Meta announces new updates for Facebook groups

  • Meta has introduced new updates designed to help group admins reduce misinformation from their own communities.
  • Group admins will now be able to automatically reject incoming posts that contain false information, to reduce the spread of misinformation.
  • Meta is renaming ‘mute’ within Facebook groups to ‘suspend’.
  • They are also introducing a new admin assist functionality and new community growth tools with QR codes for Facebook groups.
  • You can read the full story on Social Media Today’s website.

TikTok children’s privacy lawsuit can proceed, says UK High Court

  • UK High Court has granted permission for a class-action style privacy lawsuit to proceed against TikTok over its handling of children’s data.
  • The suit seeks damages on behalf of millions of children for alleged misuse of their information.
  • The lawsuit was filed in 2020 by a then 12-year-old girl to bring the claim that the site is processing children’s data unlawfully.
  • If legal action succeeds TikTok could have to pay billions of dollars in compensation.
  • You can read the full story on Tech Crunch’s website.

No one knows how many children in England, says children’s commissioner

  • The children’s commissioner for England has backed mandatory tracking of children by local authorities.
  • A report from all England’s local authorities found many did not have figures for the number of children being home schooled or attending independent schools.
  • The report indicated many councils rely on census figures to estimate how many children are in their local authority.
  • There are hundreds of children who have never interacted with the education system, including children who have gone missing from care or been trafficked into the UK.
  • You can read the full story on The Guardian’s website

Children’s social care generates excessive profits – report

  • The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) report found private sector providers of children’s homes and foster care places in England, Scotland and Wales are making excessive profits, and councils are paying more than they should for fostering.
  • There is an overall shortage of appropriate places for looked-after children leading to some not getting the care they need, being placed far from schools, friends and separated from siblings, according to the CMA.
  • There is growing pressure on children’s services to find suitable placements for children.
  • You can read the full story on the BBC’s website.