• Nintendo has condemned alleged abuse by well-known competitive gamers as “absolutely impermissible”.
• In the last week, dozens of allegations of inappropriate behaviour have been made against competitors in Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros fighting game series. These allegations have involved many young teenagers. 
• The allegations surrounding the Super Smash Bros competitive community vary, ranging from inappropriate sexual messages to sexual relationships with minors on the sidelines of tournament events and even accusations of rape.
• It comes as part of a wider “MeToo” style movement in the fighting game and wider gaming communities.

• Several social media and tech platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Google and Telegram have all said they are “pausing” co-operation with requests for user information from the Hong Kong police.
• This news comes as several countries have criticised China for imposing a new security law, which they say threatens the territory’s long-standing autonomy.
• The announcements are likely to put pressure on Apple to do likewise, as they have complied with the majority of requests it received from Hong Kong’s government, according to the firm’s latest transparency report.
• A large proportion of people protesting against Hong Kong and Chinese governments have been under 18.

• The popular social media platform Discord has announced that it has reached 100-million monthly users and is launching a rebrand.
• Traditionally, Discord has been used by groups focused on gaming, but the platform is attempting to diversify its audience by being more welcoming, inclusive and trustworthy of different communities. The platform is now introducing a new user onboarding experience, server video and new server templates.
• The company has also received $100 million in funding in order to accelerate its investment in new features, the community, and more

• A man has been caught by police after he shared child abuse images via WhatsApp with another man, who was already being investigated. 
• The offender’s devices had pictures and videos depicting the violent sexual abuse of children aged between four and 12 
• The defendant also distributed one category A image, depicting the worst kind of child abuse, two at category B and eight at category C.
• The Judge presiding over the case said the images were “of a gross and depraved nature”. The defendant was jailed for 16 months, suspended for 12 months – he will have to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

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