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India Today
21-05-2025
- Business
- India Today
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov can no longer leave France without prior approval
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has been denied permission to leave France, where he was earlier arrested and is currently facing several investigations, without prior authorisation from French authorities. According to reports, Durov recently submitted a request to travel to the United States for 'negotiations with investment funds.' However, his request was denied by the Paris prosecutor's to Politico, French prosecutors ruled on 12 May that the proposed US trip 'did not appear imperative or justified.' The decision follows the legal constraints Durov has been facing since his arrest at a French airport in August 2024. Ever since his arrest he has been kept under strict legal control. He was indicted in September on six criminal charges linked to illegal activity allegedly taking place on Telegram, the encrypted messaging app he the several accusations against the Telegram CEO are claims that Telegram was being used as a hub for money laundering and the dissemination of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Durov, a Russian-born entrepreneur, holds citizenship in both France and the United Arab Emirates. He is currently barred from leaving France unless granted specific approval. Although earlier this year French authorities did allow him to travel to Dubai from 15 March to 7 April 2025. Notably, France authorities arrested Durov in August 2024 at a French airport. Meanwhile, Durov's stance towards French authorities is also becoming increasingly confrontational. Earlier in the year, he publicly accused the French government — including Nicolas Lerner, the head of France's foreign intelligence agency — of asking him to suppress conservative voices on Telegram in the lead-up to the election. The French government swiftly denied the claim, calling it Telegram CEO's legal troubles come at a time of broader scrutiny over digital platforms and their role in spreading harmful or unmoderated content. Since Durov's arrest, Telegram has also taken steps to signal greater cooperation with regulators. In September 2024, the company announced it would begin sharing user IP addresses and phone numbers in response to legal orders. Telegram has also partnered with the Internet Watch Foundation to automatically block known CSAM links.
Rhyl Journal
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Rhyl Journal
Jordan Stephens gets ‘sextorted' for Channel 4 film about sexual blackmail
The film is part of the broadcaster's Untold documentary strand, which is back with a new season that includes an investigation into dating apps, fronted by Love Island star Chloe Burrows. For the purpose of the film, Stephens gets himself 'sextorted', which is a form of online blackmail in which criminals threaten to release sexual images, videos, or personal information of victims unless they pay money or comply with other demands, according to the Metropolitan Police. Stephens, 33, will travel to the streets of Nigeria to track down his blackmailer in an attempt to confront them face-to-face. It comes after the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), which finds and helps remove abuse imagery online, said in its annual data and insights report – published in April – that under-18s are now facing a crisis of sexual exploitation, including sextortion, online. The documentary, with the working title Hunting My Sextortion Scammer, will be available to stream from June 25. Elsewhere, reality star Burrows will investigate why young people are ditching the dating apps and ask whether the key to romantic connections is meeting in-person. The 29-year-old will road test a variety of real-world dates and question experts on concerns about dating apps, from gamification to artificial intelligence (AI). The programme, which has the working title Chloe Burrows: 28 Dates Later, will be available to stream from June 4. Also announced is a documentary about the world of TikTok Shop, which is an e-commerce feature of the social media platform. The Secrets Of TikTok Shop (working title) will be available to stream from June 11. The final documentary announced is a follow-up to The Secrets Of UK Prisons, working title Confessions Of A Prison Officer, which will focus on prison officer corruption and become available to stream from June 18. Janine Thomas, commissioning editor for Untold, said: 'Untold continues to be a fearless voice for young audiences, tackling taboo topics, lifting the lid on hidden subcultures, and giving voice to those who are often unheard. 'This season of ambitious and exciting documentaries promises to inform, provoke and spark vital conversation.' This season of Untold will available to stream on Channel 4 and then on the broadcaster's YouTube channel. The channel has also announced the commission of a new series, working title The Court, which promises to take viewers inside the civil justice system. Set in a former courthouse, the series will follow the stories of members of the public from across the UK who have chosen to fast track their cases through a televised, alternative court.
South Wales Guardian
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South Wales Guardian
Jordan Stephens gets ‘sextorted' for Channel 4 film about sexual blackmail
The film is part of the broadcaster's Untold documentary strand, which is back with a new season that includes an investigation into dating apps, fronted by Love Island star Chloe Burrows. For the purpose of the film, Stephens gets himself 'sextorted', which is a form of online blackmail in which criminals threaten to release sexual images, videos, or personal information of victims unless they pay money or comply with other demands, according to the Metropolitan Police. Stephens, 33, will travel to the streets of Nigeria to track down his blackmailer in an attempt to confront them face-to-face. It comes after the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), which finds and helps remove abuse imagery online, said in its annual data and insights report – published in April – that under-18s are now facing a crisis of sexual exploitation, including sextortion, online. The documentary, with the working title Hunting My Sextortion Scammer, will be available to stream from June 25. Elsewhere, reality star Burrows will investigate why young people are ditching the dating apps and ask whether the key to romantic connections is meeting in-person. The 29-year-old will road test a variety of real-world dates and question experts on concerns about dating apps, from gamification to artificial intelligence (AI). The programme, which has the working title Chloe Burrows: 28 Dates Later, will be available to stream from June 4. Also announced is a documentary about the world of TikTok Shop, which is an e-commerce feature of the social media platform. The Secrets Of TikTok Shop (working title) will be available to stream from June 11. The final documentary announced is a follow-up to The Secrets Of UK Prisons, working title Confessions Of A Prison Officer, which will focus on prison officer corruption and become available to stream from June 18. Janine Thomas, commissioning editor for Untold, said: 'Untold continues to be a fearless voice for young audiences, tackling taboo topics, lifting the lid on hidden subcultures, and giving voice to those who are often unheard. 'This season of ambitious and exciting documentaries promises to inform, provoke and spark vital conversation.' This season of Untold will available to stream on Channel 4 and then on the broadcaster's YouTube channel. The channel has also announced the commission of a new series, working title The Court, which promises to take viewers inside the civil justice system. Set in a former courthouse, the series will follow the stories of members of the public from across the UK who have chosen to fast track their cases through a televised, alternative court.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Call for ban on AI apps creating naked images of children
The children's commissioner for England is calling on the government to ban apps which use artificial intelligence (AI) to create sexually explicit images of children. Dame Rachel de Souza said a total ban was needed on apps which allow "nudification" - where photos of real people are edited by AI to make them appear naked - or can be used to create sexually explicit deepfake images of children. She said the government was allowing such apps to "go unchecked with extreme real-world consequences". A government spokesperson said child sexual abuse material was illegal and that there were plans for further offences for creating, possessing or distributing AI tools designed to create such content. Deepfakes are videos, pictures or audio clips made with AI to look or sound real. In a report published on Monday, Dame Rachel said the technology was disproportionately targeting girls and young women with many bespoke apps appearing to work only on female bodies. Girls are actively avoiding posting images or engaging online to reduce the risk of being targeted, according to the report, "in the same way that girls follow other rules to keep themselves safe in the offline world - like not walking home alone at night". Children feared "a stranger, a classmate, or even a friend" could target them using technologies which could be found on popular search and social media platforms. Dame Rachel said: "The evolution of these tools is happening at such scale and speed that it can be overwhelming to try and get a grip on the danger they present. "We cannot sit back and allow these bespoke AI apps to have such a dangerous hold over children's lives." Dame Rachel also called for the government to: impose legal obligations on developers of generative AI tools to identify and address the risks their products pose to children and take action in mitigating those risks set up a systemic process to remove sexually explicit deepfake images of children from the internet recognise deepfake sexual abuse as a form of violence against women and girls Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said members shared the commissioner's concerns. He said: "This is an area that urgently needs to be reviewed as the technology risks outpacing the law and education around it." It is illegal in England and Wales under the Online Safety Act to share or threaten to share explicit deepfake images. The government announced in February laws to tackle the threat of child sexual abuse images being generated by AI, which include making it illegal to possess, create, or distribute AI tools designed to create such material. It said at the time that the Internet Watch Foundation - a UK-based charity partly funded by tech firms - had confirmed 245 reports of AI-generated child sexual abuse in 2024 compared with 51 in 2023, a 380% increase. Media regulator Ofcom published the final version of its Children's Code on Friday, which puts legal requirements on platforms hosting pornography and content encouraging self-harm, suicide or eating disorders, to take more action to prevent access by children. Websites must introduce beefed-up age checks or face big fines, the regulator said. Dame Rachel has criticised the code saying it prioritises "business interests of technology companies over children's safety". A government spokesperson said creating, possessing or distributing child sexual abuse material, including AI-generated images, is "abhorrent and illegal". "Under the Online Safety Act platforms of all sizes now have to remove this kind of content, or they could face significant fines," they added. "The UK is the first country in the world to introduce further AI child sexual abuse offences - making it illegal to possess, create or distribute AI tools designed to generate heinous child sex abuse material." Deepfaked: 'They put my face on a porn video' 'I was deepfaked by my best friend' AI-generated child sex abuse images targeted with new laws
BBC News
28-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Ban AI apps creating naked images of children, says children's commissioner
The children's commissioner for England is calling on the government to ban apps which use artificial intelligence (AI) to create sexually explicit images of Rachel de Souza said a total ban was needed on apps which allow "nudification" – where photos of real people are edited by AI to make them appear naked – or can be used to create sexually explicit deepfake images of children. She said the government was allowing such apps to "go unchecked with extreme real-world consequences". A government spokesperson said child sexual abuse material was illegal and that it had introduced further offences for creating, possessing or distributing AI tools designed to create such content. Deepfakes are videos, pictures or audio clips made with AI to look or sound a report published on Monday, Dame Rachel said the technology is disproportionately targeting girls and young women with many bespoke apps appearing to only work on female said she also found children were changing their behaviour online to avoid becoming a victim of nudification apps."They fear that anyone – a stranger, a classmate, or even a friend – could use a smartphone as a way of manipulating them by creating a naked image using these bespoke apps," she said. "Girls have told me they now actively avoid posting images or engaging online to reduce the risk of being targeted by this technology."We cannot sit back and allow these bespoke AI apps to have such a dangerous hold over children's lives."Dame Rachel also called for the government to:impose legal obligations on developers of generative AI tools to identify and address the risks their products pose to children and take action in mitigating those risksset up a systemic process to remove sexually explicit deepfake images of children from the internetrecognise deepfake sexual abuse as a form of violence against women and Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said members shared the commissioner's concerns."This is an area that urgently needs to be reviewed as the technology risks outpacing the law and education around it," he told is illegal in England and Wales under the Online Safety Act to share or threaten to share explicit deepfake government announced in February laws to tackle the threat of child sexual abuse images being generated by AI, which include making it illegal to possess, create, or distribute AI tools designed to create such said at the time that the Internet Watch Foundation – a UK-based charity partly funded by tech firms - had confirmed 245 reports of AI-generated child sexual abuse in 2024 compared with 51 in 2023 – a 380% regulator Ofcom published the final version of its Children's Code on Friday, which puts legal requirements on platforms hosting pornography and content encouraging self-harm, suicide or eating disorders, to take more action to prevent access by children. Websites must introduce beefed-up age checks or face big fines, the regulator Rachel has criticised the code saying it prioritises "business interests of technology companies over children's safety".A government spokesperson said creating, possessing or distributing child sexual abuse material, including AI-generated images, is "abhorrent and illegal"."Under the Online Safety Act platforms of all sizes now have to remove this kind of content, or they could face significant fines," they added."The UK is the first country in the world to introduce further AI child sexual abuse offences - making it illegal to possess, create or distribute AI tools designed to generate heinous child sex abuse material."
