15 men Arrested in Bradford for Online Child Exploitation

  • A specialist police team in Bradford have arrested 15 men on suspicion of online child exploitation following a two-week operation
  • Detectives from the Policing Online Investigations Team (POLIT) conducted a series of arrests at 13 addresses across the District
  • The POLIT team was supported throughout the past couple of weeks by a number of teams across the Bradford District, including CID, patrol and Neighbourhood  Policing Teams, aswell as the West Yorkshire Police Digital Forensic Unit
  • 15 men, aged between 22 and 65 were arrested and 60 computers and mobile phones were seized 
  • All 15 men have been released under investigation whilst enquiries into their alleged offending continue
  • Detective Chief Inspector Alan Weekes, of Bradford’s Safeguarding Unit, said: “This operation shows our ongoing commitment to tackle child sexual exploitation across the Bradford District

Amazon Introduce Flying Ring Security

  • Amazon’s smart home security division ‘Ring’ has unveiled a flying camera that launches if sensors detect a potential home break-in
  • When the ‘Always Home Cam’ is triggered by a suspected break-in, owners will get a smartphone alert to let them see live footage
  • It is designed to activate only when residents are out, works indoors, and is limited to one floor of a building.
  • A privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, described the drone camera as Amazon’s “most chilling home surveillance product” yet.
  • “It’s difficult to imagine why Amazon thinks anyone wants flying internet cameras linked up to a data-gathering company in the privacy of their own home,” said Silkie Carlo from Big Brother Watch
  • “It’s important to acknowledge the influence that Amazon’s product development is having on communities and the growing surveillance market.”

Facebook’s so-called Supreme Court Set to Open 

  • Facebook’s Oversight Board is “opening its doors to business” in mid-October
  • Users will be able to file appeals against posts the firm has removed from its platforms and the board can overrule decisions made by Facebook’s moderators and executives, including chief executive Mark Zuckerberg
  • The timing means that some rulings could relate to the US Presidential election, which is on 3 November
  • But one member of the board, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the former Prime Minister of Denmark, told the BBC it expected to act slowly at first, saying “In principle, we will be able to look at issues arising connected to the election and also after the election,” 
  • In theory, the 20-person panel – which has been likened to the US Supreme Court – could force the firm to reverse some of its judgements

Half of all Irish Parents want Online Safety Taught to Younger Children 

  • A survey conducted by Barnardos has found that almost all parents in Ireland  think online safety should be a compulsory part of the school curriculum, and more than half said it should start as early as Junior Infants
  • The children’s charity has conducted a nationwide survey which found children were also fearful of having embarrassing photos shared on social media or receiving mean messages from others
  • The survey was undertaken as part of the Barnardos Online Safety Programme and completes the first year of a four year partnership between it and Google
  • According to the survey, the top two concerns cited by children and young people were the fear that an embarrassing picture would be shared on social media (40%), and receiving mean messages or being excluded from groups by friends (37%)