DCMS Secretary of State writes about the importance of a free and diverse media
What makes a healthy democracy? The strongest and most progressive countries share lots of qualities, but they have two vital things in common: a free and diverse media and the right to dissent. This week, a vocal Twitter minority went after both (writes Department of Culture Media and Sport Secretary of State OLIVER DOWDEN) .
GB News had barely begun broadcasting when pressure group âStop Funding Hateâ tried to stifle it, piling the pressure on advertisers to boycott Britainâs newest current affairs channel for spreading âhate and divisionâ. It came in a week when we had already witnessed free journalism under assault with the despicable harassment of BBC journalist Nick Watt.
It seems GB Newsâ biggest crime – or rather âpre-crimeâ, as itâs called in the dystopian Minority Report when people are proactively punished for wrongs they havenât committed yet – was to signal that it might not always agree with the media consensus. When he launched the channel, veteran broadcaster Andrew Neil vowed that GB News would not be âan echo chamber for the metropolitan mindsetâ, and that it would âempower those who feel their concerns have been unheardâ.
Rightly so. A free media is one that has a diverse range of opinions and voices – and as I said earlier this week, GB News is a welcome addition to that diversity. We need outlets and commentators who cover the range of the political spectrum; who can speak truth to power; and who are willing to challenge dogma or orthodoxy.
Iâve no doubt plenty of people will disagree with some of the things GB News commentators have to say – just as plenty of people disagree with the things they see and hear on the BBC, Sky News or any other media outlet. But if you donât like those ideas, switch over – donât silence. We shouldnât be blocking people from the conversation simply because we disagree with them.
That is exactly why, when we were developing legislation to boost online safety and tackle social media abuse, I was determined to make sure it couldnât be used to stifle debate. Every country is grappling with this – but I believe the UK has struck the right balance and carved a path for the rest of the world to follow with our Online Safety bill, which we published in draft form last month.
That bill will protect children online and help stamp out the vile social media abuse, including racism and misogyny. Crucially, though, it also includes strong safeguards for free speech and the freedom of the media.
There will be a new requirement for social media companies to protect freedom of expression. The largest social media platforms will need to be clear to users about what they allow on their sites, and enforce it consistently.
That means they wonât be able to arbitrarily remove content – and if a user feels they have, theyâll have a new right to appeal. Right now if content is removed there is no recourse to review or in many cases even get an explanation as to why material has been taken down. Our bill will enhance the protections in place.
Weâve also got special safeguards for journalistic and âdemocratically importantâ content. News publishersâ content wonât be in scope – whether itâs on their own sites or on other online services. Journalists will also benefit from increased protections when they post on social media. The largest platforms will also have to protect political opinions on their sites, even if certain activists or campaign groups donât agree with them.
Those are the grounds of a functioning democracy. Sadly we can no longer take them for granted. Across the West, our values of tolerance and freedom of expression, for which previous generations have fought and died, increasingly risk being undermined by a small but vocal minority. For them, these are not absolute, but relative, concepts, ready to be bent to silence dissent from their world view.
Google and Facebook are failing to take action to remove online scam adverts even after fraud victims report them, raising concerns that the reactive approach to fraudulent content taken by online platforms is not fit for purpose, Which? research has revealed.
The consumer championâs survey found that a third (34%) of victims who reported an advert that led to a scam on Google said the advert was not taken down by the search engine, while a quarter (26%) of victims who reported an advert on Facebook that resulted in them being scammed said the advert was not removed by the social media site.
Which? believes that the significant flaws with the current reactive approaches taken to tackling online scams makes a clear case for online platforms to be given legal responsibility for preventing fake and fraudulent adverts from appearing on their sites.
Which? is calling for the government to take the opportunity to include content that leads to online scams in the scope of its proposed Online Safety Bill.
Of those who said they had fallen victim to a scam as a result of an advert on a search engine or social media, a quarter (27%) said theyâd fallen for a fraudulent advert they saw on Facebook and one in five (19%) said a scam targeted them through Google adverts. Three per cent said theyâd been tricked by an advert on Twitter.
The survey also highlighted low levels of engagement with the scam reporting processes on online platforms. Two in five (43%) scam victims conned by an advert they saw online, via a search engine or social media ad, said they did not report the scam to the platform hosting it.
The biggest reason for not reporting adverts that caused a scam to Facebook was that victims didnât think the platform would do anything about it or take it down â this was the response from nearly a third (31%) of victims.
For Google, the main reason for not reporting the scam ad was that the victim didnât know how to do so â this applied to a third (32%) of victims. This backs up the experience of Which?âs researchers who similarly found it was not immediately clear how to report fraudulent content to Google, and when they did it involved navigating five complex pages of information.
Worryingly, over half (51%) of 1,800 search engine users Which? surveyed said they did not know how to report suspicious ads that appear in their search listings, while over a third (35%) of 1,600 social media users said they didnât know how to report a suspicious advert seen on social media channels
Another issue identified by victims that Which? has spoken to is that even if fake and fraudulent adverts are successfully taken down they often pop up again under different names.
One scam victim, Stefan Johansson, who lost ÂŁ30.50, told Which? he had repeatedly reported a scam retailer operating under the names âSwanbroochâ and âOmergaâ to Facebook.
He believes the social media site has a âscattergunâ approach to removing the ads and says that a week rarely goes by when he doesnât spot dodgy ads in his newsfeed, posted by what he suspects are unscrupulous companies.
Another victim, Mandy, told Which? she was tricked by a fake Clarks âclearance saleâ advert she saw on Facebook. She paid ÂŁ85 for two pairs of boots, but instead she received a large box containing a pair of cheap sunglasses.
âIâve had a lot of back and forth with my bank over the past six months, trying to prove that I didnât receive what I ordered,â Mandy said. Facebook has since removed this advert and the advertiserâs account.
The tech giants make significant profits from adverts, including ones that lead to scams. These companies have some of the most sophisticated technology in the world but the evidence suggests they are failing to use it to prevent scammers from abusing the platforms by using fake and fraudulent content on an industrial scale to target victims.
The combination of inaction from online platforms when scam ads are reported, low reporting levels by scam victims, and the ease with which advertisers can post new fraudulent adverts even after the original ad has been removed, suggests that online platforms need to take a far more proactive approach to prevent fraudulent content from reaching potential victims in the first place.
Consumers should also sign up to Which?âs scam alert service in order to familiarise themselves with some of the latest tactics used by fraudsters, particularly given the explosion of scams since the coronavirus crisis.
The consumer champion has also launched a Scam Sharing tool to help it gather evidence in its work to protect consumers from fraud. The tool has received more than 2,500 reports since it went live three weeks ago.
Adam French, Consumer Rights Expert at Which?, said:âOur latest research has exposed significant flaws with the reactive approach taken by tech giants including Google and Facebook in response to the reporting of fraudulent content â leaving victims worryingly exposed to scams.
âWhich? has launched a free scam alert service to help consumers familiarise themselves with the latest tactics used by fraudsters, but there is no doubt that tech giants, regulators and the government need to go to greater lengths to prevent scams from flourishing.
âOnline platforms must be given a legal responsibility to identify, remove and prevent fake and fraudulent content on their sites. The case for including scams in the Online Safety Bill is overwhelming and the government needs to act now.â
Google responded: âWeâre constantly reviewing ads, sites and accounts to ensure they comply with our policies. As a result of our enforcement actions (proactive and reactive), our team blocked or removed over 3.1 billion ads for violating our policies.
âAs part of the various ways we are tackling bad ads, we also encourage people to flag bad actors theyâre seeing via our support tool where you can report bad ads directly. It can easily be found on Search when looking for âHow to report bad ads on Googleâ and filling out the necessary information. It is simple for consumers to provide the required information for the Google ads team to act accordingly.
âWe take action on potentially bad ads reported to us and these complaints are always manually reviewed.â
âWe have strict policies that govern the kinds of ads that we allow to run on our platform. We enforce those policies vigorously, and if we find ads that are in violation we remove them. We utilize a mix of automated systems and human review to enforce our policies.â
A spokesperson for Facebook responded: âFraudulent activity is not allowed on Facebook and we have taken action on a number of pages reported to us by Which?.
“Our 35,000 strong team of safety and security experts work alongside sophisticated AI to proactively identify and remove this content, and we urge people to report any suspicious activity to us. Our teams disable billions of fake accounts every year and we have donated ÂŁ3 million to Citizens Advice to deliver a UK Scam Action Programme.â
A Twitter spokesperson said:âWhere we identify violations of our rules, we take robust enforcement action.
“Weâre constantly adapting to bad actorsâ evolving methods, and we will continue to iterate and improve upon our policies as the industry evolves.â
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to fuel a perfect storm in digital risk to children in Scotland, the NSPCC and O2 are now delivering virtual online safety talks for parents.
Some security advice to help protect British shoppers against cyber-crime has been released as we head online for the basics:
Internet shopping specialists from NetVoucherCodes.co.uk have revealed their 13 top tips to help UK consumers stay safe when shopping on the web in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
From using a credit card and keeping software up to date, to writing down complicated passwords and making up answers to security questions, online shoppers could avoid becoming a cyber criminalâs next victim by following the guidance.
A spokesperson for NetVoucherCodes.co.uk said: âWith more and more Britons heading online to shop for the essentials, it’s important to take online security even more seriously.
“Browsing the web can be a security minefield for consumers â a computer virus, hacker or fraud could be just one click away.
âSo to help Brits shop online with greater peace of mind, weâve revealed the different measures you can take to stay safe when buying something on the internet.â
If you purchase online using a debit card and it turns out to be a scam thereâs usually no way to retrieve your money, but fraudulent charges must be reimbursed by credit card companies.
Check your statements regularly, just in case a purchase you didnât make gets through the card providerâs safety net and you need to dispute it. This could also help if a purchase is shows up different to what you ordered, damaged or doesnât arrive at all.
2. Make up security answers
When creating an account with online shopping sites, you might be asked to set up password reset security questions to confirm your identity.
Rather than entering the real town you were born in or motherâs maiden name, enter false answers and write them down if you canât remember. This makes it much harder for cyber criminals who might be trying to gather information on you.
3. Only fill out required fields
 Donât offer up any more personal information that is necessary to complete an online purchase.
The required fields are usually starred or highlighted when checking out â itâs usually wise to leave the rest blank.
4. Never save informationÂ
Allowing even the most reputable of websites to store your payment or address information is unnecessary.
Donât say yes when your browser suggests saving any passwords either and always log out when youâve finished shopping.
5. Change passwords often
 Regularly change between complicated, hard to guess, alphanumeric passwords that also contain symbols, even if you have to write them all down somewhere secure at home. Keep them different for each site you use too.
Using the same, simple but memorable password for every website for years, such as a petâs name, is asking for trouble when online shopping.
6. Look for security indicators
A web address (or URL) that begins with âHTTPSâ are secure â those without the âSâ, âHTTPâ, may not be.
Other signs of shopping site security to look out for could include a closed padlock or complete key, possibly green, alongside the URL, next to the search bar or elsewhere around the screen.Â
7. Avoid public Wi-Fi
 Entering personal information such as credit card details, passwords or home address while using free public Wi-Fi hotspots is dangerous as your data wonât be protected by encryption and could vulnerable to hackers.
8. Update your computer
Using an older version of a popular internet browser, operating system or anti-virus software on your computer means that youâll be missing out on important security updates, which could leave you exposed when browsing the web.
9. Be extra careful on mobilesÂ
Most mobile phones wonât have the same level of anti-virus protection as laptop or desktop computers so extra vigilance is required, particularly around shortened mobile-friendly URLs.
Mobile devices are also more likely to be stolen, so make sure any payment details are passcode or fingerprint protected.
10. Avoid email links
 Rather than clicking on potentially suspect links to shopping sites that you see on social media, other websites or in emails, search for the website yourself.
This helps to make sure you browse the authentic site. If youâre getting a lot of spam emails, consider setting up a dedicated online shopping only email address.
11. Leave badly designed websites
If a shopping site appears to be out of date, has a strange URL, comes with lots of pop ups, or is dominated by cheap, irrelevant or overseas adverts, the page could be dodgy and worth exiting before itâs too late.
12. Research and read reviews
When considering spending on a new site that you havenât used before, it can be useful to browse forums and social media to see what experience others have had of shopping there.
If you can find a real physical address and verifiable contact details for the company you intend to make a purchase from, theyâre probably legitimate.Â
13. Trust your instincts
 Just as you would when shopping on the high street, if you feel like a website is requesting too much personal information or could harm your computer with viruses, close it.
If in any doubt, stick to shopping with sites you know and trust.
Remember, if a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is.
Which? – Coronavirus email and text phishing scams
Phishing and smishing emails and SMS messages are already being sent out to trap the unwary into giving up login details.
One weâve seen is an email that claims to come from the World Health Organization. Itâs short and sweet, asking that you click on a link to what it says is a PDF offering advice on how to stay safe during the outbreak.
Security firm Sophos has a detailed breakdown of what happens if you click on that link, but broadly it shows you a pop-up in front of what looks like the WHOâs actual website asking you to input your email address and password so that you can receive the non-existent PDF.
Other phishing emails and SMS messages (known as âsmishingâ texts) are also doing the rounds: Action Fraud has warned that emails purporting to be from organisations including the US Centers for Disease Control and the WHO are being sent with the aim of tricking you into opening malicious attachments or giving away your passwords.
The latest email and text phishing scams:
Fake lockdown fines
People have been warned not to fall for a bogus text message saying they have been fined for stepping outside during the coronavirus lockdown. The scam message claims to be from the Government, telling the recipient their movements have been monitored through their phone and they must pay a fine or face a more severe penalty.
HMRC goodwill paymentÂ
The MET police are warning of a fake message designed to steal your account details that says âAs part of the NHS promise to battle the COV-19 virus, HMRC has issued a payment of ÂŁ258 as a goodwill paymentâ.
Free school mealsÂ
The Department for Education has issued warnings about a scam email designed to steal your bank details saying: âAs schools will be closing, if youâre entitled to free school meals, please send your bank details and weâll make sure youâre supported.â
Conspiracy theories and misinformation
Another email weâve seen is full of doom-laden warnings that âThere is no vaccine for coronavirusâ and that âthe US government, like the Chinese government, isnât telling us the truth about how many are infectedâ. That email is full of links. While weâve only seen screenshots of this, it seems likely that these links will lead you to either phishing sites or, worse, sites that can infect your computer with malware.
Sophos has also reported on emails that â for now â are targeting Italian email addresses and which include a Word document that purports to offer guidelines for preventing infection, but which in fact harbours a malicious script that infects Windows computers with a banking Trojan, i.e. malware that aims to steal online banking credentials.
So watch out for emails that include attachments.
Read the Which? guide on how to spot a phishing scam for more information:
Poll shows majority of adults believe Facebook is failing in its duty of care to protect children
 Three out of four don’t think Facebook is safe for children
NSPCC urges Facebook to rethink encryption plans or face tough sanctions from new regulator
The NSPCC has slammed Facebookâs encryption plans after three out of four adults polled in Scotland said they didnât think the site was safe for children.
Out of 180 adults in Scotland, just one in five (22%) said the tech giant took the safety of children using the site seriously and two thirds (66%) believed the platform was failing in its duty of care to protect children.
The results for Scotland were similar to those of the whole Great Britain sample, which consisted of 2,070 adults.
The claims came in an NSPCC/ Savanta ComRes poll following the tech giantâs announcement that they will encrypt messages on Facebook and Instagram.
The charity previously revealed that one in 25 young people (11 to 17 year olds) who used Facebook or Facebook Messenger had sent, received or been asked to send sexual content to an adult.
It is now warning the tech giant not to create hiding places for abusers by pressing ahead with encryption plans that donât have strong safeguards in place.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who admitted that his plans would protect the âprivacy of people doing bad thingsâ, has failed to give any clear answers in how he intends to stop groomers preying on children on his site.
The NSPCC is calling for supporters to sign an open letter to Facebook demanding they put children first as part of its Wild West Web campaign.
Andy Burrows, NSPCC head of child safety online policy, said: âFacebook has been called out for its abject failure to make their platforms safe, yet their encryption plans will give offenders a free pass to abuse children while they look the other way.
âThis cavalier approach risks creating a one stop grooming shop if Facebook donât include strong safeguards that protect children in their encryption plan.
âBoris Johnson must make it clear that upcoming regulation will force Facebook to guarantee childrenâs safety on its messaging services or be hit hard in the pocket for failing in its duty of care.â
The NSPCC is calling for:
No end-to-end encryption for messages going to or coming from childrenâs accounts on Facebook apps
Adults accounts not to be encrypted until and unless Facebook has solutions to ensure child abuse can be detected and that children safety wonât be compromised
The Government to push ahead with introducing an independent Duty of Care regulator to keep children safe online
The Government to warn Facebook that encryption breaches the incoming Duty of Care and pressing ahead will mean tough consequences
More parents than ever feel childrenâs online use now carries more risks than benefits, according to Ofcomâs latest research into childrenâs media and online lives.
Parents and carers are becoming more likely to trust their children with greater digital independence at a younger age. But far fewer believe the benefits of their child being online outweigh the risks than five years ago. And around two million parents now feel the internet does their children more harm than good.
This comes as children are now more likely to see hateful content online. Half of 12-15s who go online had seen hateful content in the last year, up from a third in 2016.
Parents are increasingly concerned about their child seeing something online which might encourage them to harm themselves. Similarly, two gaming-related problems are increasingly concerning parents: the pressure on their child to make in-game purchases of things like âloot boxesâ, a virtual item containing rewards; and the possibility of their child being bullied via online games.
However, parents are now more likely than in 2018 to speak to their children about staying safe online, and are nearly twice as likely to go online themselves for support and information about keeping their children safe.
Influencers, online activism and girl gamers
Looking at what todayâs children are doing online, Ofcom uncovered three big trends over the past year.
The âGreta effectâ. There is increased online social activism among children. Almost a fifth of 12-15s use social media to express support for causes and organisations by sharing or commenting on posts. One in 10 signed petitions on social media.
Rise of the âvlogger next doorâ. While high-profile YouTube stars remain popular, children are now increasingly drawn to so-called âmicroâ or ânanoâ influencers. These often have fewer followers, but might be local to a childâs area or share a niche interest.
Girl gamers on the increase. Almost half of girls aged five to 15 now play games online â up from 39% in 2018. The proportion of boy gamers is unchanged at 71%, but boys spend twice as long playing online each week as girls.
Social Media use more fragmented
Older children are using a wider range of social media platforms than ever before. WhatsApp in particular has grown in popularity among 12-15 year-olds since last year, despite having a minimum age limit of 16.
WhatsApp is now used by almost two thirds of older children â up from 43% in 2018. For the first time, it rivals Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram as one of the top social media platforms for older children.
Newer platforms are also becoming more popular. Around one in seven older children use TikTok, which enables users to create and upload lip-sync, comedy and talent videos, while one in 20 older children uses Twitch, a live streaming platform for gamers.
Childrenâs viewing habits are changing radically too. Almost twice as many children watch streaming content than they did five years ago.
In 2019, fewer children watched traditional broadcast TV than streaming content, with a quarter not watching it at all.
But YouTube is as popular as ever, remaining childrenâs firm favourite for video ahead of Netflix, Amazon Prime, the BBC and ITV.
The age of digital independence
When it comes to going online, children are most likely to use a tablet but mobiles are becoming increasingly popular and children are now as likely to use a mobile as they are a laptop.
This move to mobile is being driven by older children, for whom 10 is becoming the age of digital independence. Between age nine and 10, the proportion of children who own a smartphone doubles to 50% â giving them greater digital freedom as they prepare to move to secondary school. By the time they are 15, almost all children have one.
“Todayâs children have never known life without the internet, but two million parents now feel the internet causes them more harm than good, said Yih-Choung Teh, Ofcom’s Strategy and Research Group Director.
“So itâs encouraging that parents, carers and teachers are now having more conversations than ever before with children about online safety. Education and stronger regulation will also help children to embrace their digital independence, while protecting them from the risks”.
FESTIVE SHOPPERS in Edinburgh are being warned against the latest ATM scams hitting high streets across Scotland this Christmas and New Yearâs.
The Scottish Business Resilience Centre (SBRC) has issued a call for extra vigilance when withdrawing cash over one of the busiest periods of the year for shopping. Continue reading ATM scams: Christmas crime
Black Friday marked the start of the festive season, not just for us, but for criminals too. We will all be frantically seeking out some Christmas bargains both on the high street and online. Itâs easy to get carried away with the festive cheer but remember the old adage âIf something looks too good to be true then generally it is.â Â
If youâre concerned about fraud, Head of Information Security at Atom bank, Jon Holden, has provided some useful tips to keep you protected and to ensure you donât put yourself in danger:
Be wise and choose where you shop carefully
âWhen buying online, look for the padlock or lock icon located in the web browser. Check out the feedback section for buyer reviews and ask if the seller has a returns policy. Do they have a physical address or are they only contactable via phone or email – this may be a red flag!
âUse a credit card when making a big money purchase, as the majority of card companies have online insurance from their customers. Be mindful that some products may be counterfeit – top end designer goods are rarely discounted so you may be buying counterfeit goods.â
Donât click on links in unsolicited emails or share too much information
âFraudsters send out phishing emails which may appear to be from a legitimate online company from which you have previously made a purchase, requesting that you are required to update your payment card details.
Check the URL in your web browser. Fraudsters change an address ever so slightly in the hope that you wonât notice that it isnât the genuine website e.g. www.pay.pa1.com.
“If you are in any doubt contact the company direct i.e. not via the link. Don’t share too much information and only complete what is required. If you feel uncomfortable with the information youâre being asked for then donât share it.â
Update your apps, browsers, PCs, phones, iPads, tabletsâŚ
âRegularly check and install the latest software and app updates on your devices. They contain important security updates that can protect you against malware and fraud.â
Use strong passwords and switch on multi-factor authentication
âIt might seem obvious, but many people still use simple and straightforward passwords that are easily guessed by fraudsters. Hackers usually work through lists of common passwords searching for the right combination, and once theyâve guessed your log in details for one account, they could use your credentials to access multiple websites.
âUse unique passwords for each service you use. Make sure they donât include names or key dates like your birthday as this could put you at risk. Make it hard to guess by using upper and lower-case letters, special characters and numbers, but not so hard that you wonât remember and have to write it down. Also switch on multi-factor authentication, this will keep you extra protected as it will ask for two or more pieces of evidence to gain access to your account.â
If youâre shopping online on a public/shared computer – donât click on âremember meâÂ
âWhen using a public/shared computer, make sure you log out before leaving the machine and donât click on âremember meâ as that could allow the next user to log in to your account.â
âSelecting the âremember my card detailsâ option is very convenient for future purchases, but means youâre putting a lot of trust in the company behind the website. If they donât store your details, they canât lose your details to hackers!â
Scotland is a nation of mobile app-y oversharers with little regard for personal security and the consequences of sharing passwords and login details, according to a âstartlingâ new landmark survey commissioned by Royal Bank of Scotland.Continue reading Scotland: an appy land?
