Tommy Robinson banned from Facebook and Instagram – The Guardian

‘Tommy Robinson, the far-right founder of the English Defence League, has been permanently banned from Facebook and Instagram for repeatedly breaking policies on hate speech, Facebook said.’

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The Guardian, 26th February 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Rachel Riley and Tracy Ann Oberman to take legal action after Twitter abuse – The Guardian

Posted February 22nd, 2019 in defamation, harassment, internet, news, political parties, racism by tracey

‘The Countdown presenter Rachel Riley and former EastEnders actor Tracy Ann Oberman are preparing legal action against up to 70 individuals for tweets relating to their campaign against antisemitism in the Labour party, according to the pair’s lawyer.’

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The Guardian, 21st February 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

MPs call for ethics-based internet regulation – OUT-LAW.com

‘A new code of ethics should govern the removal of harmful content from the internet and there should be “large fines” for technology companies that fail to comply with it, a prominent group of MPs has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 19th February 2019

Source: www.out-law.com

Police officer Peter Drummond had sex with girl aged 14 – BBC News

Posted February 19th, 2019 in child abuse, children, internet, news, police, sentencing, sexual offences by sally

‘A police officer has been found guilty of having sex with a 14-year-old girl he befriended on social media.’

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BBC News, 18th February 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

CPS mulls charges over burning effigy of Grenfell Tower – The Guardian

Posted February 19th, 2019 in accidents, bereavement, Crown Prosecution Service, fire, internet, news, public order by sally

‘Prosecutors are considering whether to bring criminal charges against a group of men who were filmed burning an effigy of Grenfell Tower.’

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The Guardian, 18th February 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Will a new EU copyright law change the face of the internet? – Technology Law Update

Posted February 18th, 2019 in copyright, EC law, internet, news by sally

‘The controversy around Europe’s new copyright directive has been high profile and intense. On one side are authors, musicians and writers, and those that publish and monetise their work. (It is not often that Sir Paul McCartney writes an open letter to MEPs on a piece of planned legislation.) On the other side of the argument is the free internet lobby, both large tech and individual internet users. Google has explained its perspective in similarly strong terms.’

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Technology Law Update, 15th February 2019

Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk

Parliamentary report set to savage ‘duplicitous’ Facebook – The Guardian

Posted February 18th, 2019 in competition, data protection, elections, internet, news, reports, select committees by sally

‘Facebook cannot be trusted to regulate itself and must be subject to sweeping new legislation, a parliamentary report will announce on Monday.’

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The Guardian, 17th February 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

What is Article 13? The EU’s copyright directive explained – BBC News

Posted February 15th, 2019 in artistic works, copyright, EC law, internet, news by sally

‘The final version of a controversial new EU copyright law has been agreed after three days of talks in France.’

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BBC News, 14th February 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Gambling ads guidance promotes data and social media tools – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 15th, 2019 in advertising, children, codes of practice, gambling, internet, news, ombudsmen, regulations by sally

‘Stricter standards will apply to gambling adverts in the UK from April this year as regulators address the risk of “irresponsible” marketing and seek to protect children from harm.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 13th February 2019

Source: www.out-law.com

Age verification rules for online gambling toughened – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 13th, 2019 in children, gambling, identification, internet, licensing, news, regulations by sally

‘Online gambling providers will be required to verify the identity of customers before allowing them to deposit funds into accounts or to gamble under new rules set to take effect in Britain in May.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 11th February 2019

Source: www.out-law.com

Digital ad market under fresh scrutiny amid competition concerns – The Guardian

Posted February 13th, 2019 in advertising, competition, inquiries, internet, media, news, public interest by sally

‘Facebook and Google could be forced to open up their businesses and share details of how their advertising model works, after the government backed an investigation into concerns that their dominance of the online advertising business is hurting news publishers.’

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The Guardian, 12th February 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Facebook and Google news should be regulated, Cairncross Review says – BBC News

Posted February 12th, 2019 in BBC, internet, media, news, public interest, reports by tracey

‘A regulator should oversee tech giants like Google and Facebook to ensure their news content is trustworthy, a government-backed report has suggested.’

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BBC News, 12th February 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Digital Secretary to question dating apps amid concerns over underage users – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 11th, 2019 in child abuse, children, internet, news, sexual offences, statistics by tracey

‘Jeremy Wright, the Digital Secretary, said he would write to Tinder and Grindr asking what measures they have in place to keep children safe, after an investigation claimed they are at risk of exploitation on such apps.’

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Daily Telegraph, 10th February 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Cyber sex crimes against children have trebled in three years, NSPCC warns – Daily Telegraph

‘Cases of paedophiles using the internet to commit sex crimes against children have trebled in three years, figures show, prompting renewed demands for tougher regulation of social media companies.’

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Daily Telegraph, 11th February 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Online child abuse cases reported to Metropolitan Police more than double in year – The Independent

‘Online child sex abuse cases reported to London’s Metropolitan Police have more than doubled in a year, amid warnings that paedophiles are grooming children to send them images.
Scotland Yard’s online child sexual abuse and exploitation team received 2,514 referrals in 2018, up from 1,050 the year before – a 139 per cent increase. The vast majority were alerts from technology companies, as calls have been mounting for web giants to prevent indecent images being uploaded or shared on their platforms.’

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The Independent, 6th February 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

O2 rapped by Ofcom for slowing down video streaming – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 6th, 2019 in consumer protection, internet, news, telecommunications, video recordings by tracey

‘One of Britain’s biggest mobile phone operators has been criticised by Ofcom for compressing the quality of pictures and videos on its data network for millions of customers, downgrading their quality against net neutrality rules. The telecoms and broadcasting regulator forced O2, which has 25 million UK users, to make changes to its service that managed its network traffic and affected the quality of videos that users streamed or downloaded.’

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Daily Telegraph, 5th February 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Hotel booking sites to end ‘misleading’ sales – BBC News

Posted February 6th, 2019 in advertising, consumer protection, hotels, internet, news by tracey

‘Expedia, Booking.com, Agoda, Hotels.com, ebookers and trivago have been investigated over pressure selling and misleading discount claims, the competition watchdog says.’

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BBC News, 6th February 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

I’m A Celebrity app’s gambling ads criticised – BBC News

Posted February 6th, 2019 in advertising, gambling, internet, media, news by tracey

‘Gambling games promoted within the official I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here! app have earned the firm behind them a rebuke from the UK’s advertising watchdog.’

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BBC News, 6th February 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Warwick students suspended for rape chat ‘won’t return’ – BBC News

Posted February 5th, 2019 in appeals, disciplinary procedures, internet, news, rape, universities by tracey

‘Two University of Warwick students, who were involved in an online group chat that threatened rape, will not be returning, despite a ban on their attendance being lifted. The pair were barred from the campus for 10 years, but this was reduced to 12 months after they appealed.’

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BBC News, 4th February 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Charity calls for court to livestream Heathrow third runway challenge – The Guardian

Posted February 4th, 2019 in airports, charities, environmental protection, internet, media, news, video recordings by sally

‘A high court challenge to the government’s controversial plan for a third runway at Heathrow could be opened up to a mass audience through livestreaming for the first time if judges accept a legal argument.’

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The Guardian, 4th February 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com