Louisiana sues Roblox game platform over child safety
A lawsuit filed by Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill contends that Silicon Valley-based Roblox facilitates distribution of child sexual abuse material and the exploitation of minors.
"Roblox is overrun with harmful content and child predators because it prioritizes user growth, revenue, and profits over child safety," Murrill maintained in a release. The lawsuit charges Roblox with "knowingly and intentionally" failing to implement basic safety controls to protect children.Nearly 82 million people use Roblox daily, with more than half of them being younger than 18 years of age, according to the suit."Any assertion that Roblox would intentionally put our users at risk of exploitation is simply untrue," the company said Friday in a posted response to the filing."No system is perfect and bad actors adapt to evade detection," the company added, stressing that it works "continuously" to promote a safe online environment on the platform.The Roblox online gaming and creation platform was founded in 2004 and allows users to play, create and share virtual experiences.Roblox is one of the most popular online platforms for children, "offering a vibrant world of interactive games, imaginative play, and creative self-expression," according to the nonprofit Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI).A FOSI guide available at its website "walks parents through the basics of Roblox, the ways children commonly engage with it, and how to use built-in features like content filters, chat settings, and screen time controls" for safety.Roblox announced major safety upgrades late last year, introducing remote parental controls and restricting communication features for users under 13.US-based FOSI endorsed the changes at the time, its chief saying Roblox was taking "significant steps toward building a safer digital environment." Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea. 3 years on, Akasa's next challenge: Staying in the air against IndiGo's dominance
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First Post
29 minutes ago
- First Post
Trump has risked US-India ties for a cheap win
Great partnerships are built slowly and destroyed quickly. In torching trust for the sake of a few headlines and a Nobel nomination, Trump risks more than a temporary chill Trump actions suggest a transactional mindset in which strategic relationships are subordinated to momentary political wins and rhetorical jabs. Representational image 'In geopolitics, there are no permanent friends or enemies, only permanent interests.' – Lord Palmerston From Warmth to Whiplash Few bilateral relationships have been cultivated with more care over the last two decades than that between the United States and India. The strategic logic was clear: as Asia's other democratic giant, India could help anchor an Indo-Pacific balance of power to check China's rise. But President Donald Trump, in a matter of months, has managed to turn goodwill into suspicion. What began with a 'MAGA plus MIGA equals mega partnership' in February has degenerated into public insults, punitive tariffs, and a humiliating tilt towards Pakistan. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The consequences go well beyond bruised egos. They threaten to undo years of steady alignment between the two largest democracies, alignment that took decades to build and that the US can ill afford to squander. The Tariff Hammer Trump's decision to slap a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods, then double it to 50 per cent, was framed as punishment for New Delhi's continued imports of Russian oil. Yet the hypocrisy is glaring: China, America's main strategic rival, buys far more Russian oil without incurring such penalties. The president's taunt 'They can take their dead economies down together' was not only factually wrong (India's economy is booming) but needlessly insulting. For India, it confirmed that Washington's so-called 'strategic partnership' can be tossed aside the moment it becomes inconvenient. Lisa Curtis, a veteran South Asia hand who served on Trump's National Security Council, calls this approach 'mystifying' and 'short-sighted'. The words are diplomatic; the implications are blunt. This is self-sabotage. Kashmir: The Breaking Point If the tariffs soured the mood, the Kashmir episode poisoned it. In May, after a terrorist attack sparked tensions between India and Pakistan, the US quietly urged restraint, standard practice in such crises. But Trump couldn't resist claiming full credit, even boasting that he had threatened India to force a climbdown. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This crossed a red line. India has never accepted third-party mediation on Kashmir. Modi's government took the extraordinary step of publishing its call minutes with Trump, stressing 'at no point' had there been mediation. Indian commentators called it 'typical Trump overreach'. The damage was compounded when Pakistan publicly praised Trump's 'peacemaking' and even nominated him for the Nobel Prize he so covets. For New Delhi, the symbolism was clear: Washington had chosen public flattery from Islamabad over strategic discretion with India. Playing Favourites Soon after, Pakistan secured a tariff reduction from 29 per cent to 19 per cent. India's rate stayed at 50 per cent. That sent a starker message than any speech: a supposed partner was punished harder than an adversary. For many in India's foreign policy establishment, this rekindled the suspicion that the US still sees South Asia primarily through a Pakistan-centric lens, a Cold War hangover they thought was long gone. More Than Trade STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The damage isn't confined to tariffs and Kashmir. Indian students face increased harassment on American campuses under a tightening immigration regime. Deportations of undocumented Indians have spiked. Meanwhile, Trump's attendance at the upcoming Quad summit in India is now in doubt. Curtis is unequivocal: 'Prime Minister Modi is just not going to trust President Trump anymore.' Without personal trust, strategic logic will not hold the partnership together. China and Russia Waiting in the Wings It is naïve to think India will simply pivot to Beijing. The two countries remain strategic rivals, with unresolved border disputes and conflicting ambitions in the Indian Ocean. But Modi is preparing to visit China for the first time in seven years, a signal that New Delhi is willing to thaw ties when it suits its interests. Russia, meanwhile, remains a trusted partner in defence and energy. President Putin's planned visit to India underscores Moscow's enduring relevance. If Washington keeps pushing India away, it risks accelerating a Eurasian convergence that US strategists have spent decades trying to prevent. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Strategy Demands Consistency The US-India partnership was never about sentiment. It was built on shared interests, counterbalancing China, securing supply chains, and stabilising the Indo-Pacific. Such a partnership demands steadiness and respect for India's strategic autonomy. Trump's approach has been neither steady nor respectful. His actions suggest a transactional mindset in which strategic relationships are subordinated to momentary political wins and rhetorical jabs. That is not how great-power partnerships survive. A Self-Inflicted Wound Palmerston's maxim about permanent interests is more than a cynical quip; it is a warning. The US and India will always have differences, over trade, over Russia, over immigration. But these must be managed quietly, without public humiliation, if the broader strategic compact is to hold. In torching trust for the sake of a few headlines and a Nobel nomination from Islamabad, Trump risks more than a temporary chill. He risks driving India to hedge harder with Beijing and Moscow, fracturing the delicate geometry of Asian geopolitics. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Great partnerships are built slowly and destroyed quickly. Washington still has a narrow window to repair the damage. But if it fails, it will discover, too late, that India, once alienated, will not be easily won back. Ashutosh Kumar Thakur is a Bengaluru-based management professional, literary critic, and Curator. He can be reached at ashutoshbthakur@ The views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.
Hindustan Times
29 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Air Canada suspends operations as flight attendants go on strike
Toronto: Air Canada cancelled hundreds of flights on Friday, impacting tens of thousands of passengers including many flying to and from India, as it responded to a strike by its flight attendants. Two Air Canada planes are seen on the tarmac of the Pierre-Elliott Trudeau Airport in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on Friday. (AFP) The airline announced it had 'suspended all operations' for Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights following the strike by its 10,000 flight attendants represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees. The strike began early on Saturday. Among the flights impacted by cancellations were direct flights from Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal to New Delhi, as well as those from Calgary with a stopover in London. With the strike action slated to begin on Saturday, Air Canada announced on Friday evening that 623 flights had been cancelled and 100,100 passengers impacted. On Thursday, the national carrier had announced it had 'begun a phased wind-down of most of our operations, to be completed over the next two days.' The union sought higher pay as well as improved working conditions but no timely settlement had been reached with the airline by the deadline. Travel industry specialists were hopeful there wouldn't be large-scale disruption affecting those traveling between India and Canada. Vibhor Chhabra, director of the Toronto-based Grand Travel, felt that the issue was 'manageable' as Air Canada was a member of the Star Alliance group of airlines. With airlines like Air India also being part of that group, passengers could be transferred to the latter's flights, he said, or to those flying via Europe to India. 'They (passengers) are being moved to other routes, they will be protected by arrangements with other airlines. But some impact will be there,' he felt. Flights returning from India were already impacted even before the strike action started, as Air Canada started cancelling long-haul flights, including those to India, in advance. On Thursday the airline posted on X that the union had rejected attendants' union an agreement to fly passengers back to Canada and as 'a result, 25 000 additional passengers are going to be stranded abroad.' Air Canada has daily flights leaving for Indian destinations including New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Kochi from the cities of Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary.
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Business Standard
29 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Tamil Nadu CM seeks special relief package to counter US import tariff
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday expressed concern over the possibility of the enhanced US tariff on Indian imports affecting the industry and employment, and demanded that the Centre provide a special financial relief package. The package should include a moratorium on principal repayment, he told Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a letter. While appreciating the efforts by the Centre to achieve a mutually beneficial trade agreement with the US, he also exteded full support to the country's position to defend national interests. "In this context, I wish to bring to your attention a matter of considerable concern to Tamil Nadu, as it faces severe implications due to the current 25 per cent tariff and its potential escalation to 50 per cent." In the last financial year, while 20 per cent of India's total goods exports of USD 433.6 billion were to the US, 31 per cent of Tamil Nadu's USD 52.1 billion goods were exported to that country. "This higher dependency on the US market clearly implies that tariff impact on Tamil Nadu will be disproportionately greater than for most other Indian states. Hence this tariff has significant implications for Tamil Nadu's manufacturing sector and employment scenario," he told PM Modi. The most affected sectors are textiles, apparels, machinery, auto components, gems and jewelry, leather, footwear, marine products and chemicals, all labour-intensive sectors, wherein any export slowdown will quickly result in mass layoffs. He said the southern state accounted for 28 per cent of the country's textile exports in 2024-2025, the largest contributor among all Indian states. The sector employs nearly 75 lakh people and with a 25 per cent tariff and a proposed 50 per cent tariff, an estimated 30 lakh jobs are at immediate risk, he said. "To mitigate this crisis, it is essential to address structural issues that have long hindered our export competitiveness. In this regard, I had extensive consultations with the industry associations from the affected sectors. Based on these consultations, it is evident that the textile sector urgently needs support in two aspects-correction of the GST inverted duty structure for the man-made fiber value chain, by bringing the entire chain under a 5 per cent GST slab and exemption of import duty on all varieties of cotton," he said. Extension of 30 per cent collateral-free loans under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme with a 5 per cent interest subvention and a two-year moratorium on principal repayment, along with enhancing Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) benefits to 5 per cent, extending pre and post-shipment credit to all textile exports, including yarn, have been highlighted as other important steps to strengthen our export competitiveness, Stalin added. "Similar challenges are being faced by other sectors due to tariff impacts and competitive pressures in global trade. To provide immediate relief, the Union Government needs to consider introducing a special interest subvention scheme for all exporters affected by tariffs to improve liquidity and reduce cost burdens and accelerating Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and bilateral arrangements to offset high-tariff market risks. "Considering the scale of the problem, a special financial relief package including a moratorium on principal repayment, similar to the one implemented during the COVID period is necessary to support our exporters," he told Modi. Government of Brazil has announced tax deferrals and tax credits to exporters, he pointed out. "Tamil Nadu's thriving manufacturing sector is facing a never seen before crisis, threatening millions of livelihoods across various sectors. Hence, I request your urgent intervention in this matter, in consultation with the relevant ministries and industry stakeholders," the CM said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
