#child-protection
#child-protection

Education

Afghan Asylum Seeker Convicted For New Mexico Killing Of Pakistani Immigrant

Sexual and physical abuse reported in Taliban-run madrasahs in Afghanistan by male students aged 10 to 17.

Students were pressured into sexual acts, faced corporal punishments, and found reporting abuses ineffective within the madrasahs. [ more ]

www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk

London

Man jailed after he flew to London to sexually abuse six-year-old girl

Adrian O'Reilly, 49, flew from Ireland to London to sexually abuse a six-year-old girl and was jailed for over six years.

Undercover officer posing as an online user caught O'Reilly discussing his desire to meet and abuse a young girl, leading to his arrest in London. [ more ]

Marin Independent Journal

San Jose Sharks

Ex-San Jose Jr. Sharks coach sued over sexual abuse allegations

Failure to enforce safety rules in youth sports programs can lead to serious consequences like sexual abuse. [ more ]

www.theguardian.com

EU threatens to ban TikTok Lite over reward-to-watch feature

The EU plans to ban TikTok's addictive service unless safeguards for children are proven. [ more ]

www.theguardian.com

3 weeks ago

TikTok questioned by EU over Lite app that pays' users for watching videos

The EU has demanded TikTok to provide a risk assessment within 24 hours due to concerns over its new reward system for users in the EU. [ more ]

Mashable ME

The EU officially opens up an investigation into TikTok

EU launches probe into TikTok's compliance with Digital Services Act

Investigation focuses on algorithmic influence, child protection, and advertising transparency [ more ]

Ars Technica

EU accuses TikTok of failing to stop kids pretending to be adults

The European Commission is concerned about TikTok's protection of minors

TikTok is under investigation for potential breaches of the Digital Services Act [ more ]

The Globe and Mail

EU opens formal investigation into TikTok over possible online content breaches

EU to investigate if TikTok breached content rules

Potential fines up to 6% of ByteDance's global turnover [ more ]

www.france24.com

EU launches probe of TikTok over child protection concerns

EU launches formal investigation into TikTok under DSA over protecting minors online

Concerns include rabbit hole effect, age verification, and data access for researchers. [ more ]

www.theguardian.com

Anger from campaigners as WhatsApp lowers age limit to 13 in UK and EU

Campaigners criticize Meta for lowering age limit on WhatsApp to 13, demanding more protection for children. [ more ]

Future of Privacy Forum

FPF Files COPPA Comments with the Federal Trade Commission - Future of Privacy Forum

Regulations need to evolve with technology for online child protection

FPF commends FTC's efforts to strengthen COPPA and suggests refinements and updates. [ more ]

New York Family

How You Can Make Social Media Safer for Kids and Teens

Parents need to actively make social media safer for kids by being aware of the risks and monitoring their online activities.

Children are exposed to a wide range of inappropriate content on the internet, making it crucial for parents to take action in protecting them. [ more ]

Independent

The dangers of 'influencers' and brands targeting your kids with ads

Influencers target kids with product placement disguised as storytelling

Parents are concerned about various online risks for children [ more ]

www.independent.co.uk

Online safety law does not go far enough, says Brianna Ghey's mother

Esther Ghey, the mother of murdered teenager Brianna Ghey, believes that the Online Safety Act does not go far enough in protecting children from harmful content online.

Ghey believes that smartphone companies should take more responsibility for safeguarding children and that there may need to be additional laws to ensure enforcement of online safety measures. [ more ]

Engadget

Meta faces another lawsuit over child safety

New Mexico attorney general's office has filed a lawsuit against Meta for failing to protect younger users on Facebook and Instagram.

The lawsuit alleges that Meta allowed its platforms to become a marketplace for predators and failed to prevent children under 13 from accessing its services. [ more ]

Theregister

Ofcom publishes UK age verification proposals

UK's communications regulator, Ofcom, has proposed various age check methods for online services under the Online Safety Act.

Privacy activists may oppose these measures, which include credit card checks, facial age estimation, and photo ID matching. [ more ]

www.theguardian.com

What I learned from our child sexual abuse survey: rational paranoia' can help parents protect their kids | Michael Salter

The largest child sexual abuse perpetration survey in Australia found alarming results about perpetrators.

Men who abuse children are often married, have a good income, and work with children.

Child protection requires managing risk without stigmatizing all men in child-focused careers. [ more ]

www.independent.co.uk

Digital life

Half of adults who chat online with strangers do not check age poll

Half of adults who chat with strangers online do not check their age.

One in 10 men over the age of 25 would not stop a conversation with a child under 16.

Online sexual conversations with under-16s are illegal and can result in a two-year prison sentence. [ more ]

www.theguardian.com

Digital life

Meta deflects child harm inquiry by pointing to Apple and Google app stores

Meta called for regulation of Google and Apple's app stores to protect children.

Meta's call for legislation coincided with the Senate's investigation into Meta's failures to protect children on its platforms. [ more ]

morechild protection

Iapp

1 day ago

EU data protection

UK OfCom releases draft Children's Safety Codes of Practice

The U.K. Office of Communications published draft Children's Safety Codes of Practice with over 40 safety measures. [ more ]

Engadget

EU data protection

The UK could require facial scans or photo IDs to view online porn

The UK's Office of Communications (Ofcom) has published draft age-restriction guidelines for online services hosting explicit sexual content as part of the Online Safety Act.

The guidelines require platforms to ensure children are not able to easily access adult content, with fines of up to Â£18 million for non-compliance. [ more ]

www.newsshopper.co.uk

15 hours ago

Social justice

Lewisham chosen to trial government reforms to children's social care

The 'Families First for Children' Pathfinder Programme aims to improve services for struggling families to keep children safe within their homes through early interventions. [ more ]

www.nytimes.com

20 hours ago

Social justice

Opinion | When the Alternative to Foster Care Is an Unsafe Home, There Is Only One Right Choice

Avoiding foster care in troubled homes may compromise children's safety and welfare. [ more ]

sharingdash.medianewsgroup.com

6 days ago

Social justice

Mandatory reporting laws meant to protect children get another look

Efforts to reexamine mandatory reporting laws in some states due to concerns about disproportionate harm and excessive unfounded reports. [ more ]

www.newsshopper.co.uk

2 weeks ago

London

Victim stabbed in Bromley confirmed to be boy, 16, with another teen arrested

A 16-year-old boy was stabbed in Bromley, with another teen arrested for the incident. [ more ]

BBC News

London

Mia Janin: Father wants cyber-bullying law after daughter's death

Cyber-bullying should be a specific crime to protect children

Need for new laws to address cyber-bullying affecting young people globally [ more ]

TechCrunch

3 weeks ago

Artificial intelligence

Internet users are getting younger; now the UK is weighing up if AI can help protect them | TechCrunch

Ofcom in the U.K. plans to explore how AI can be used to combat illegal content online, especially harmful to children. [ more ]

Los Angeles Times

3 weeks ago

Los Angeles

AI-generated child pornography is circulating. This California prosecutor wants to make it illegal.

California aims to change state law to protect children from AI-generated child pornography. [ more ]

Boston.com

Boston

School bus driver accused of assaulting student in Ashby

The 64-year-old Ashby school bus driver will be charged with assault and battery after shoving a student.

The incident involving the bus driver occurred while the bus was stopped and not running. [ more ]

www.independent.co.uk

Social workers warn system is on the brink' as baby murder lays bare failings

Social workers struggle due to high caseloads, inadequate safeguarding practice.

Calls for more funding to address systemic issues in the social services sector. [ more ]

www.independent.co.uk

Constance Marten warned about sleeping in tent with her other baby, court told

Social services warned Constance Marten about risks of sleeping with baby, living in a tent with children, Couple on the run after children taken into care, charged with gross negligence manslaughter [ more ]

www.independent.co.uk

Brianna Ghey's mother remembers joyful and fearless' daughter

Esther Ghey focuses on creating a positive legacy for her daughter, Brianna, after her tragic death.

She calls for stricter controls to protect children from harmful online content, referencing Brianna's killers' access to disturbing material. [ more ]

www.independent.co.uk

3 months ago

Police and social services contacted over 60 times before boy, 9, brutally murdered

Social services and police were alerted more than 60 times to concerns over the welfare of a nine-year-old boy who was later killed by his mother and stepfather.

Authorities missed multiple opportunities to intervene and protect the child, including classifying him as safe and well during home visits.

Neighbours made 999 calls reporting the boy's ordeal, and professionals were contacted about his welfare 64 times between 2018 and 2020. [ more ]

Axios

Social media marketing

DeSantis signs social media limits into law

Florida law limits social media for under 16

DeSantis emphasizes children protection [ more ]

www.thereporter.com

Education

Former Bay Area elementary school teacher charged with lewd acts with minor

Maintaining student safety is paramount in schools

Transparent communication needed in addressing such serious incidents [ more ]

The Mercury News

San Jose Sharks

Ex-San Jose Jr. Sharks coach sued over sexual abuse allegations

Allegations of sexual abuse by former Jr. Sharks coach.

Failure to enforce safety rules by program operator. [ more ]

www.mercurynews.com

Santa Clara County invites allegedly abusive parents to kids' interviews

Parents accused of child abuse are allowed in the interview room in Santa Clara County.

Children have recanted abuse allegations in front of parents, causing fear among those required to report abuse. [ more ]

Scripps News

NYC parents file class action suit against child services

Shalonda Curtis-Hackett expresses ongoing pain from ACS incident.

Family Justice Law Center files class action lawsuit against ACS for illegal searches. [ more ]

www.theguardian.com

Digital life

Is a smartphone and social media ban the best way to protect young people from internet dangers? | Letters

Parents should focus on teaching children safe internet usage rather than imposing blanket bans.

Giving children access to smartphones has both benefits and risks, emphasizing the need for parental controls and monitoring. [ more ]

www.theguardian.com

3 months ago

Instagram to scan under-19s' messages to protect against inappropriate images'

Instagram will begin scanning messages sent to and from under-19s to protect them from inappropriate images, even on encrypted messages.

The feature will only be available on the user's personal device and will not report back to Instagram servers. [ more ]

ComputerWeekly.com

3 months ago

Chat control: Tech companies warn ministers over EU encryption plans | Computer Weekly

EU tech companies are urging ministers across the EU not to support a proposed regulation on child sexual abuse that could undermine the security of internet services that rely on end-to-end encryption.

The companies warn that the proposals by the European Commission (EC) would negatively impact children's privacy and security and could have dramatic unforeseen consequences for cyber security. [ more ]

BBC News

4 months ago