Twitter leads in child abuse content on social media claims report

Agencies
November 11, 2019

The UK-based Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has revealed that nearly half of the child abuse content in the social media space is being shared openly on micro-blogging platform Twitter.

According to a report in The Telegraph that accessed the IWF data, 49 per cent of the images, videos and URL links it found on social media, search engines and cloud services in the last three years were on Twitter - "making up 1,396 of the total 2,835 incidents".

This is a scary incident as the child abuse images and videos slipped through Twitter's filters and were available for anyone to see.

According to the IWF, it helps minimize the availability of online sexual abuse content, specifically child sexual abuse content hosted anywhere in the world. The majority of its work focuses on the removal of child sexual abuse images and videos.

"We search for child sexual abuse images and videos and offer a place for the public to report them anonymously. We then have them removed," it said on its website.

Microsoft's Bing search engine was second in the IWF report, with 604 incidents recorded between 2016 and 2018, followed by Amazon with 375 and Google with 348.

"The IWF found 72 incidents of abuse being openly hosted on Facebook, 18 on its sister site Instagram and 22 on YouTube," said the report.

A Twitter spokesperson replied to the IWF report: "We have serious concerns about the accuracy of these figures and the metrics used to produce them. We will continue to work with the IWF to address their concerns and improve the accuracy of their data".

Susie Hargreaves OBE, CEO of the IWF said that "our data is accurate and recorded fairly and consistently regardless of where we find child sexual abuse material".

Microsoft also questioned the IWF data.

Earlier reports claimed that Microsoft's search engine Bing is still serving child porn, and certain search terms on the platform brought up child porn images and related keywords.

"Microsoft's Bing search engine reportedly still served up child porn, nearly a year after the tech giant said it was addressing the issue.

"The news comes as part of a report in The New York Times that looks at what the newspaper says is a failure by tech companies to adequately address child pornography on their platforms," reports CNET.

The tech giant has long been at the forefront of combating abuse imagery, even creating a detection tool called "PhotoDNA" almost a decade ago. But many criminals have turned to its search engine Bing as a reliable tool.

"Part of the issue is privacy, some companies say," said the report.

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News Network
June 20,2020

Hyderabad, Jun 20: IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria on Saturday said that the force is well prepared and suitably deployed to respond to any contingency and it will never let the sacrifice of the bravehearts of Galwan go in vain.

"It should be very clear that we are well prepared and suitably deployed to respond to any contingency. I assure the nation that we are determined to deliver and will never let the sacrifice of the braves of Galwan go in vain," IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria said here.

Bhadauria was speaking at the Combined Graduation Parade (CGP) at Air Force Academy in Hyderabad.

His remarks come days after 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives in the violent face-off on June 15-16 during an attempt by the Chinese troops to unilaterally change the status quo during the de-escalation in eastern Ladakh.

Speaking about the current border situation with China, he said: "We are aware of the situation, be it on LAC or beyond, be it their air deployments, their posture and kind of deployments. We've full analysis and we have taken necessary action that we need to take to handle any contingency that may come up."

"We are monitoring all the moments and we are aware of the full situation," he added.

He further said that in spite of the "unacceptable Chinese action" at Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, which claimed lives of 20 Indian Army personnel, efforts are underway to ensure that the current situation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is resolved peacefully.

He asserted that the IAF is determined to deliver and the development at the LAC in Ladakh is a small snapshot of what the force is required to handle at short notice.

The IAF Chief further appealed to people to join him in paying tribute Colonel Santosh Babu and his brave men who made the sacrifice while defending the LAC in Galwan valley.

"The gallant actions in a highly-challenging situation have demonstrated our resolve to protect India's sovereignty at any cost," the Indian Air Force (IAF) chief said.

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Agencies
March 7,2020

New Delhi, Mar 7: The Union government has issued a Global Invite for Expression of Interest for disinvestment in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) from prospective bidders with a minimum net worth of $10 billion as of Saturday.

The EoI submissions can be made till May 2, whereas investor queries will be entertained till April 4.

Another condition pertains to a maximum of four members are permitted in a consortium, and the lead member must hold 40 per cent in proportion. Other members of the consortium must have a minimum $1 billion net worth.

The EOI allows changes in the consortium within 45 days, though the lead member cannot be changed.

The GoI proposes to disinvest its entire shareholding in BPCL comprising 1,14,91,83,592 equity shares held through the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, which constitutes 52.98 per cent of BPCL's equity share capital, along with the transfer of management control to the strategic buyer (except BPCL's equity shareholding of 61.65 per cent in Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) and management control thereon).

The shareholding of BPCL in NRL will be transferred to a Central Public Sector Enterprise operating in the oil and gas sector under the Ministry and accordingly is not a part of the proposed transaction.

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News Network
June 24,2020

Islamabad, Jun 24: A plane crash which killed 97 people in Pakistan last month was because of human error by the pilot and air traffic control, according to an initial report into the disaster released Wednesday.

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane came down among houses on May 22 after both engines failed as it approached Karachi airport, killing all but two people on board.

"The pilot as well as the controller didn't follow the standard rules," the country's aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said, announcing the findings in parliament.

He said the pilots had been discussing the coronavirus pandemic as they attempted to land the Airbus A320.

"The pilot and co-pilot were not focused and throughout the conversation was about coronavirus," Khan said.

The Pakistani investigation team, which included officials from the French government and the aviation industry, analysed data and voice recorders.

The minister said the plane was "100 percent fit for flying, there was no technical fault".

The county's deadliest aviation accident in eight years came days after domestic commercial flights resumed following a two-month coronavirus lockdown.

Many passengers were on their way to spend the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr with loved ones.

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