Daily Safeguarding Update

Twitch will ban people for harassment, even when it doesn’t happen on the site

Twitch will now ban users who harass members of its community — even when that harassment takes place off Twitch.
The streaming platform announced a major expansion of its off-service misconduct policy today that allows it to take action against users who mistreat people regardless of where it happens, whether it’s offline or on another social platform.
The new policy splits misconduct into two categories: category one, which applies to harassment that takes place on and off Twitch, and category two, which applies only to harassment off Twitch.
The first category is not new, but the second one is. This new category means if Twitch finds out about “serious offences that pose a substantial safety risk to the Twitch community,” it will take action, even when those offences took place entirely off the platform.
For the full story, select here.

Facebook’s experimental app development division, the NPE Team, has released a new Q&A platform that borrows concepts from the new audio-only social network Clubhouse but includes live-streaming too.
The platform is called Hotline, and according to a report from TechCrunch, it featured its first Q&A with investor Nick Huber earlier today..
A website for the service is online now and allows sign-ins via Twitter, but it features only a waitlist and a tool for applying to host your own show. 
TechCrunch says Facebook has created designs for mobile versions of the app, though those do not appear to be live at this moment.
News of Facebook building its own version of Clubhouse first surfaced in February, though Hotline is said to be a different product than the ongoing Clubhouse competitor being built by the team behind the video chat platform Messenger Rooms, TechCrunch reports.
For the full story, select here.

Four teenagers who hid drugs including MDMA and Cocaine in a pizza box are among nine people who’ve been arrested as part of an operation to crackdown on county lines drug dealing.
Police are continuing to crackdown on crimes in Harrogate and the Dales which often exploit vulnerable people.
County lines drug dealing is when drug dealers in cities and larger towns put pressure on vulnerable people and children to sell in smaller villages.
Officers say they’ve visited more than 70 people during February and March, who are often drug users who don’t recognise that they themselves are victims.
To read the full story, select here.

The X Factor star Rebecca Ferguson is calling for an “overhaul” of the music industry after claiming that artists are sexually assaulted and “groomed”.
The singer has been vocal on social media in recent months about the negative experiences of herself and others as recording artists.
Ferguson is calling for a parliamentary enquiry into the way the music industry operates in hope of “protecting artists” and will be meeting with Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden in May to discuss the issue.
On Tuesday (6 April), Ferguson made allegations about the industry via Twitter, including acts of sexual assault, and grooming teenage boys.
For the full story, select here.

Schools and colleges in England where students have reported incidences of sexual violence could be visited by inspectors from the regulator, Ofsted.
The watchdog has announced it will visit “a sample of schools and colleges where cases have been highlighted”.
Inspectors will assess how well schools respond and support their pupils.
It comes after more than 11,000 reports were posted on the ‘Everyone’s Invited’ website, where students can anonymously share their experiences of abuse.
Many of the allegations on the website refer to sexual harassment carried out against young women by young men at their school or university.
For the full story, select here.