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Telegram Refuses to Join International Child Protection Schemes

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Telegram Refuses to Join International Child Protection Schemes

The BBC has learnt that Telegram, the messaging software provider whose CEO has been jailed in France, refuses to participate in international programs geared at detecting and eliminating child abuse content online.

The app is not affiliated with the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) or the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), both of which collaborate with major online platforms to identify, report, and delete such content.

It comes as the app’s founder and CEO, who has over 950 million registered users, remains in jail in France.

Billionaire Pavel Durov has been imprisoned on allegations of lack of moderation on the platform.

According to officials, the 39-year-old is suspected of failing to assist with law enforcement in cases involving narcotics trafficking, child se** content, and fraud.

Telegram has previously stated that its moderation is “within industry standards and constantly improving”.

However, unlike all other social networks, it is not affiliated with programs such as NCMEC’s CyberTipline, which has over 1,600 internet companies registered.

Although US-based organisations are legally obligated to sign up, 16% of participants are not based in the United States.

Telegram was founded in Russia, but is now headquartered in Dubai, where Mr. Durov lives.

The great majority of child sexual abuse material allegations come from internet giants and social networks such as Facebook, Google, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter (X), Snapchat, and WhatsApp.

According to the BBC, NCMEC has frequently asked Telegram to join forces in combating child se* abuse material (CSAM), but the company has declined.

Telegram also refuses to cooperate with the Internet Watch Foundation, the UK’s equivalent of NCMEC.

According to an IWF representative, “despite attempts to proactively engage with Telegram over the last year, they are not members of the IWF and do not take any of our services to block, prevent, and disrupt the sharing of child se** abuse imagery.”

Telegram cannot proactively locate, remove, or ban confirmed CSAM that is classified and added to lists made by charities because it is not a member of IWF or NCMEC.

IWF stated that the company removed CSAM once material was confirmed, but that it was slower and less responsive to daily demands.

The BBC contacted Telegram for comment on its refusal to participate in child protection schemes.

Previously, it stated that it is “absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of the platform.”

Telegram is also not a part of the Take It Down initiative, which aims to remove so-called revenge porn.

Snap, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Po***, and Only*** are all part of the system, which uses a hash list to check for photographs and videos on public or unencrypted sites.

Another standard that Telegram does not follow is Transparency Reporting.

Every six months, social networks publish a list of all content removed due to police requests.

Most other social networks, including Meta’s applications, Snapchat, and TikTok, publish their reports online, and previous years are archived for future reference.

Telegram does not have such a website, only a channel on the app with no collection of transparency reports. It also identifies its approach to Transparency Reports as “semiannual”.

A request to see past reports was not responded to by the Telegram Transparency channel, which stated that “no report available for your region”.

Telegram also has an interesting media management system. The contact method is an automated bot on the app, to which this reporter has never received a response in the months since making various requests.

There is an unadvertised email address for press enquiries, which BBC News emailed but has yet to receive a response from.

In June, Pavel Durov informed journalist Tucker Carlson that his platform is handled by only “about 30 engineers”.

Mr Durov, who founded Telegram, was born in Russia and currently resides in Dubai. He holds dual citizenship in the UAE and France.

Telegram is highly popular in Russia, Ukraine, and the former Soviet Union countries, as well as Iran.

Source: BBC

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Trudeau Rocks to Taylor Swift While Montreal Burns

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Trudeau, Montreal

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has come under fire yet again after a video surfaced on X, showing him dancing at a Taylor Swift performance while anti-Nato protestors ransacked downtown Montreal.

Trudeau attended Taylor Swift’s concert in Toronto on Friday night. Before Taylor Swift approached the stage, X shared a viral video of him dancing and singing along to the song “You Don’t Own Me.”

The image of Trudeau dancing amid violent protests in Montreal generated widespread indignation online. Some social media users even compared Trudeau to the ancient Roman dictator Nero, known for “fiddling while Rome burned.”

Don Stewart, a Member of Parliament (MP) representing part of Toronto, called out the prime minister in a post on X.

“Lawless protesters run roughshod over Montreal in violent protest. The Prime Minister dances,” Stewart wrote. “This is the Canada built by the Liberal government.”

“Bring back law and order, safe streets and communities in the Canada we once knew and loved,” the MP added.

On Saturday, the day after Taylor Swift’s concert, Trudeau condemned the anti-NATO protests, calling them “appalling.”

Anti-NATO activists set off smoke bombs and marched through Montreal’s streets waving Palestinian flags. According to the Montreal Gazette, rioters set fire to automobiles and battled with police.

Pro-Palestinian protests

Protesters also tossed tiny explosives and metal objects at officers. At one point, the mob torched an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Police used tear gas and batons to disperse the gathering, and three persons were arrested for attacking officers and impeding police operations.

Masked protesters were seen burning flares and bashing storefront windows in videos and photographs shared on social media. Pro-Palestinian protests have been taking place across Canada since the Israel-Gaza conflict began late last year.

Critics have lambasted Trudeau for doing nothing to stop the violent pro-Palestinian marches, with some claiming he has fueled anti-Israel sentiment in Canada.

On Friday, Trudeau stated that Canada would respect the orders of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant for Mr Netanyahu, even if it meant arresting the Israeli prime leader on Canadian soil.

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Calgary Zoo Admits Human Error in Death of Baby Gorilla

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Baby Gorilla, Calgary Zoo
The zookeeper's negligence caused the death of a 2-year-old baby gorilla

The Calgary Zoo has admitted in a public statement that a zookeeper’s negligence caused the death of a 2-year-old baby gorilla. Eyare, a newborn gorilla, died last week after being slammed in the head by a hydraulic door.

The accident occurred when a zoo worker attempted to separate Eyare from the rest of the gorilla tribe for a solitary training session.

The gorilla died from significant head injuries, according to the zoo’s statement.

“This tragedy has struck us all in the deepest way imaginable,” Colleen Baird, director of animal care at the Calgary Zoo, said during a news conference. “Eyare’s brief but meaningful existence gave so much joy to our community, and all will sorely miss her. We will do everything possible to prevent repeat accidents.”

According to Baird, the staff member involved was immediately removed from the workplace and will be reassigned to another area of the zoo. The Calgary Zoo stated that it would take preventive steps, such as specialist personnel training and animal behavioral training, to avoid a similar incident.

Calgary Zoo Questioned

It is not the first time an animal at the zoo has died from negligence at the Calgary Zoo. A capybara was accidentally crushed by a hydraulic door similar to the one that killed Eyare in 2019.

An otter died in 2016 after being entangled in an “unauthorized” pair of jeans that a zookeeper had dropped in its enclosure. In 2013, a penguin died in “a freak accident” after swallowing a stick.

Animal Justice, a Canadian group that promotes animal welfare, has called for an independent investigation of animal safety and oversight at the Alberta facility.

“The Calgary Zoo appears to have a higher rate of animal deaths compared to other zoos, and in light of Eyare’s death there should be a systematic review of the zoo’s operations and practices, conducted transparently by the government or another outside party,” according to Camille Labchuk, the executive director of Animal Justice.

The Calgary Zoo refuted that it has more animal deaths than other zoos, emphasizing that it adheres to operating requirements and has maintained accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ independent Accreditation Commission since 1978.

“We love and care for more than 4,000 animals representing over 100 species that call our zoo home,” stated a Calgary Zoo representative.

“Human error-related deaths in animals are quite infrequent. We have lost two animals in the last ten years: a North American river otter in 2016 and ‘Eyare’ this week.

While rare, even one human-caused death is too many. These unfortunate instances have served as vital learning experiences, prompting us to examine and tighten protocols to provide the greatest level of care.”

Baird said at the news conference that using hydraulic doors is “common practice with accredited zoos,” adding that the facility will consider switching to alternate doors to improve safety.

The Calgary Zoo, which established the Wilder Institute in 2021, caters to nearly 4,000 creatures, including six more western lowland gorillas.

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Canada’s Lotto Max jackpot Climbs to $80M

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lotto max, Canada

Lotto Max in Canada has reached $80 million for only the second time in Canadian lottery history. Friday’s draw sought a winner for a $75 million pool, but the top reward remained unclaimed as of Saturday, increasing the jackpot.

Only once did the jackpot reach $80 million in September, when it broke the previous record. Before that, the prize was $75 million, a record.

The Lotto Max prize maximum was boosted earlier this year, enabling for jackpots of more than $70 million. The cap is now at $80 million.
While a greater fee may encourage more people to play, the odds of winning the lottery remain extremely low.

According to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, the odds for a $5 ticket are around one in 33,294,800.

While there was no jackpot winner in Friday’s draw, someone did match six of the seven winning numbers, plus a bonus, earning them a payout of more than $320,000.

Lotto Max History

Lotto Max is one of three national lottery games in Canada, overseen by the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation. The game was introduced on September 19, 2009, and its inaugural draw occurred on September 25, 2009. It replaced Lotto Super 7.

The odds of winning the Lotto Max are 1 in 33,294,800. This is correct to a point but misleading.

Let’s have a look at the rules:

  1. Players choose 7 numbers out of 50
  2. Numbers cannot be repeated
  3. Numbers are automatically sorted into ascending order
  4. Each play buys 3 lines
  5. Each play costs $5

Seeing that players choose 7 out of 50 non-repeating numbers, the equation for the total number of possible combinations (this is different from permutations where the order in which the numbers appear is significant) when playing the Lotto Max is 50! / (7! x 43!)

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