Monday 19th July

Police investigating multiple cases of sextortion on Isle of Man 

  • Police are investigating several ‘sextortion attacks’ made on the Isle of Man.  
  • Online sexual extortion or sextortion is a type of online harassment, which involves perpetrators threatening to use personal intimate images or footage of the victim to blackmail them for money or even more graphic imagery. 
  • The Isle of Man Constabulary say multiple complainants have come forward over past couple of weeks.  
  • Investigating officer DC Richard Hewitt of the Public Protection Unit says, ‘cybercriminals have targeted both children and adults via social media lulling them into a false of security, inciting them to share images of themselves which they wouldn’t normally.’ 
  • ‘Once in possession of these images they then make threats to share these images on social media unless payment is made to a fictitious ‘charity’ and in one case £7500 was demanded.’
  • For the full story, select here.

US surgeon general: Covid misinformation ‘spreading like wildfire’ on social media 

  • President Joe Biden’s administration renewed its assault on social media companies spreading Covid-19 misinformation on Sunday, as new infections continued to surge globally 
  • Vivek Murthy, the US surgeon general who has accused companies including Facebook of “poisoning information” about coronavirus vaccines, said they were not doing enough to check the online proliferation of false claims. 
  • “The reality is that misinformation is still spreading like wildfire in our country aided and abetted by technology platforms,” he said on Fox News Sunday. 
  • For the full story, select here.  

UK children about to turn 18 could be first in Covid vaccine queue 

  • Britain’s Covid vaccination programme for children could initially be restricted to those with underlying health conditions or who are about to turn 18, a government minister has suggested. 
  • Robert Jenrick MP said children aged 12 or over who live with vulnerable people would also be at the front of the queue if ministers give the green light to vaccinating under-18s.  
  • The Department of Health said no decision had yet been reached. 
  • Amid splits between scientists and growing pressure for a decision on the issue, the communities secretary said the government would receive advice soon from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). This is understood to be expected within days.
  • For the full story, select here.

Covid: Home-education numbers rise by 75% 

  • The number of children registering for home education in the UK rose by 75% in the first eight months of the current school year, according to BBC research. 
  • In north-west England numbers were 92% up on the previous two-year average, figures from 153 councils show. 
  • Some parents and councils – including in former hotspot Bolton – say the increase is down to “Covid anxiety”. 
  • The Department for Education says it supports home-educating parents and plans to launch a registration system.
  • For the full story, select here.