Twitch’s new boost feature puts porn on the homepage

  • Twitch has paused its ‘Boost Train Feature’, which lets people pay to promote streams after porn ended up on users’ homepages.
  • Twitch’s rules prohibit nudity and sexually explicit content or activities.
  • They decided to pause the feature due to ‘safety considerations’ following the presence of pornography on user’s homepages.
  • You can read the full story on The Verge’s website.

Facebook moderators ‘err on the side of adult’ when uncertain of age in possible abuse photos

  • Major tech companies monitor content on their platform for child sexual abuse material (CSAM), with content moderators in place to flag inappropriate content.
  • According to a report from the New York Times, Facebook has a policy which could mean it is underreporting CSAM.
  • A Facebook training document directs content moderators to ‘err on the side of adult’ if they are unsure of the age of an individual in a photo or video.
  • You can read the full story on The Verge’s website.

Government pressures video games firms to ban children from buying ‘loot boxes’

  • Video game companies have been given a warning to restrict the sale of ‘loot boxes’, with ministers warning they will bring in legislation limiting their use.
  • Loot boxes are available on some platforms to under 18s and have proven controversial following accusations that they encourage gambling.
  • Game makers are pushing back against the request, arguing there is little evidence of harm caused by loot boxes.
  • For more advice on young people and gambling in gaming, check out our article.
  • You can read the full story on the Telegraph’s website.

Ofsted ‘worried’ by young children’s development in education recovery report

  • As of today, Ofsted are publishing four briefings examining how students have recovered from classroom time lost during pandemic closures.
  • One report, based on 70 early years’ providers, found that children have “limited vocabulary”, and some babies have “struggled to respond to basic facial expressions”.
  • The report noted that children have missed out on having conversations and hearing stories, and instead spent more time on screens, some even using accents and voices from programmes watched.
  • You can read the full story on the Yorkshire Post’s website.