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June 15, 2023

Safety tech firms get £350k boost to tackle online child abuse

  • Researchers have revealed UK firms boast a 25% market share of the global safety tech sector.
  • Three UK start-ups have won government money to fund their developments.
  • The firms that are to benefit from funding are the Centre for Factories of the Future, for their ‘CSAM Guard’ tool; Vistalworks; and CameraForensics.
  • Tech minister Paul Scully has called the sharing of child sexual abuse material, “a plague in the deepest parts of the internet” that must be stopped.
  • The UK safety tech industry develops solutions to keep people safe online and employs 3,300 people across 130 firms, a 16% rise from the Safety Tech Sector 2023 analysis.
  • The projects will receive funding from Innovate UK and will run until 2024 before presenting results on how their tools can detect and disrupt the sharing of CSAM.
  • For more, please visit the City A.M website.

Cheltenham company launches new AI chatbot to help keep children safe online

  • A Cheltenham-based EdTech start-up, Digital Woof is launching a new AI chatbot ‘Ask FiDO’, designed to help parents safeguard their children online.
  • The company’s app ‘FiDO’, which stands for Family Independent Devices Online, provides free resources and support on online apps and games to parents and carers.
  • The chatbot allows users to ask questions on specific topics such as, ‘How do I stop strangers contacting my child on TikTok?’.
  • They will receive tailored advice from trusted sources, for example, the Internet Watch Foundation and the NSPCC.
  • For more, please visit the So Glos website.

The following story may be regionalised. 

Greater understanding of ‘real risks’ and benefits AI brings is needed – Gillian Keegan

  • The Education Secretary has said a greater understanding of the ‘risks’ and opportunities that AI brings is needed to ensure that the education sector is not left behind.
  • Keegan called on technology and education experts and business leaders to bring ideas on how generative AI can be used in a “safe and secure way”.
  • The Government alongside the Department for Education have put out a call for evidence running until 23rd August to help inform future work.
  • For the full story, go to the Yahoo website.