Top story: Urgent need for social media regulation, say MPs

Hello, it’s Warren Murray shaking the tree of news to see what falls out.

Mark Zuckerberg’s social network deliberately broke privacy and competition law and must be brought under regulation, according to a devastating parliamentary report denouncing the company and its executives as “digital gangsters”.

The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee says its 18-month investigation into disinformation and fake news was deliberately obstructed by Facebook. Among key points, it says Facebook has failed to tackle attempts by Russia to manipulate elections; warns British electoral law is too weak to stop foreign interference; and concludes that the Cambridge Analytica scandal was facilitated by Facebook’s policies.

The report cites Germany – where tech companies are required by law to remove hate speech within 24 hours or face a €20m (£17.5m) fine – as an example to follow. “Social media companies cannot hide behind the claim of being merely a ‘platform’ and maintain that they have no responsibility themselves in regulating the content of their sites.” Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook founder, refused three demands to give evidence to the committee.

Europe told to deal with Isis fighters – Donald Trump has called for EU countries to repatriate and put on trial the 800 Islamic State combatants from Europe who have been captured in Syria by US-backed forces. “The alternative is not a good one in that we will be forced to release them,” said the president. “The US does not want to watch as these Isis fighters permeate Europe, which is where they are expected to go.” A young Isis mother, Hoda Muthana, now 24, from Alabama, is in the al-Hawl refugee camp in north-eastern Syria. After fleeing to Turkey and then Syria in 2014, her Twitter feed was full of inciteful posts. Now, she says: “I was really young and ignorant and I was 19 when I decided to leave. I believe that America gives second chances. I want to return and I’ll never come back to the Middle East.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Shamima Begum in a photo held by Renu Begum, her older sister. Photograph: Laura Lean/AFP/Getty Images

Meanwhile Shamima Begum, the British teenager who also married into Isis in Syria, has given birth to a son in the al-Hawl camp and repeated her call to be allowed home: “You know, I didn’t know what I was getting into when I left. I was hoping that maybe for the sake of me and my child they let me come back.”

Goodbye Flybmi – Customers of the collapsed airline Flybmi are being told to seek refunds from their credit card companies or rebook with its partner airlines. Ryanair and easyJet have said they will offer special prices on some routes to stranded Flybmi passengers. The airline, which says it called in administrators partly because of Brexit uncertainty, operated more than 600 flights a week from regional airports including Bristol, Newcastle, Aberdeen and East Midlands. Flybmi’s Glasgow-based sister company Loganair says it will step in and take over five of Flybmi’s routes from March and look at the airline’s wider network, as well as possibly taking on some of its pilots, crew and ground staff.

Backstop stuck fast – Theresa May has written to every Tory MP telling them she will try to eliminate the risk of the Brexit backstop being applied indefinitely and urging them to “move beyond what divides us and sacrifice personal preferences for the national interest”. This week, May will speak to every EU leader and meet Jean-Claude Juncker, the European commission president, as she seeks a reopening of the withdrawal text. Today, Stephen Barclay, the Brexit secretary, will meet the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, to discuss proposals to replace the backstop. On Tuesday, Geoffrey Cox, the attorney general, will set out how the government thinks the backstop problem can be legally solved. Tobias Ellwood, one of May’s defence ministers, has said he will vote against the government if necessary to prevent a no-deal Brexit. On the Labour side, there are calls this morning for restive MPs to stay the course rather than quitting in protest at Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership on Brexit and other issues including antisemitism.

‘Administrative coup’ attempt on Trump – Republicans have called for an investigation over claims that officials discussed invoking the constitution to remove Donald Trump from the presidency. Andrew McCabe, whom Trump fired as acting FBI director in March 2018, told CBS that the deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein sounded out members of Trump’s cabinet regarding the 25th amendment to the constitution and its as-yet-unused provision for the removal of a president deemed incapable of discharging his duties. Rosenstein also offered to wear a wire to gather evidence against Trump, 60 Minutes reported. Rosenstein – who perhaps remarkably is still deputy attorney general – has denied the claims. McCabe told 60 Minutes that Trump told intelligence officials “I don’t care. I believe Putin,” when they apparently contradicted the Russian president in warning of the danger posed to the US by North Korean missiles.

‘Whitewash’ claim over Grenfell – Firefighters fear they are being “stitched up” in the Grenfell Tower inquiry because their role has already been heavily scrutinised while the failings of government and building companies have not. A Channel 4 Dispatches documentary tonight will report that 55 of the people who died had taken the fire brigade’s advice to “stay put”. But Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, countered: “The only thing they did on the night was turn up to put a fire out and yet they are the people that have come under the most scrutiny so far.” Planning and decision-making involved in the refurbishment of Grenfell using combustible materials might not be examined until the beginning of next year – by which time, the firefighters’ union argues, public attention will have waned.

Bottle backslide? Michael Gove has been urged to stick to plans to pay people for recycling bottles and cans, after a consultation revealed the “deposit return” scheme might only apply to drinks of less than 750ml. Including all plastic and glass bottles, as well as cans, in such schemes regardless of their size has hugely increased recycling in some European countries. Separately, Gove wants to tax the production and import of plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled content.

Today in Focus podcast: Brexit and the European Schools project

When writer Peter Pomerantsev was a teenager, he was sent to one of the European Schools, which count Boris Johnson among their alumnae. He discusses what the project tells us about the EU. And: the Guardian’s UK technology editor Alex Hern on advances in artificial intelligence.

Lunchtime read: Ilhan Omar takes her place in the spotlight

In January, Ilhan Omar made history as the first Somali American and one of the first Muslim women to be sworn into the US Congress. Since then she’s had to apologise for comments that Democratic leaders called “antisemitic tropes and prejudicial accusations”. Then her intense grilling of Elliott Abrams, a Trump official and longtime establishment figure, sparked more headlines.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ilhan Omar listens to Donald Trump’s state of the union speech. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP

Omar has emerged as a key bogeyman for Republicans, who have relentlessly attacked her views on Israeli-Palestinian relations. Wajahat Ali from the New York Times hails her as “a young, bold progressive willing to take on and challenge some of Washington DC’s sacred cows”. But he concedes: “She’s learning it goes both ways … she’s a bit green and needs to be more sensitive with her language. But there’s also a target on her because she’s Muslim and a black woman. Let’s not fool ourselves.”

Sport

Ryan Giggs, the Wales manager, tells Donald McRae about the loneliness of his job, what Manchester United should do next and why he turned to a psychologist. Chris Gayle, the veteran West Indies opener and self-styled “Universe Boss”, has claimed he is the greatest player in the world and warned English cricket that The Hundred will not be a success unless he is invited. Centre Brett Morris scored three tries in a 20-8 victory over Wigan to give the Sydney Roosters their fourth victory in the World Club Challenge. England have suffered a major blow in the buildup to their Six Nations grand slam eliminator against Wales on Saturday after Chris Ashton was ruled out with a calf strain.

The UK Athletics performance director, Neil Black, has defended the bizarre policy that has led to only one British male sprinter being selected for the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow. Swansea swept into the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 4-1 defeat of Brentford, who were down to 10 men after a second-half red card for Ezri Konsa, while Manchester City cruised through to the Women’s FA Cup quarters with a 3-0 over Tottenham Ladies. And the former Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova has been criticised for “disturbing, upsetting, and deeply transphobic” comments after she argued that allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sporting tournaments was “insane and cheating”.

Business

A very interesting survey out today shows that skills shortages in British industry are helping to push up wages. Manufacturing companies are being worst hit, according to the survey of more than 1,200 employers, in a sign that industry concern about slowing immigration after Brexit could make it harder to fill vacancies.

Asia-Pacific markets have bounced this morning on optimism about US-China trade talks (we’ve heard that one before) but the FTSE100 is set to open flat. The pound is at $1.29 and €1.141.

The papers

The latest chapter in the story of Shamima Begum, the Bethnal Green schoolgirl who left Britain to join Islamic State, fills many of the front pages today. Begum has given birth and wants to return to her family in London – prompting a strong reaction from the tabloids. The Sun goes with: “Sympathy? You must be kidding.” The Mirror leads with Begum’s claim that she has no regrets over joining Isis: “Jihadi bride: I had a good time”. The Telegraph repeats her plea: “Show me some sympathy.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Guardian front page, Monday 18 February 2019. Photograph: Guardian

Begum is also on the front of the Mail, which runs a large photograph of her with her new baby and the quote: “I’m just a housewife … people should have sympathy for me.” The paper splashes on a story about gamblers being paid to keep betting. The Times takes a different tack, leading on a story about a fifth Bethnal Green schoolgirl who was stopped by police from joining Isis. Away from Begum, the Guardian splashes on “MPs call for tough new powers to curb Facebook’s ‘digital gangsters’” on the back of a parliamentary report into fake news. The FT leads with: “Huawei’s green light from Britain dents US drive for global 5G ban”. And the Express has a health story (go on!): “New pill to halt agony of arthritis.”

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