts and protect victims is severely hampered,” Priti Patel will tell a charity-hosted event. Facebook says its plans for wider encryption protects users’ privacy.
BBC19/04/2021: Facebook encryption plans will hit fight against child abuse, warns Patel
NSPCC fears end-to-end encryption of messages will make tools that identify grooming and images of abuse useless. Home secretary Priti Patel will call for tech companies including Facebook to “live up to their moral duty” and do more to safeguard children in a roundtable discussion about end-to-end message encryption.
Guardian07/04/2021: Gaming paedophile groomed victim with cryptocurrency
A paedophile who groomed an 11-year-old boy through online gaming has been told by a judge he may have to serve all of his eight-year jail sentence. Jay Creed, 53, encouraged the boy to make a video of himself carrying out sexual activity on at least 20 occasions, Truro Crown Court heard. He also gave the boy cryptocurrency to play games, the court was told.
BBC26/03/2021: Facebook end-to-end encryption plans make stopping child abuse online harder
Facebook is turning back the clock on children’s safety with new plans that will make it harder to detect and disrupt child abuse online. We’re calling for the Government to take action on the risks of end-to-end encryption, after our new data reveals Facebook-owned apps were used in more than 52% of online child sex crimes. In one year, there were over 9,470 instances of child sex abuse images and online child sex offences recorded by police (where the means of communication was known).
NSPCC24/03/2021: Child abuse: Warning of siblings being groomed online
Criminals and paedophiles are trying to groom and exploit young siblings as part of an emerging trend of online sexual abuse, experts have warned. The Internet Watch Foundation said victims ranged from 3-16 years, with some groomed to copy adult pornography. It found 511 examples involving siblings between September and December – roughly one in 30 instances of all “self-generated content” in that time.
BBC24/03/2021: ‘Beyond heart-breaking’ abuse as predators groom children to film siblings and friends
Internet sex predators are tricking children into abusing their own siblings and friends as new research reveals this “disturbing” trend is eight times worse than experts had feared. A new study published ahead of the Internet Watch Foundation’s annual report reveals how internet sex predators are targeting children to have them abuse their siblings and friends*, as well as themselves, on camera. The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) is the UK-based charity responsible for finding and removing images and videos of children suffering sexual abuse from the internet.
Internet Watch Foundation22/03/2021: Neo-Nazi group targeting children as young as 14 during coronavirus lockdown
An international neo-Nazi group is targeting British teenagers as young as 14 for recruitment during the coronavirus lockdown, a report has found, as record numbers of children are arrested for terrorism offences. The National Partisan Movement (NPM) runs online channels where members “regularly express antisemitism, Holocaust denial and support for mass murderers”.
Independent20/03/2021: Police warn students to avoid science website
Police have warned students in the UK against using a website that they say lets users “illegally access” millions of scientific research papers. The City of London police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit says using the Sci-Hub website could “pose a threat” to students’ personal data. The police are concerned that users of the “Russia-based website” could have information taken and misused online.
BBC18/03/2021: Online Safety Live England
The UK Safer Internet Centre are delivering a FREE 90-minute virtual Online Safety briefing via Microsoft Teams. Open to all professionals who work with children and young people, this event will give you the latest in online safety research, legislation, technology, tools and resources along with exclusive access to the presentation and resource materials.
18/03/2021: Online Safety Live England (Afternoon)
The UK Safer Internet Centre are delivering a FREE 90-minute virtual Online Safety briefing via Microsoft Teams. Open to all professionals who work with children and young people, this event will give you the latest in online safety research, legislation, technology, tools and resources along with exclusive access to the presentation and resource materials.