Daily roundup 5 January: Digital rights, Rotherham, and domestic abuse

Children are being left to fend for themselves in the digital world, regularly signing over rights to their private messages and pictures unknowingly and with scant advice from parents or schools, according to England's children's commissioner. According to the commissioner's Growing Up Digital taskforce, almost half of eight- to 11-year-olds have agreed impenetrable terms and conditions to give social media giants such as Facebook and Instagram control over their data, without any accountability.


Five men from Rotherham have gone on trial facing 23 charges of sexually abusing two girls aged 12 and 13 over a two-year period. The Daily Mail reports that the court heard that on one occasion one of the girls was locked in a flat overnight without heating or water and had to be rescued by her mother.


Justice Secretary Liz Truss has set up an emergency review to find the quickest way to ban perpetrators of domestic abuse from directly cross-examining their victims within the family court system. The Guardian reports that Truss stepped in after the paper exposed how women are being directly confronted and questioned by violent and abusive men within the court system.


A £15m bus travel scheme to help young people get to jobs and training is to end 18 months after it was launched. The BBC reports that MyTravelPass was launched by the Welsh Government in September 2015 offering 16- to 18-year-olds a third off bus travel, but it will cease after March. Bus operators' body CPT Cymru said the scheme was not well publicised and take-up had been low.


The government is being urged to ensure witnesses in the so-called "Trojan Horse" inquiry are not revealed. The BBC reports that those who gave evidence to an inquiry into the alleged schools scandal fear their identities may be revealed despite a promise of anonymity.