Under new European Commission laws, Google, Meta and other online service providers will be compelled to detect and remove online child pornography. Companies who do not follow the requirements face fines of up to 6% of their annual revenue or global turnover, as determined by EU countries. The EU executive said on Wednesday that its plan aims to replace the present system of voluntary detection and reporting by businesses, which has proven insufficient to protect youngsters. It stated more than one million allegations of child sexual abuse in the EU27 in 2020, with the COVID-19 epidemic contributing to a 64 percent increase in such reports in 2021 compared to the previous year. Furthermore, 60 percent of all child sexual abuse material is hosted on EU servers.
LIFEAlerts
European Union (EU) commission proposes plan to fight child pornography (Belgium)
The EU’s executive arm unveiled a plan to require online platforms to detect and report the sharing of child sex abuse images on the internet. This would force companies operating in the EU to detect, report and remove the material. An increase in online child sex abuse has been noticed globally. Reports of internet child abuse rose from 1 million to almost 22 million during 2014-2020 and over 65 million images and videos of child sexually abused images were identified. Detection, reporting and removal of child sexual abuse online is also urgently needed to prevent the sharing of images and videos of the sexual abuse of children, which retraumatizes the victims often years after the sexual abuse has ended.”
Increased cardiovascular risk with cannabis consumption and partial reversal through genistein (UK)
Cannabis use increases the risk for cardiovascular disease. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (the psychoactive substance of cannabis) binds the CB1 receptors in blood vessels causing the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines involved in the development of atherosclerotic plaques and cardiovascular disease. This has been showed in plasma concentrations of patients smoking cannabis, cell lines and mice models. Genistein, a component of soybean, acts as a CB1-receptor antagonist and reduces and partially reverses the pro-inflammatory effects of THC, reducing atherosclerotic plaques in both cell lines and mice models. Genistein, however, does not cross the blood-brain barrier and has no influence on the neurobehavioral effects of THC.
Marijuana legalisation and its effect on adolescents (USA)
Legalization of marijuana for medical purposes/recreational use coincides with a decrease in perceived harmfulness of the drug and increases adolescent use. 9% of children in grade 9-12 use marijuana daily/almost every day. Marijuana exposure in adolescence is associated with use of other illicit drugs and increased emergency unit visits in the pediatric population. 17% of youth using marijuana develop a cannabis use disorder, recognized in the DSM-V as physical dependence. 68% of youth presenting for treatment report dependence, tolerance and withdrawal. Marijuana intoxication may cause acute psychosis and adolescent exposure predicts a twofold increased risk of developing psychosis and schizophrenia in adulthood. There is also an association between chronic use and suicidal ideation/attempt. Adolescent use causes cognitive impairment and decreases academic performance. Pediatricians must be aware of the problem and incorporate questions about substance abuse and education/intervention in their consultations.
Portland, Oregon Police Say Drug Legalisation Has Flooded Streets With Drugs (USA)
In November 2020, Oregon voters elected to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs, including heroin and cocaine. State-wide treatment centres would enable addiction to be handled as a healthcare, rather than a law enforcement issue. Law enforcement officers now report a drug-driven increase in criminality including assaults, possession of illegal firearms and prostitution on Oregon streets. Officers report a single arrest during which 500 fentanyl pills, 44 firearms, two of which were machine guns, and 1,000 grams of methamphetamine were seized. Further, criminal organizations operating in these areas have been largely legitimized through the adopted measures and gun violence has increased, with drug legalization having created an environment in which criminality is tolerated and is able to flourish.
Fentanyl Drives Opioid Overdose Death Epidemic (USA)
In 2021 there were over 76,975 overdose deaths attributed to opioids (CDC) in the United States. Opioid deaths have increased nationwide in recent years the CDC reports that “…increases in synthetic opioid-involved deaths are being driven by increases in fentanyl-involved overdose deaths.” Fentanyl deaths are now on the rise among teens. According to a study conducted by JAMA, adolescent drug rates didn’t change much over the last decade (+ 0.2 percent between 2010 and 2020). Yet, overdose deaths among teens grew exponentially, with the overdose mortality increasing by 94.03% from 2019 to 2020 and then again by 20.05% from 2020 to 2021. The study found that fentanyl use among adolescents was “identified in 77.14% of adolescent overdose deaths.”.
Legalisation of Cannabis: Use Among College Students Hits a Record High (USA)
In 2020 cannabis use among college students reached its highest level during the 21st Century. The National Institute on Drug Abuse’s 2020, Monitoring the Future study, tracking substance use in adults between the ages of 19 and 22, revealed that in 2020 44% of college students used cannabis in the last year, compared with 38% in 2015. Of that number 8% admitted to “heavy” usage. Cannabis use is likely to increase among this and younger age groups, as it has become legal in many states. Nearly half of people 12 years old or older in the United States have used cannabis at least once in their lives, according to NIDA statistics, and almost 17% of all adults are current users.
Pornography is harmful and we need a new public health approach to it – as with alcohol and tobacco (UK)
Sophia Worringer, a parliamentary researcher, claims that pornography is harmful and must be treated with a public health approach. She asks the question that if pornography was not harmful as some people claim, why then did the Parish incident (Member of Parliament watching porn) spark such a public outpouring. Many women feel threatened when hearing that pornography has been viewed in their presence because they know the degrading and damaging nature of its essence. It is also difficult to separate the expansion of the multi-billion dollar pornography industry from the trafficking of young women and children around the world. Pornographic online videos, open the door for exploitation and abuse. Pornography is not passive. It changes expectations of sex, removes sex from consenting loving relationships, and rewires your brain meaning you are always wanting more.
LGBTQ+ Friendly Policy Set for Western Cape Schools in Near Future (South Africa)
The Western Cape’s Education Department’s (WCED) contentious gender identity and sexual orientation policy will be signed and adopted before the end of this year. Ground-breaking guidelines would make schools more inclusive and supportive for LGBTQ+ pupils. It allows pupils to dress in a uniform that matches their gender identity, makes provision for a unisex bathroom, also allows pupils to bring a same gender partner to school events (matric dances) and, “regardless of sexual orientation”, encourages pupils of all sexual orientations in school sports, free from bullying, harassment and discrimination. The National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa) welcomed the move. The guidelines are not formerly drafted as yet.
Assisted suicide laws increase suicide rates, especially among women (UK)
Posner argued: People who have no immediate wish to die by suicide get reassurance from knowing that they can exercise the option of suicide at some point in the future. The study used data from ten US states that implemented an assisted suicide law up to the end of 2019. Assisted suicide laws increase total suicide rates by about 18% overall and 40% for women and unassisted suicides about a 6% increase overall, 13% increase for women. One interpretation that women are more affected is that the higher take-up of assisted suicide reflects women being empowered to take control over end-of-life decisions. The other is the disempowerment of those who are more vulnerable to social pressure to die by suicide.