Roblox says policing virtual world is like “shutting down speakeasies”

  • Roblox chief scientists have released interviews saying, “it is such a challenge to moderate 3D” and that it is like “shutting down speakeasies”.
  • This comes following the beginning of a lawsuit against Roblox in relation to a young girl’s exploitation through the platform.
  • Earlier this year the BBC had also reported that users created explicit private spaces called “condos”, where digital avatars could engage in ‘virtual sex’.
  • Find out more on the Reuters website.

More county lines closed than ever before in week of police action against drugs

  • Police across the UK have shut down 172 county lines in a week and arrested hundreds of people suspected of being involved.
  • The seven-day focus on county lines saw police forces shutting down more county lines than ever before.
  • NPCC lead for county lines said, “We have seen that 1,255 vulnerable adults and children have been safeguarded from these violent county lines criminals”.
  • Check out our article on county lines, clean skins and cuckooing.
  • Read more about this on the Independent’s website.

Commonwealth Games make mystery esports U-turn

  • Competitive gaming will not be a medal event in the 2026 Commonwealth Games after a surprise U-turn.
  • Esports was a pilot event at the 2022 Birmingham Games.
  • The Commonwealth Games Federation had called this a success, however, the organisers of the 2026 games say that esports will not feature.
  • The Commonwealth Games Organising Committee refused to give any specific reasons for the U-turn.
  • To read more about Esports, read our Guide to Esports.
  • For more on this, please visit the BBC’s website.

Four out of five pupils in England say progress has suffered due to Covid

  • A study from University College London and Sutton Trust has found four out of five teenagers say their academic progress has suffered because of the pandemic.
  • State school pupils were twice as likely to feel they have fallen behind than their peers in private schools.
  • Half of 16- and 17-year-olds said Covid disruption had left them less motivated to study.
  • 45% of these 16- and 17-year-olds felt they had not been able to catch up on lost learning.
  • Read more on the Guardian’s website.