Europe agrees new law to curb Big Tech dominance

  • European lawmakers have agreed on new rules to address criticisms of major technology firms using their market dominance to squeeze out the competition.
  • Under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), giants such as Google and Apple will be forced to open their services and platforms to other businesses.
  • Critics have raised concerns that the “some provisions of the DMA will create unnecessary privacy and security vulnerabilities” by allowing third-party services.
  • You can read the full story on the BBC’s website.

Deplorable scam emails fake fundraising for Ukraine

  • The UK’s national fraud reporting centre is warning about fake emails pretending to raise money for victims of the war in Ukraine.
  • Action Fraud has received 196 reports of fraudulent requests to fundraise for victims of the crisis involving different con methods.
  • Action Fraud has shared advice including being cautious of links or attachments in emails and scrutinise online donation pages for authenticity.
  • You can read the full story on the BBC’s website.

Watchdog to investigate police response to child sexual exploitation

  • The Home Secretary, Priti Patel, has called in a police watchdog to carry out an inspection into how police respond to child sexual exploitation (CSE).
  • This follows a report published in February that found “extensive failures” in the way CSE by criminal gangs is tackled.
  • Police and authorities were found to potentially downplay the scale of abuse over concerns about negative publicity.
  • You can read the full story on the Independent’s website.

Strip-search Met officers put on desk duties last week

  • Two Met Police officers who conducted a strip-search of a black schoolgirl have been removed from public-facing roles.
  • A safeguarding review found that the search of the 15-year-old girl known as Child Q in 2020 was unjustified and racism was “likely” to have been a factor.
  • The officers were removed from duties on the 17th of March, more than 15 months after the search that took place on the 3rd of December 2020.
  • You can read the full story on the BBC’s website.

New service for young people who have shared nude images online

  • A new service aims to support children and young people who have shared nude images online.
  • This follows concerns received by Cumbria Constabulary’s Child Centred Policing Team regarding children involved in sharing sexual images.
  • The TRAC programme will work with children and parents on a one-to-one basis and explains the dangers of requesting, taking, and sharing indecent images online.
  • You can read the full story on the Cumbria Crack website.