The year age verification laws came for the open internet

When the nonprofit Freedom House recently published its annual report, it noted that 2025 marked the 15th straight year of decline for global internet freedom. The biggest decline, after Georgia and G [...]

Microsoft plans to bring Xbox age verification to countries outside of the UK

Microsoft is implementing an age verification system on Xbox accounts to comply with the UK's Online Safety Act, and in a new blog post announcing the move, the company suggests it'll come t [...]

Sonos Play review: The company's best portable speaker so far

It’s been a rough couple of years for Sonos. In mid-2024, the company released a redesigned and thoroughly busted update to its app, which Sonos owners need to set up new products, manage their spea [...]

Grok 4.1 Fast's compelling dev access and Agent Tools API overshadowed by Musk glazing

Elon Musk's frontier generative AI startup xAI formally opened developer access to its Grok 4.1 Fast models last night and introduced a new Agent Tools API—but the technical milestones were imm [...]

Discord delays age verification to address user concerns

Earlier this month, Discord said it would be enacting an age verification policy. The platform faced some initial concerns from users about turning over their IDs and personal information, particularl [...]

Roblox is adding an 'age estimation' feature for teens

Roblox is joining the growing ranks of online platforms that are trying to better understand the ages of their teen users. The company is rolling out a new "age estimation" feature for teens [...]

Google asks Utah’s governor to veto the state's app store age verification bill

Google is pushing back on a bill that would make Utah the first state in the US to have a law requiring app stores to conduct age verification of their users. The company has formally requested the st [...]

Roblox's age verification system is reportedly a trainwreck

Roblox's age-verification system was designed as a response to allegations it has a child predator problem. Less than a week in, how's it going? Well, Wired reported on Tuesday that, in some [...]

Roblox now requires age verification to use in-game chat

Roblox Corporation, the company behind the popular online game platform Roblox, announced today that age verification will now be required for any users wishing to use in-game chat in all regions wher [...]