Daily Safeguarding News - Safer Schools NI

New clustering tech ‘revolution’ helps analysts assess child sexual abuse imagery in seconds

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) is now using ‘Clustering’ technology in order to help analysts assess multiple child sexual abuse images in seconds.
The IWF is the UK organisation responsible for finding, disrupting, and taking down child sexual abuse imagery from the internet.
Clustering technology works by linking similar images together, meaning teams can quickly assess and grade hundreds of criminal images and make quickfire decisions to get them blocked or removed.
The IWF have stated that assessments based on clusters can be 112% faster than assessing individual images.
The breakthrough was funded by Nominet which has funded the IWF’s work since 2018.
For more, please visit the IWF’s website.

TikTok has outlined various steps its taking to meet the updated Digital Services Act (DSA) regulations.
The EU DSA, which comes into effect soon, was created to ensure that user rights are better protected, particularly in relation to the use of personal data.
TikTok has now launched a new EU Online Safety Hub, which will provide a full overview of TikTok’s DSA compliance elements and reporting on each.
The Hub will provide access to all of TikTok’s reporting and transparency measures, including information into how its algorithms work, its content moderation processes, information on ad targeting and more.
Rather than seeing content based on their interests, which may not be aligned with age-appropriate options, users who turn off personalisation will see content that is suitable for their age range and based on their country of residence.
TikTok is also adding a new illegal content reporting option in-app which will enable people to report content they believe to be in violation to EU rules.
For more, please visit the Social Media Today’s website.

Researchers from University College London (UCL) have found that pupils need higher quality instruction about online risks they face.
This was particularly so for those from poorer backgrounds and those of lower academic achievements.
Data for the international study was based on more than 176,000 children across 38 countries.
Around one in seven (14%) 15-year-olds are at risk of responding to a phishing email.
This risk rises to a fifth among those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds.
Young people who also have weaker cognitive skills are most at risk of falling victim to phishing emails.
A Home Office spokesman has said that the Government are “committed to cracking down on scams” and will “continue to work intensively with partners to protect young people, and the wider public, from fraud.”
For more, please visit the Independent’s website.