Civil liberties groups call for inquiry into UK data protection watchdog 

Campaigners including Good Law Project describe ICO ‘collapse in enforcement activity’ after Afghan data breach.

A total of 73 academics, senior lawyers, data protection experts and organisations including Statewatch and the Good Law Project, have written a letter to Chi Onwurah, the chair of the cross-party Commons science, innovation and technology committee, coordinated by Open Rights Group, calling for an inquiry to be held into the office of the information commissioner, John Edwards.

Civil liberties groups call for inquiry into UK data protection watchdog | Data protection | The Guardian

Children’s online privacy in mobile games under spotlight

We are today announcing that we will be scrutinising how popular mobile games played by children in the UK protect their online privacy.

With around 90% of UK children playing games on digital devices, we will launch a monitoring programme targeting 10 popular mobile games. The review will assess the games’ compliance with default privacy settings, their geolocation controls, and their targeted advertising practices. It will also consider any other privacy issues identified during the review process.

Children’s online privacy in mobile games under spotlight | ICO

Mind the gap: Understanding age verification and assurance

As children go online at younger ages and across multiple services and devices, age assurance — an overarching term that refers to the practices used by services to assess or estimate a user’s likely age — has emerged as a way to balance the benefits of digital participation with protection from online harms. Within this framework, age assurance can range from lower-friction measures, such as self-declaration or behavioural analysis, to more robust forms of age verification that rely on third-party documentation or government-issued IDs. Despite this range of approaches, effectively enforcing age-based access rules remains a persistent challenge.

Mind the gap: Understanding age verification and assurance | IAPP

NCFE shuts down systems after ‘cyber incident’

A “cyber security incident” has forced a major national awarding organisation to shut down its IT systems, triggering widespread cancellations to assessments and a halt to new learner registrations.

NCFE has locked down all of its online systems, including staff emails and its learner registration portal, while investigators determine the extent of the incident, which occurred late last week.

NCFE could not confirm at this stage whether any sensitive data was compromised.

NCFE shuts down systems after ‘cyber incident’

Google Starts Sharing All Your Text Messages with Your Employer

Microsoft triggered a viral furor when it revealed a Teams update to tell your company when you’re not at work. Now Google has done the same. Forget end-to-end encryption. A new Android update means your RCS and SMS texts are no longer private.

As reported by Android Authority, “Google is rolling out Android RCS Archival on Pixel (and other Android) phones, allowing employers to intercept and archive RCS chats on work-managed devices. In simpler terms, your employer will now be able to read your RCS chats in Google Messages despite end-to-end encryption.”

Google Starts Sharing All Your Text Messages With Your Employer

Statement regarding the Dawn Sturgess Inquiry report

On 18 November 2021, the Home Secretary announced the Government’s decision to establish an inquiry to investigate the death of Dawn Sturgess.  

Dawn Sturgess was pronounced dead at Salisbury District Hospital on 8 July 2018. The post-mortem indicated the cause of her death was Novichok poisoning.

The inquiry was formally established on 17 March 2022.

Today (4 December) the Chair of the Dawn Sturgess Inquiry, The Rt Hon Lord Hughes of Ombersley, published his inquiry report.

Following the publication, Counter Terrorism Policing released the below statement:

Statement regarding the Dawn Sturgess Inquiry report | Counter Terrorism Policing

Update 4 December 2025 | Manchester Attack

The man arrested in connection with the terrorist attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue has been charged with terrorism offences that are not directly linked to the attack.

Mohammad Asim Bashir (18/09/1994) of Shaftesbury Road, Cheetham Hill was arrested on 27 November at Manchester Airport. He has now been charged with the following:

Preparation for acts of terrorism (Section 5, Terrorism Act 2006) x1.

Dissemination of terrorist publications (Section 2, Terrorism Act 2006) x3.

Update 14:31 4 December 2025 | Manchester Attack | Counter Terrorism Policing

CTP North East and Durham Constabulary Urge the Public to be Vigilant this Winter

Counter Terrorism Policing North East is asking people to stay vigilant this Winter, as crowds are expected to visit the region’s towns and cities to celebrate the festive period.

With footfall increasing as people enjoy the Christmas markets, shops and restaurants this month, Counter Terrorism Policing joined with Durham Constabulary to urge members of the public to trust their instincts and report anything that doesn’t seem right.

CTP North East and Durham Constabulary Urge the Public to be Vigilant this Winter | Counter Terrorism Policing

Man guilty of murdering fellow Goldsmiths student

An American student has been found guilty of murdering his on-and-off girlfriend in her south-east London home.

Joshua Michals, 26, stabbed fellow Goldsmiths University student Zhe Wang, 31, at her flat in Manor Park, Lewisham, in March 2024.

Creative writing student Ms Wang suffered two stab wounds to the face and a post-mortem examination also revealed she had been strangled.

Goldsmiths student guilty of murdering his partner in Lewisham – BBC News