Meta is child abuse ‘breeding ground’, lawsuit claims
- Facebook and Instagram have become a “breeding ground” for child predators, claims a a New Mexico attorney in a lawsuit.
- Raul Torrez stated that his office had set up fake accounts that were sent phallic pictures and “solicitations.”
- He reported: “Our investigation into Meta’s social media platforms demonstrates that they are not safe spaces for children but rather prime locations for predators to trade child pornography and solicit minors for sex.”
- The lawsuit names Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, saying he “called the shots” and had denied requests to make design changes that would have improved child safety.
- In the European Union, this month regulators asked for more detail on the measures the firm had taken to protect children from abuse.
- In June, in response to concerns about child exploitation, Meta established a task force on the issue.
- Meta said it had expanded the number of terms it polices and developed new technology to identify predators, among other steps.
- For more, please visit the BBC News website.
ChatGPT builder helps create scam and hack campaigns
- A BBC News investigation revealed that a ChatGPT feature allowing users to easily build their own artificial-intelligence assistants can be used to create tools for cyber-crime.
- The platform was able to create text for some of the most common hack and scam techniques, in multiple language in seconds.
- BBC News signed up for the paid version of ChatGPT, at £20 a month, created a private bespoke AI bot called Crafty Emails and told it to write text using “techniques to make people click on links or and download things sent to them.”
- The public version refused to create most of the content – but Crafty Emails did everything it was asked, including adding disclaimers saying scam techniques were unethical.
- Experts say OpenAI’s GPT Builders could be giving criminals access to the most advanced bots yet.
- For more, please visit the BBC News website.
NI education: Plea to government to end ‘chronic underfunding’
- The heads of NI’s main education bodies have urged an end to “chronic underfunding.”
- In a letter to the NI secretary, they listed issues they said were affecting education.
- They said they were writing to implore him to “end this cycle” of underfunding and “treat our children and young people equitably.”
- Problems they cited included ongoing industrial action by staff over pay, inadequate funding for the fabric of the school estate and an increasing demand for support for young people with special educational needs.
- They stated that “It is critical that education in Northern Ireland is funded equitably in line with other UK regions.”
- A Northern Ireland Office Spokesperson said that the decisions to manage the budget “continue to rest with the Northern Ireland departments” and called on “NI parties to restore a locally elected, accountable and effective devolved government as soon as possible, which is the best way to govern Northern Ireland.”
- For more, please visit the BBC News website.
