Online Risk By Design, New VAWG Strategy & More

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DESIGN OF SOCIAL MEDIA PUTS CHILDREN AT RISK

Social media companies have designed the architecture of platforms in such a way that puts children at risk, according to new research by children’s charity 5Rights Foundation.

Researchers created social media accounts with child avatars as part of the Pathways report, which revealed that children are routinely exposed to pornographic material on social media, as well as being contacted by adults offering pornography.

A number of young people were also interviewed about their social media use as part of the study. One user, Darius reported that he “regularly received messages from ‘bot’ porn accounts” and described “being excited and engaging with these when he first used Instagram at age 13.”

Another user, Carrie, reported being “added into several WhatsApp groups that encouraged extreme dieting” while searching for body-image posts on social media, including Instagram. In the WhatsApp groups, “people were asking to be verbally abused if they ate more than they had planned.” Carrie developed an eating disorder, which she partly attributes to her experiences on social media.

As part of their recommendations, the charity has suggested that the government’s Online Safety Bill include provisions which require “company director liability” for “failure to fulfil a duty of care [for] products and services likely to be accessed by children.”

“What the Pathways report highlights is a profound carelessness and disregard for children, embedded in the features, products and services – the norms – of the digital World,” said 5Rights chair, Baroness Beeban Kidron.

“Looking after children, whether mitigating risk, designing for their capacity and age, or upholding their rights, is not optional – it is a price of doing business.”

TACKLING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS STRATEGY

The government has published its strategy for protecting women and girls across the UK.

In addition to tackling sexual and other violence that women and girls face, the report has also addressed the harms facing them online, including pornography, stalking and cyberflashing.  It acknowledges that new forms of violence against women and girls are constantly emerging, particularly online.

Part of the strategy aims to prevent harms occurring in the first place by improving education and better supporting teachers to deliver the new Relationships, Sex and Relationships curriculum.  There are also proposals to explore how young people, such as university students might be used to support peer delivery of RSHE education in schools.  Development of new resources and training for designated safeguarding leads on harmful sexual behaviours and sexual abuse is also being considered.

Of those who responded to the government’s call for evidence, 75% felt that online forms of violence against women and girls were more common than five years ago and most agreed that violent pornography played a harmful role in violence against women and girls. 

Further scrutiny of the scope of the Online Safety Bill is proposed, to “explore ways to provide wider protections for children from online pornography”.

The announcement of the strategy comes four months after the murder of Sarah Everard in Clapham Common, which triggered mass protests over women’s safety in public spaces.

MORE CONSUMER PROTECTIONS FOR ONLINE SHOPPERS

The government has announced a suite of planned new measures designed to protect consumers against scams, subscription traps and fake reviews while they shop online.

As part of the proposed measures, it will become “automatically illegal to pay someone to write, or host, a fake review” for a product online, while the government will be “clamping down on subscription traps” by requiring businesses to be more transparent about what subscriptions entail and how to cancel them.

Government regulator the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will also be given the power to fine companies up to 10% of their global turnover if they are found to have breached consumer law, under the plans.

“The pandemic has highlighted weaknesses in UK consumer protections that have allowed unscrupulous businesses to exploit customers, while our competition regime has been in need of an update to deal with the challenges of digital markets,” Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy, Rocio Concha said.

“The government must now ensure that these proposals are swiftly implemented and are underpinned by the right resources at a local and national level, so that consumer protection is strengthened.”

FOOTBALLERS SAY INSTAGRAM FAILED TO PROTECT THEM FROM ABUSE

England footballers have accused Instagram of failing to deliver on promises made to tackle online abuse, The Times has reported.

In “hitherto secret conversations”, Instagram had given assurances to England footballers they would introduce a range of new measures to reduce the extent of the online abuse on the platform.

One of the measures discussed — in which new accounts have a “cooling off period” before they can comment, prohibiting banned users from continuing abuse with new accounts — was never introduced, while the effectiveness of another measure, which filters messages containing racist words, has been questioned.


Gooseberry Planet’s detailed lesson plans and teacher advice sheets help schools deliver engaging and up to date online safety and RSHE lessons.  Visit our website for more details.

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