UK’s first football hate crime officer turns focus on social media – The Guardian

Posted February 16th, 2021 in hate crime, internet, news, police, prosecutions, racism by sally

‘Since starting his role as the UK’s first football hate crime officer earlier this month, PC Stuart Ward has been busier than expected, considering football fans are banned from stadiums as part of the coronavirus lockdown.’

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The Guardian, 15th February 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

David Wilson: Sex offender who posed as girls online jailed for 25 years – BBC News

‘A man who posed as teenage girls online and blackmailed 51 boys into sending him indecent images of themselves has been jailed for 25 years.’

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BBC News, 10th February 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Man to pay £25,000 damages over negative TrustPilot review – BBC News

Posted February 10th, 2021 in complaints, damages, defamation, internet, law firms, news by sally

‘A man who left a negative review of a legal firm on the TrustPilot website has been ordered to pay £25,000 ($34,000) in libel damages.’

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BBC News, 9th February 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

The woman who live-tweets inquests – BBC News

Posted February 10th, 2021 in autism, coroners, disabled persons, inquests, internet, news by sally

‘George Julian is crowdfunding to attend coroners’ courts and live-tweet the inquests of people with learning disabilities and autism.’

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BBC News, 10th February 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Romance fraud on rise in coronavirus lockdown – BBC News

Posted February 10th, 2021 in coronavirus, fraud, identity fraud, internet, money laundering, news, statistics by sally

‘Romance fraud – scamming someone out of money by pretending to want a relationship – has been on the rise during lockdown.’

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BBC News, 10th February 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Rise in child abuse online threatens to overwhelm UK police, officers warn – The Guardian

‘The vast, and growing, volume of child abuse material being created and shared online is threatening to overwhelm police efforts to tackle it, senior officers have told the Guardian. And the situation is likely to worsen, National Crime Agency (NCA) child abuse lead Rob Jones warned, if social media sites such as Facebook press ahead with further encryption of messaging services.’

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The Guardian, 9th February 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

FCA warning over ‘risky’ TikTok trading tips – BBC News

Posted February 8th, 2021 in financial services ombudsman, internet, news, shareholders by tracey

‘TikTok creators have been offering “risky” trading tips in the wake of the GameStop shares frenzy, a UK regulator has warned. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said people should be wary of users “promising high-return investments”.’

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BBC News, 7th February 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Influencers told not to use ‘misleading’ beauty filters – BBC News

‘Filters should not be applied to social media adverts if they exaggerate the effect of the product, the Advertising Standards Authority has ruled.’

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BBC News, 3rd February 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

UK gambling firms ordered to slow down online slot machines – The Guardian

Posted February 2nd, 2021 in consumer protection, gambling, internet, news by sally

‘Online casinos will be forced to overhaul slot machine games to slow them down and remove features that cause players to lose track of how much they are spending.’

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The Guardian, 2nd February 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

UK opens formal investigation of Facebook’s Giphy takeover – The Independent

Posted January 29th, 2021 in artistic works, competition, internet, news, ombudsmen by tracey

‘The U.K. s competition watchdog launched a formal investigation on Thursday into Facebook s purchase of Giphy over concerns it will stifle competition for animated images.’

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The Independent, 28th January 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

UK regulator to write to WhatsApp over Facebook data sharing – The Guardian

Posted January 27th, 2021 in data protection, internet, news, privacy, select committees by sally

‘The UK’s data regulator is writing to WhatsApp to demand that the chat app does not hand user data to Facebook, as millions worldwide continue to sign up for alternatives such as Signal and Telegram to avoid forthcoming changes to its terms of service.’

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The Guardian, 26th January 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

The Court of Appeal considers Domestic Abuse – Part 2 – Transparency Project

Posted January 26th, 2021 in appeals, domestic violence, family courts, internet, news, remote hearings by sally

‘This post summarises the individual issues in the four appeals. Part 3 will cover the wider issues of principle and some of the themes that emerged in the course of the hearing, and will provide some materials for further reading.’

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Transparency Project, 24th January 2021

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

The Court of Appeal considers Domestic Abuse – Part 1 – Transparency Project

Posted January 26th, 2021 in appeals, domestic violence, family courts, internet, news, remote hearings by sally

‘This week three judges in the Court of Appeal held a 3 day long appeal hearing all about domestic abuse cases. This series of posts provide a summary of what the hearing was about and how it went. The decision is expected in a few weeks’ time.’

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Transparency Project, 23rd January 2021

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Priti Patel publishes new strategy to protect children from sexual abuse – Home Office

‘The Home Secretary has today published a first-of-its-kind national strategy to protect children from all forms of child sexual abuse. The Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy sets out how the Government will use new legislation and enhanced technology to stop offenders in their tracks.’

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Home Office, 22nd January 2021

Source: www.gov.uk

High Court grants girl anonymity in TikTok representative action – Litigation Futures

Posted January 8th, 2021 in anonymity, children, damages, data protection, internet, news, privacy by tracey

‘A High Court judge has granted anonymity to a 12-year-old girl, allowing the Children’s Commissioner, as her litigation friend, to bring a breach of privacy action against social media platform TikTok.’

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Litigation Futures, 7th January 2021

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

‘Deepfake porn images still give me nightmares’ – BBC News

‘A woman who has been the victim of deepfake pornography is calling for a change in the law.’

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BBC News, 6th January 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Gambling Act review expected to spur reform – OUT-LAW.com

Posted December 21st, 2020 in consumer protection, gambling, internet, news, regulations by sally

‘The UK government must be careful not to drive British consumers to unregulated gambling markets by imposing overly strict constraints on regulated providers of online gambling services, experts in gambling licensing and regulation have said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 18th December 2020

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Online harms bill: firms may face multibillion-pound fines for illegal content – The Guardian

Posted December 15th, 2020 in bills, child abuse, consumer protection, fines, internet, news, suicide, terrorism by tracey

‘Social media companies will need to remove and limit the spread of harmful content or face fines of billions of pounds, the UK government has announced, as it finally reveals the details of its proposed internet regulation. The online harms bill, first proposed by Theresa May’s government in April 2019, sets out strict new guidelines governing removal of illegal content such as child sexual abuse, terrorist material and media that promotes suicide, which sites must obey or face being blocked in the UK.’

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The Guardian, 15th December 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Encrypted messaging putting children at risk of abuse, says watchdog – The Guardian

‘The children’s commissioner for England has warned that end-to-end encryption is putting children at risk of abuse, as a survey finds that most eight-year-olds are using messaging apps supposedly restricted to those aged 13 or older.’

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The Guardian, 8th December 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Keira Bell lawyer warns on internet coverage of transgender issues – The Guardian

Posted December 8th, 2020 in health, internet, news, transgender persons by sally

‘The promotion of transgender issues on social media should be subject to safeguarding measures, according to the lawyer for a woman who brought last week’s landmark case against England’s only NHS gender identity development service (GIDS).’

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The Guardian, 6th December 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com