Child safety

Child safety


Supreme Court upholds Texas law aimed at blocking kids from seeing pornography online

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a Texas law aimed at blocking children from seeing online pornography. Nearly half of the states have passed similar laws requiring adult website users to verify their ages to access pornographic material. The laws come as smartphones and other devices make it easier to access online […]

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What to know about online age verification laws

The Supreme Court has upheld a Texas law aimed at blocking children under 18 from seeing online pornography by requiring websites to verify the ages of all visitors. Many states have passed similar age verification laws in an attempt to restrict access to adult material from minors, but digital rights groups have raised questions about […]

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Spotty attendance for measles at Norfolk elementary school

Measles continues to be an unwelcome visitor to schools in Norfolk County, causing kids to miss class as the school year enters the home stretch. Staff  and students at Houghton Public School — a rural elementary school in  southwestern Norfolk — were potentially exposed to measles on two  separate occasions in May, with each exposure […]

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Police arrest man accused of approaching children, committing ‘indecent act’ at park

A 35-year-old Toronto man is facing charges after allegedly approaching children at a park, making physical contact and asking them for their names and other personal information before committing an indecent act.  City police say they were called shortly after noon on Friday to Earlscourt Park in the St. Clair Avenue and Caledonia Road area, […]

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European Union investigates four major porn sites under bloc’s digital rules on child protection

LONDON (AP) — European Union regulators said Tuesday they’re investigating four major porn websites over suspicions that they’ve breached the bloc’s online content rules that include provisions for protecting children from pornographic material. The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, said it has opened formal proceedings against Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos under the 27-nation […]

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Illinois governor is first in US to block federal access to personal data on autism

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has signed a first-in-the-nation executive order to block the federal government from collecting personal health data related to autism, a direct rebuke to the Trump administration. Democrat Pritzker, who has been one of the more vocal critics of Trump’s second administration, signed the order last week, saying […]

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A 5-year-old was murdered by her father. Her fateful custody hearing will be made public

The public has a right to hear audio recordings from the custody hearing of Harmony Montgomery, a 5-year-old New Hampshire girl who was murdered by her father and vanished in 2019 after being placed in his care, the highest court in Massachusetts ruled Wednesday. The father, Adam Montgomery, was found guilty in her death last […]

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Pope’s child protection board urges transparency from Vatican sex abuse office and compensation

Pope Francis’ child protection board called Tuesday for victims of clergy sexual abuse to have greater access to information about their cases and the right to compensation, in the first-ever global assessment of the Catholic Church’s efforts to address the crisis. The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors issued a series of findings and […]

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Appeals court reinstates Indiana lawsuit against TikTok alleging child safety, privacy concerns

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Court of Appeals has reinstated a lawsuit filed by the state accusing TikTok of deceiving its users about the video-sharing platform’s level of inappropriate content for children and the security of its consumers’ personal information. In a 3-0 ruling issued Monday, a three-judge panel of the state appeals court reversed […]

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Justice Department sues TikTok, accusing the company of illegally collecting children’s data

The Justice Department sued TikTok on Friday, accusing the company of violating children’s online privacy law and running afoul of a settlement it had reached with another federal agency.  The complaint, filed together with the Federal Trade Commission in a California federal court, comes as the U.S. and the prominent social media company are embroiled […]

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Senate to consider bills that aim to protect children and teenagers online

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate will consider legislation this week that aims to protect children from dangerous online content, moving forward with what could become the first sweeping new regulation of the tech industry in decades. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Tuesday that he will bring the bipartisan bill up in the Senate, with hopes […]

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