Nearly half of girls aged 11 to 18 have suffered harassment or abuse on social media, according to a survey. The poll found close to three-in-four (73%) have had to take action to avoid criticism online, such as blocking other users or staying off sites altogether. Tanya Barron, chief executive…

Children as young as five have been excluded from school for sexual misconduct, an investigation has found. Hundreds of school pupils have been either permanently or temporarily kicked out of the classroom in the last four years after being involved in sexual acts, including watching pornography and sharing indecent images,…

A new law tackling so-called revenge porn has come into effect across Scotland. The offence will cover situations where someone shares filmed or still images of another person in an intimate situation. This includes images taken in private where someone is nude or clothed only in underwear, or showing a…

Trying to protect children from all online risks may be futile, according to a new report, which says youngsters are increasingly conducting their online lives in private. The study also warns that more than a third (37%) of UK 15-year-olds are now "extreme internet users", who are on their computers…

Thousands of cases of child sexual abuse linked to the internet were recorded by police last year, figures show. Rape, sexual assault and grooming were among the offences logged which had a "cyber flag", meaning the crime had an online element, with the youngest victim aged three. The NSPCC, which…

Social media sites should face fines if they fail to protect children and young people from adult and harmful content, the head of the NSPCC has said. Peter Wanless called on the next government to place sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Askfm under "robust scrutiny" from a new watchdog…

Children and young people feel social media sites are failing to shield them from pornography, self-harm and bullying content, the NSPCC has warned. Four in five youngsters told the charity they felt sites are not doing enough to protect them from inappropriate and harmful imagery and messages, with Facebook and…

So-called honour-based violence and forced marriage offences are increasingly being perpetrated online, police and prosecutors have warned. The trend was highlighted as the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) emphasised their commitment to successfully investigate the crimes. They have published a joint protocol setting out the…

Four men killed themselves in the last year after being blackmailed as part of an increasing cyber "sextortion" racket. International gangs of organised criminals are targeting more and more young men by luring them into potentially compromising positions, the National Crime Agency said. The number of people reporting financially-motivated cyber…

The internet has transformed our lives. As of July 2016, around 40% of the world’s population was online – that’s nearly 3.5 billion internet users. Since it was created, the web has gone from being a simple tool used to share and distribute information to a complex virtual place which…

Some sexting cases involving children could be handled without launching a full-scale criminal investigation, according to new advice for police. A briefing note has been issued to forces aiming to ensure a "common sense approach" is taken as more youngsters than ever before take explicit images of themselves. The document,…

Supporting this year's Anti-Bullying Week the NSPCC and Child Protection In Sport Unit (CPSU) are providing a webinar that focuses on the theme ‘Power for Good’. This webinar will look at the ways all organisations can empower both adults and children to speak out about bullying and challenge unwanted behaviour…