MEGA-THREAD: Hysterical Lawmaking and Online overreach

[Jim Burton]

How grandparents can play a critical role in mediating children's media use

https://phys.org/news/2025-10-grandpare ... ldren.html

[Jim Burton]

Chat control latest:

"A major step backwards for privacy" – The VPN industry speaks out against Chat Control

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/technol ... r-AA1Mr71H

Chat Control on hold, Europe's Eastern flank remains passive

https://www.euronews.com/next/2025/10/1 ... ns-passive

Privacy vs. child protection: EU’s “chat control” plans split member states

https://europeannewsroom.com/privacy-vs ... er-states/

Why Europe is freaking out about ‘chat control’

https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-onli ... m-privacy/

Readers remember I posted separately about Jeremy Malcolm's Guardian contribution.

[Jim Burton]

Now Africa supposedly has an online exploitation problem, here we go...

https://allafrica.com/stories/202510100302.html

A new investigation reveals that child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is being openly marketed and sold on mainstream social media platforms. Sometimes, AI systems inadvertently help the predators.

The Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change (CABC) released a disturbing report, Mapping Child Predation Online, exposing that the rampant spread of child pornographic material is easily found, distributed, and even traded for money across popular social media and messaging platforms in South Africa.

The report is a follow-up to a previous study on The State of Child Predation in South Africa, which first warned of the growing scale of online child abuse. CABC found that the sexualisation of minor children is rife on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter); however, counter-narratives existed in the conversation.

[Jim Burton]

Wyoming Panel Advances Grooming Bill With Tougher Penalties Than Statutory Rape

https://cowboystatedaily.com/2025/10/14 ... tory-rape/

Ofcom updates OSA progress

https://wired-gov.net/wg/news.nsf/artic ... 2025131500

Offenders arrested for not declaring OnlyFans accounts:

https://www.wctv.tv/2025/10/14/fdle-arr ... iolations/

[Jim Burton]

Federal shutdown is threatening school victimology programs promoted by prosecutors

https://kstp.com/kstp-news/local-news/f ... use-cases/

[Jim Burton]

Clarksburg sex offender fails to register relative's phone after allegedly using it to watch porn of older women with younger individuals

https://www.wvnews.com/news/wvnews/clar ... 4e12c.html

Namibia: Doubts over sex offenders register as lawyers and activists question its necessity and legality

https://www.namibian.com.na/doubts-over ... -legality/

Audit finds flaws in State Police oversight of sex offender registry

https://www.michiganpublic.org/politics ... r-registry

National group files lawsuit against West Virginia sex offender registry fee

https://www.wdtv.com/video/2025/10/17/n ... istry-fee/

[Jim Burton]

More people will have to register as sex offenders after new Texas law goes into effect

https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2025/10 ... to-effect/

Expedite age 16 limit to social media without delay

https://themalaysianreserve.com/2025/10 ... out-delay/

[Jim Burton]

Three people WRONGLY accused of child abuse after BT engineer accidentally crossed internet wires in street cabinet

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/37065830/ ... sed-wires/

Rapists and paedophiles whose crimes lead to birth of child to have parental rights restricted

https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/rapists-p ... 5HjdFft_2/

Malaysia - Risks of a digital childhood

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/ ... -childhood

[Jim Burton]

Australia’s social media ban is “problematic,” but platforms will comply anyway

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/202 ... -16-users/

UK Expands Online Safety Act to Enforce Preemptive Censorship For “Priority” Offenses

https://reclaimthenet.org/uk-online-saf ... ship-rules