Tumblr introduces self-labelled mature content feature

  • Tumblr is adding a new filtering feature called “community labels.”
  • The platform is asking users to tag their own content, as a form of self-moderation.
  • This content falls under three headings which are drug and alcohol addiction, violence “similar to what you might see in an age-restricted movie,” and “sexual themes” including “erotic writing or imagery.”
  • For more on this, please visit the Verge website.

Pornhub in partner with charities trials chatbot for child sex abuse material seekers to find help

  • The adult website, Pornhub, will now generate a pop-up if a user inputs any one of 28,000 key words linked to child sexual abuse material.
  • The bot will encourage the user to seek help from Stop It Now!, a helpline aimed at supporting offenders and preventing people watching online child abuse.
  • This is the first time a chatbot has been used to target potential abusers.
  • For more on this story, visit the Guardian website.

Voice assistants could be hindering children’s development

  • New research suggests that voice assistants, such as Alexa, Google and Siri have a long-term impact on children’s social and cognitive development.
  • Young children learn speech from copying, and there are worries that a child will copy the listening assistant’s speech patterns i.e., lack of tone, intonation, volume or emphasis.
  • There are concerns that children will be learning very narrow forms of questioning and always in the form of a demand, without saying please or thank you.
  • For more on this, please visit the Guardian website. 

School forced to close after social media gun threat

  • A school in Wales has been forced to close after a picture of someone holding a handgun along with the message “Don’t come to school tomorrow” was sent to pupils.
  • The school sent its 1500 pupils home after the image was shared on Snapchat, and police were called as a ‘precautionary measure’.
  • A Police spokesperson said ‘Officers, including specially trained firearms officers, are in the St Julians area of Newport as a precaution.’
  • For more on this, visit the ITV website.