Premier League plans social media blackout in response to widespread racism
- The Premier League is planning a social media blackout next month in response to continued online abuse of players.
- First reported by the Daily Mail, the proposal for 1-3 May is for clubs to boycott online media for 24 hours around their games, while the league will go silent for all three days.
- It comes amid an increase in incidents of players receiving racist abuse.
- Premier League clubs have been asked to confirm their support for the blackout by 14:00 GMT on Monday.
- Championship sides Birmingham City and Swansea together with Scottish champions Rangers recently held week-long boycotts.
- Anti-discrimination charity ‘Kick It Out’ has said it would back a Premier League-wide boycott and some Premier League managers have backed the idea.
- For the full story, select here.
Priti Patel warns about future plans for encryption on Facebook
- Facebook’s plans to roll out encryption across its messaging services could jeopardise ongoing work to combat child abuse, the Home Secretary is set to warn.
- Such encryption means only the sender and recipient can read the messages.
- “We cannot allow a situation where law enforcement’s ability to tackle abhorrent criminal acts and protect victims is severely hampered,” Priti Patel will tell a charity-hosted event.
- Facebook says its plans for wider encryption protects users’ privacy.
- The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), which invited Ms Patel to speak, has claimed that private messaging “is the frontline of child sexual abuse”.
- For the full story, select here.
Children’s Commission plans massive survey of children and young people
- Millions of children and young people in England will be given the chance to set their priorities for the Children’s Commissioner’s ‘Childhood Commission’.
- Dame Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner for England, is today (Monday), launching ‘The Big Ask’, which is the biggest ever consultation with children undertaken in this country.
- The survey will run from April 19th to May 19th and will ask children across England to set out their priorities for improving childhood post-Covid.
- The results of the survey will form the cornerstone of the Children’s Commissioner’s ‘Childhood Commission’ – an ambitious Beveridge-style report due to be published later this year.
- ‘The Big Ask’ will be made available to every school in England, with schools encouraged to use it during classes and assemblies. It will also be available via the Oak National Academy.
- For the full story, select here.
Latest statistics reveal extensive child sexual exploitation in Birmingham
- Groomers have targeted one of the UK’s youngest child sexual exploitation victims in the Black Country – aged just nine.
- The shocking case has been revealed by Sandwell Council in new statistics which showed social services were also dealing with 35 other children at risk of abuse in 2020.
- Their ages ranged from the nine-year-old to 22, with two cases classed as the highest risk, 26 medium and seven low.
- Two thirds (33) of the victims were said to ‘white British or white other’, while nine were said to be mixed race and one was from a Pakistani background.
- For the full story, select here.
