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BBC News
4 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
The police job that is beyond the stuff of nightmares
David Murray's office has a warning on its door: "Please be aware: child sexual abuse material being viewed in this room."The detective constable spends hours examining pictures and watching videos, the worst of which are beyond the stuff of puts himself through it because he knows the job is father of two young boys admits it takes its toll, yet he wishes he had started the job far earlier in his policing career to make a says it's worth it, because every week he and his colleagues are identifying young victims, and protecting them from further this week, Police Scotland invited BBC Scotland News to witness its work demonstrating the change in offending behaviour since the Covid pandemic, revealing that paedophiles were making direct contact with children online within 30 seconds of trying. 'On our doorstep' David was the first victim identification officer to work with Police Scotland's national child abuse investigation four years, he now has three colleagues and an ever increasing unit is conducting 700 inquiries a year and executing 15 to 20 search warrants every week, seizing dozens of devices from the homes of job of the victim identification officers is to examine images and footage found on these phones and laptops, to try to find children who've been to Interpol, online child sexual abuse is one of the rare crime areas where police officers start with the evidence and work their way back to the crime images are found, the victim identification specialists take over, combing through the images with the objective of removing the child from harm and arresting the their workload is increasing as fast as they can get through says: "Four years ago we were identifying approximately 25 to 30 victims a year. We're doing more than ten times that now."Shockingly, the victims are close to home."Last year we identified nearly 400 victims and 90% of those children are from Scotland."When I started, I thought it was a problem that was far away, but it's on our doorstep. It's children in our community." Horrifying contrast The contents of the devices are uploaded to the UK-wide child abuse image they've been discovered before, they don't have to be viewed again, but if they're new, they're classed as "first generation" images and checked by David and his grim reality of that is that much of the abuse takes place within households where the perpetrator knows the means devices can include pictures of normal family life, providing a horrifying contrast to the images of abuse and vital information for the detectives."Essentially we start looking for clues in the pictures as to where this footage was taken, things like plug sockets or bits of clothing, maybe school uniforms and football strips, anything that would perhaps indicate where the child lives," says David."A lot of our identifications are made from non-indecent images." One victim was recently traced in Glasgow after a detective recognised a water tower in the background of a are taken to safeguard children who've been identified, in conjunction with outside agencies such as social most extreme images and videos viewed by David and his colleagues plumb the depths of depravity. He agrees they have to switch off their own Scotland monitors the wellbeing of officers in this type of work and there are strict rules to limit how much time they spend looking at the not allowed to view it in the first or last hour of their shift, and one day a week is spent working from home, catching up on admin and emails."It's just a case of prioritising and laying out your day," David says. "We start with a briefing every morning and we've got quite a substantial workload, and we just work our way through it the best we can."There are wellbeing measures in place and talking to counsellors and other people about what you're feeling and seeing can help unlock things."Every week he and his colleagues walk past that warning on their office doors."We are reviewing footage of something that's already happened to these children," says David."But when we identify them and put the safeguarding measures in place, that's the most satisfying part of the job."I used to work in other areas of policing, like serious and organised crime and drug enforcement but I can honestly say that now kind of pales into insignificance."It doesn't compare to putting measures in place to make a child safe."
CNN
7 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Texas governor signs new law requiring Apple and Google to verify all app store users' ages
Google and Apple will soon be required to verify app store users' ages in Texas, after Gov. Greg Abbott signed the rule into law on Tuesday. The Texas App Store Accountability Act follows similar legislation that passed in Utah earlier this year, although it requires the app stores to collect even more user data. Enforcement of the Texas law is set to begin at the start of next year — giving app stores several months to determine how they will collect this information. The bill was passed with super-majority approval by the Texas House and Senate. It's part of a broader push for regulation to better protect kids online, with lawmakers and some social media companies arguing that app stores should serve as centralized clearinghouses for verifying users' ages. A handful of other US states have proposed similar legislation. But the app store operators, as well as some experts, say the age verification rules could pose privacy risks and be difficult to enforce. 'We believe there are better proposals that help keep kids safe without requiring millions of people to turn over their personal information,' an Apple spokesperson said in a statement regarding the bill last week. Apple CEO Tim Cook called Abbott earlier this month to encourage him not to sign the bill as written, according to a Wall Street Journal report. A representative for Abbott did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment. Like Utah's law, the Texas bill requires app stores to verify all users' ages and obtain parental consent before minor users download or make a purchase through an app. They're also required to share 'age categories' — child, young teenager, older teenager or adult — with app developers so that, at least in theory, they can provider safer experiences for young users. But Texas' law adds an additional requirement: The app stores must also confirm that the parent or guardian approving a minor's app downloads has the legal authority to make decisions for that child. App store operators Google and Apple argue that the age verification bills will undermine individual privacy. That's because every user, not just children, will have to provide sensitive data — likely an ID or a scan of their face — to confirm their age, even if they only want to download something like a weather app, where age is irrelevant. And the custody rule will require parents to turn over even more personal documentation. Legal experts have also raised concerns that such laws could run afoul of the First Amendment by forcing adults to choose between handing over personal information or accessing 'legally protected online speech.' Likewise, minors would be forced to get parental consent before accessing protected online speech. Apple and Google have suggested alternative proposals that would involve a shared responsibility for age verification between app stores and app developers, and sharing age data only with the platforms that need it. Apple says it is set to release an 'age assurance' feature that lets parents share their child's age range with app developers. 'Importantly, this solution does not require app marketplaces to collect and keep sensitive data—such as passports or driver's licenses—from all users to verify age,' a company spokesperson said in a statement last week. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment after Abbott signed the Texas law. However, some social media companies — including Meta, Snap and X — have advocated for app stores to be responsible for verifying users' ages, saying it will prevent users from having to share personal information across multiple platforms. The new laws come as online platforms have faced fierce criticism for exposing young users to harms such as sexual harassment and eating disorder content. And the rise of artificial intelligence chatbots has raised even more concerns and questions about how teens use technology. Even as they have rolled out teen safety features, critics have noted that young people could evade them by signing up for accounts with inaccurate birthdates and called for formal age verification.
The Guardian
27-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Pornhub and three other adult websites face EU child safety investigation
The EU executive has launched an investigation into four pornographic websites over alleged failure to prevent children from seeing adult content. After analysis of company policies, the European Commission accused Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos of failing to have effective age verification measures to stop minors accessing their content. The investigation was opened under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), a wide-ranging law to combat online harms, including disinformation, cyber-attacks, hate speech and the sale of fake goods. The DSA also includes tough provisions to protect children online, including preventing damage to mental health caused by seeing adult content. According to the commission, all four platforms had one-click self-declarations to verify age, which it deemed ineffective to prevent under-18s from viewing adult content. 'Today is a good day for minor protection online in the EU, because with the enforcement actions that we are launching … against four very large online platforms with pornographic, adult content, we are clearly showing that we mean it when it comes to the effective protection of minors under the DSA,' an EU official told reporters. There was no fixed timetable to complete the investigation, the EU official said, while stressing 'a commitment to act relatively fast on potential next steps, depending on what the reaction of the platforms will be'. The platforms could resolve the investigation by coming up with forms of age verification deemed effective by EU regulators. But if the complaint is upheld they could be fined up to 6% of global annual turnover. Under the DSA, the commission regulates platforms with more than 45 million users, such as Google, Meta and X, while national authorities in the 27 member states are responsible for those below this threshold. The commission said on Tuesday that Stripchat was no longer designated a 'very large online platform', after an appeal by the company, meaning its activities would in future be regulated by Cyprus, where its parent company, Technius Ltd, is based, rather than Brussels. The investigation into age verification tools will continue, however, as the new designation does not apply until September. Stripchat's child protection obligations remain the same. Both Technius and the parent company of Pornhub, Aylo Freesites, were approached for comment. A Brussels-based lawyer who has recently represented the parent companies of XVideos (WebGroup Czech Republic) and XNXX (NKL Associates) in EU legal proceedings was also contacted for comment.
Fox News
07-05-2025
- Fox News
205 arrested in FBI child sex operation, Patel and Bondi announce
Recommended Videos Published May 7, 2025 11:19am EDT Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel announced Wednesday that 205 alleged child sex predators who preyed on children online have been arrested in the last week. The arrests are part of a new joint operation by the Justice Department and FBI called "Operation Restore Justice" which saw 115 children across the country rescued in the process, Bondi and Patel said. Bondi called the operation "historic and "unprecedented." CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "These depraved human beings, if convicted, will face the maximum penalty in prison some life," Bondi said at a press briefing. "We will find you. We will arrest you, and we will charge you. If you are online targeting a child, you will not escape us. The FBI and the Department of Justice will come after you. And we will prosecute you." This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
