Facebook and Whatsapp will begin sharing users data outside EU and UK 

  • WhatsApp is forcing users to agree to sharing information with Facebook if they want to keep using the service
  • The company warns users in a pop-up notice that they “need to accept these updates to continue using WhatsApp” – or delete their accounts
  • But Facebook, which owns WhatsApp, said European and UK users would not see the same data-sharing changes, although they will need to accept new terms
  • The exception has been welcomed by some as a victory for EU privacy regulators
  • The move has prompted some people online – including Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk – to call for users to switch to other more privacy-focused messaging services like Signal and Telegram
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Fears mount that children without laptops could overwhelm schools

  • There are concerns that some schools in lockdown could be inundated with pupils without laptops after a change to the vulnerable pupil list
  • Pupils are learning remotely in England after schools were closed on Tuesday to all but children of key workers and those deemed vulnerable
  • But those without laptops or space to study are now eligible to attend school, under government guidance
  • Heads’ union, NAHT, said the move could reduce the effect of the shutdown.
  • Schools were ordered to close to most pupils as a way of limiting the spread of the virus
  • National Association of Head Teachers General Secretary Paul Whiteman said demand for key worker and vulnerable places in schools had risen substantially since the last school shutdown
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TikTik to remove videos of President Trump

  • TikTok will remove videos of President Trump’s speech to  supporters US Capitol on Wednesday, saying they violate the company’s misinformation policy 
  • TikTok will still let people post “counter speech” videos that dispute incorrect claims, however, and will let videos remain on the platform if they condemn violence or if they’re posted by news organizations
  • “Hateful behavior and violence have no place on TikTok,” the company said in a statement, “content or accounts that seek to incite, glorify, or promote violence violate our Community Guidelines and will be removed.”
  • TikTok is also blocking certain hashtags related to the riots,  in the same way it did with other hashtags that represented election-related conspiracy theories in November
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Man found guilty of murdering teenager

  • A 19-year-old man has been found guilty of murdering a schoolboy after paying more than £2,000 to try to stop him revealing their sexual relationship
  • Matthew Mason admitted bludgeoning 15-year-old Alex Rodda to death with a wrench in woods in Cheshire on 12 December 2019
  • The court heard they had been involved in a brief sexual relationship before Rodda told Mason’s girlfriend that the older teenager had sent him explicit photos and a video
  • Mason argued at trial that he had experienced a loss of control during the killing and had been blackmailed by Rodda, who he claimed had tried to attack him before his death
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