Latest posts

  • Online child safety campaigners call for US inquiry into Roblox

    Groups claim game platform’s design and business model conflict with children’s developmental needs Online child safety campaigners including Jonathan Haidt, the bestselling writer on the mental health impacts of social media, have called on the Trump administration to investigate Roblox, the booming gaming and chat platform used by 150 million people daily, including a large…

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  • ‘RAMageddon’: is the era of cheap phones and laptops over?

    Bargains are disappearing and the cost of gadgets such as MacBooks and PS5s is rising as AI competes for memory chips The end of the cheap laptop, the bargain phone and affordable games consoles may be on the horizon. Not because new models are more hi-tech, but because the cost of computer components has shot…

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  • Hacker group threatens to release Grand Theft Auto VI data in Rockstar Games attack

    The group named ShinyHunters have accessed a third party server and have given the company a deadline of 14 April to enter ransom negotiations Rockstar Games, the studio behind Grand Theft Auto, has been the target of a cyberattack for the second time in three years. A hacker group called ShinyHunters said it would release…

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  • Sony to hike PS5 prices by $100 as AI and Iran war push up memory chip costs

    Updated prices of PlayStation 5 consoles to go into effect on 2 April as electronics makers face rising cost pressures Sony is raising global prices of its PlayStation 5 consoles, including a $100 increase in the US, marking its second hike in less than a year as the entertainment giant grapples with rising costs of…

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  • Roblox sued by Los Angeles over claims platform ‘makes children easy prey for pedophiles’

    LA County says the gaming company does not carry out adequate moderation and its age-verification systems are not fit for purpose, which Roblox denies Officials in Los Angeles have said they are suing Roblox, alleging the popular online platform exposes children to sexual content, exploitation and online predators. In a lawsuit, Los Angeles County said…

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  • Hack of age verification firm may have exposed 70,000 Discord users’ ID photos

    Names, email addresses and other contact details of users from around the world could also have been taken Government ID photos of about 70,000 global users of Discord, a popular messaging and chat platform among video gamers, may have been exposed after hackers compromised a company contracted to carry out age verification checks. Some users’…

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  • Roblox to extend age checks in attempt to curb adults talking with children

    Company says changes to gaming platform will root out ‘bad actors’ after child safety concerns over unsupervised interaction The gaming website Roblox is to limit adult strangers from talking to children by the end of this year in an effort to root out “bad actors”. The fast-growing platform which has more than 110 million users…

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  • Far-right extremists using games platforms to radicalise teenagers, report warns

    Parents advised to be vigilant over summer holidays to risk of offenders using in-game live chats to target their children Far-right extremists are using livestream gaming platforms to target and radicalise teenage players, a report has warned. The new research, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, reveals how a range of extremist groups and…

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