Thursday 8th of July

Mozilla’s RegretsReporter data shows YouTube keeps recommending harmful videos

  • The Mozilla Foundation’s RegretsReporter (available for Firefox and Chrome) has released a report into the widespread availably of ‘regrettable content’ on YouTube.  
  • The RegretsReporter is a crowdsourced approach to reporting harmful content on YouTube.  
  • After receiving 3,362 reports from those volunteers who used the extension (along with data from people who installed the extension but did not submit reports), trends in the data show the danger in YouTube’s approach. 
  • The report found that 12.2% of reported videos violated YouTube’s own rules for content and noted that about 9% of them (nearly 200 in total) have been removed from YouTube — after accruing over 160 million views. 
  • The foundation also found that the rate of harmful content was 60% higher in non-English speaking countries. 
  • For the full story and more, select here.

Love Island star Zara McDermott backs Online Safety Bill to stop abuse and cyber bullying 

  • A former Love Island contestant who was twice the victim of so-called revenge porn has called for anti-abuse laws to protect women and girls online. 
  • Zara McDermott, 24, who appeared on series four of the reality TV show, has backed government plans for a new Online Safety Bill to tackle abuse and cyberbullying. 
  • The social media star has previously spoken publicly about her experiences as a victim of so-called revenge porn - first aged 14, and again when she appeared on Love Island in 2018.
  • For the full story, select here. 

Children’s commissioner says mental health is number one worry 

  • The new children’s commissioner for England has described mental health as the biggest issue facing children who continue to reel from the impact of the pandemic. 
  • Speaking at the virtual Local Government Association annual conference this afternoon, Dame Rachel De Souza called for the empowerment of social workers and better integration between education, children’s social care and health. 
  • While Dame Rachel expressed optimism that children could catch up with their education following the disruption, she was more concerned about the impact of repeated lockdowns on children’s personal development including speech and language, forming friendships, having fun, emotions and growing in confidence.
  • For the full story, select here.

Epidemic of violence against women under way in England and Wales – report 

  • Women and girls are being subjected to an epidemic of violence that requires a “radical and bold” shift in how authorities in England and Wales tackle crimes that disproportionately affect female victims, a police watchdog has warned. 
  • In an interim report, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) calls for councils, schools, health and social care bodies and all areas of the criminal justice system to work together to address the problem, as police “cannot solve this alone”. 
  • In March, the inspectorate was asked to inspect the effectiveness of police engagement with women and girls.
  • For the full story, select here.