ShinyShiny snippets: TikTok raise livestreaming age to 18
TikTok is raising its minimum age for livestreaming from 16 to 18 from next month. A BBC News investigation found hundreds of accounts going live from Syrian refugee camps, with children begging for donations. Some were receiving up to $1,000 (£900) an hour – but when they withdrew the cash, TikTok had taken up to 70%. In future, only adults would be able to “send virtual gifts or access monetisation features”, TikTok said. And, “in the coming weeks”, it would let users run adult-only livestreams. It is unclear how TikTok will enforce these age restrictions, however. BBC
Streaming websites are not doing enough to prevent children seeing pornography, the media regulator has warned, as it criticised Amazon for failing to check the age of viewers. Ofcom said the Amazon-owned video streaming website Twitch, popular with video gamers, had failed to stop children accessing videos marked as “mature” for older audiences. In a report that sets the stage for the Online Safety Bill, currently making its way through Parliament, the regulator said: “Viewers of any age, with or without an account, can easily watch videos that are marked by creators as ‘mature’.” Telegraph
Tesla reported Wednesday that its third-quarter profit more than doubled from a year ago, fueled by higher vehicle sales. The Austin, Texas, electric vehicle and solar panel maker posted net income of $3.29 billion from July through September. CEO Elon Musk said on the company’s quarterly conference call that Tesla is considering a $5 billion to $10 billion stock buyback next year, even if the economy stumbles. And Musk said Tesla’s “Full Self Driving” feature won’t be ready to be used without humans behind the wheel this year. But it will be ready next year “without question whatsoever in my mind.” AP News
Microsoft is reportedly building an Xbox mobile gaming store in direct competition with Apple and Google. The news, as reported by The Verge, has emerged due to filings from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in Microsoft’s ongoing $68.7bn buyout of Activision Blizzard. Both the popularity of Activision’s mobile games and the inclusion of King are major factors in Microsoft’s buyout as it looks to expand the Xbox brand further into mobile gaming. “The transaction will improve Microsoft’s ability to create a next-generation game store which operates across a range of devices, including mobile as a result of the addition of Activision Blizzard’s content,” said Microsoft in the company filings. Eurogamer
Apple significantly increased the price of existing iPad mini models in non-US markets after updating its online store with new entry-level iPad and iPad Pro models on Tuesday.
In the UK for example, the 64GB iPad mini now costs £569, up from £479 earlier in the day, while the 256GB model costs £749, up fro £619. That’s a 19% and 21% price increase, respectively, making the iPad mini more expensive than the new 10.9-inch iPad, which starts from £499 and £649 at the same capacities. MacRumors
There is no shortage of speed cameras on Britain’s roads, and plenty of us have likely fallen foul of them at some point. But soon, more of the transport network will be under the gaze of another piece of technology monitoring how we drive. Noise-detecting cameras are on their way to more parts of the country in the coming weeks. Having initially been deployed in an area of Bradford, drivers in Birmingham, Bristol, and parts of Norfolk will also be monitored. If the expanded trial proves successful, the rest of the UK could well follow suit. Sky News
