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During the wait for improved online safety laws, tens of thousands of grooming crimes have been recorded. The Online Safety Bill, which is meant to become law this autumn, has encountered numerous delays and changes since it become a proposed legislation. As a result, the children’s charity NSPCC has called on MPs and tech giants to support the Bill, especially since 34,000 online grooming crimes had been recorded by UK police forces over the last six years, since first calling for more robust safety regulations in 2017. Based on data from 42 UK police forces, the NSPCC said that last year, 6,350 offences related to the sexual communication with a child were recorded. Some 5,500 took place against primary school-aged children, and 73% of the crimes were related to Meta-linked platforms or Snapchat. NSPCC chief executive Sir Peter Wanless said: “The number of offences must serve as a reminder of why the Online Safety Bill is so important and why the ground-breaking protections it will give children are desperately needed. “We’re pleased the government has listened and strengthened the legislation so companies must tackle how their sites contribute to child sexual abuse in a tough but proportionate way, including in private messaging.” Here are some of the red flags parents should be on the look out for. Being secretive about how they are spending their time On their website, Childline define grooming as someone building a child’s trust to make a connection in order to do something sexual or illegal. “Studies show parental supervision typically declines as children get older, however online abuse does not,” said Mark Bentley, safeguarding and cyber security lead at charity The National Grid for Learning (LGfL). From being secretive to omitting relevant information, changes in behaviour can vary from child to child. But it’s something for all parents to be mindful of when their child starts using social media more. “Unfortunately, as in many areas of child protection, indicators of abuse can often mirror natural markers of growing up,” said Bentley. “As children and adolescents develop, they seek independence from parents, engage in risk taking and have changes in mood and friendship group. “Nonetheless, these markers remain vital to watch out for, even if it is just to support your growing child. Those who are being groomed online are much more likely to be defensive and secretive about phone usage and loathed to be separated from their device.” Having unexplained gifts, big or small Buying gifts for children, whether big or small, can be another grooming technique used to flatter children and their families. “Some groomers have been known to provide alternative phones just to contact them, and this is always a red flag if you suspect your child may have a secondary device,” said Bentley. They are spending too much time onlineSocial media may promote negative experiences if no boundaries have been established.“Of course, some of these [red] flags can also be a sign of the child going through adolescence but it’s important to discuss any unusual behaviour with them as soon as possible,” said Simon Newman, member of International Cyber Expo’s advisory council and of the Cyber Resilience Centre for London.“The way groomers target children varies, but is often done through social media sites, text messages and apps, emails or online forums – particularly gaming sites.”They develop friendships with a much older person Children and young people can be groomed by a stranger or by someone they know – such as a family member, friend or professional, according to NSPCC. But the age gap between a child and their groomer can also be relatively small. The groomer may also work towards building a relationship with the family to gain trust, so they can be left alone with the child. “There are various models of the stages of grooming, but at heart it revolves around building up trust and making a child feel understood and listened to in a way they do not feel elsewhere, and then breaking down the links of trust to family, school, friends and other adults,” said Bentley. “Any parent thinking that this might be happening should definitely reach out for help.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Rumer Willis says she is ‘grateful’ to her body following birth of daughter Sugary cereals and yoghurts must remove child-friendly packaging – health group Clever kitchen storage solutions to clear the clutter

July's Buck supermoon could be seen around the world lighting up the skies at the start of this week, but incredible new footage is showing the sheer scale of the phenomenon. A plane flying over the skies of Oregon is going viral after being filmed getting completely eclipsed by the moment. In the footage of the giant moon, the tiny plane goes flying past, and looks absolutely minuscule in comparison to the planet. Click here to sign up for our newsletters

WhatsApp has unveiled a major update that will allow users to hide intimate conversations in a secret folder. The Chat Lock feature, which parent company Meta announced on Monday, means selected messages can only be accessed with a password or biometric identification, like a fingerprint or face scan. Any incoming messages will also be hidden on the receiver’s phone or computer screen to prevent bystanders from seeing what they say or who they are from. “We believe this feature will be great for people who share their phones from time to time with a family member, or in moments where someone else is holding your phone at the exact moment an extra-special chat arrives,” Meta wrote in a blog post announcing the WhatsApp update. “Over the next few months, we’re going to be adding more options for Chat Lock, including locks for companion devices and creating a custom password for your chats so that you can use a unique password different from your phone’s.” The new WhatsApp feature will be rolling out globally this week to more than 2 billion people who use the messaging app. “New locked chats in WhatsApp make your conversations more private,” Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a post on Facebook. “They’re hidden in a password protected folder and notifications won’t show sender or message content.” The latest update comes just days after widespread concerns emerged from WhatsApp users about a “creepy” feature relating to the app’s privacy settings. Messages on people’s phones appeared to show that WhatsApp was listening to users while they were asleep, with notifications of the app activating the device’s microphone displayed on the privacy menu within Google’s Android operating system. WhatsApp blamed the issue on a bug within Android, claiming it would never access a user’s microphone without their consent. “Users have full control over their mic settings,” WhatsApp posted in response to a tweet about the issue. “Once granted permission, WhatsApp only accesses the mic when a user is making a call or recording a voice note or video – and even then, these communications are protected by end-to-end encryption so WhatsApp cannot hear them.” Read More Creepy WhatsApp update sparks fears users are being listened to through their phone

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Focus on companies with powerful fundamentals. Microsoft offers exposure to two important themes: cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

OKLAHOMA CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 7, 2023--

Users on Elon Musk’s X (formerly known as Twitter) are calling on the billionaire to establish high-speed internet in Gaza through his Starlink satellites, after Israel announced a “total siege” on the enclave which has hit the Strip’s supplies of fuel, water, food and electricity. Gaza’s only power plant ran out of fuel earlier this month, and the United Nations has said a third of hospitals have closed, after Israel launched airstrikes on the region in retaliation against an attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas earlier this month. Calls for Musk to intervene come as the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly supported a resolution calling for an immediate truce in Gaza and to allow aid access to the area. Delegates from Israel and the United States voted against the proposal, while the United Kingdom abstained. On Saturday, around 100,000 protestors are expected to march on London demanding a humanitarian ceasefire, as Israel continues its bombardment of the enclave. The World Health Organisation has also issued the same plea, as it says it is unable to distribute fuel and medical supplies to Gaza due to “a lack of security guarantees”. Musk previously provided Starlink internet to Ukraine following Russia’s illegal invasion of the country, and now social media users are hoping the businessman will do the same for Gaza: The Tesla founder – who bought Twitter exactly a year ago - has since responded to the calls, replying “correct” to an account which said Gaza “[needs] the hardware” to access Starlink. He also wrote: “No terminals from Gaza have attempted to communicate with our constellation. SpaceX will support communication links with internationally recognised aid organisations.” Musk has already been caught up in the Israel-Hamas war over his management of X, as the EU warned him that his platform was spreading “illegal content and information” about the conflict. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

By Sam Tobin and Paul Sandle LONDON Microsoft on Tuesday accused Britain's anti-trust regulator of being a global

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