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The US State Department is building a web portal, where Europeans and anyone else can see online content banned by their governments, according to Reuters. It was supposed to be launched at Munich Security Conference last month, but some state department officials reportedly voiced their concerns about the project. The portal will be hosted on freedom.gov, which currently just shows the image above. Freedom is Coming, the homepage reads. Information is power. Reclaim your human right to free expression. Get Ready.Reuters says officials discussed making a virtual private network function available on the portal and making visitors traffic appear as if they were from the US, so they could see anything unavailable to them. While its a state department project, The Guardian has traced the domain to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which is a component of the US Department of Homeland Security. Homeland also serves as the administrator for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The project could drive the wedge further between the US and its European allies. European authorities dont usually order broad censorships preventing their citizens from being able to access large parts of the internet. Typically, they only order the blocking of hate speech, terrorist propaganda, disinformation and anything illegal under the EUs Digital Services Act or the UKs Online Safety Act. If the Trump administration is alleging that theyre gonna be bypassing content bans, what theyre gonna be helping users access in Europe is essentially hate speech, pornography, and child sexual abuse material, Nina Jankowicz, who served as the executive director of Homeland Securitys Disinformation Governance Board, told The Guardian. The board was very short-lived and was disbanded a few months after it was formed, following complaints by Republican lawmakers that it would impinge on peoples rights to free speech. When asked about the project, the state department said it didnt have a program specifically meant to circumvent censorship in Europe. But the spokesperson said: Digital freedom is a priority for the State Department, however, and that includes the proliferation of privacy and censorship-circumvention technologies like VPNs."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/us-website-freedomgov-will-allow-europeans-to-view-hate-speech-and-other-blocked-content-130000014.html?src=rss
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Los Angeles County has sued Roblox for "unfair and deceptive business practices," claiming the platform's moderation and age-verification systems are inadequate. "Roblox portrays its platform as a safe and appropriate place for children to play," the complaint states. "In reality, and as Roblox well knows, the design of its platform makes children easy prey for pedophiles." Representatives accused Roblox of failing to implement adequate platform safety features to prevent child endangerment. "Specifically, Roblox has not effectively moderated game content or enforced age-appropriate restrictions and warnings established by the creators, allowing the predatory and inappropriate language and interactions between users to persist," the County stated. It also said the platform failed to disclose any danger to children, including sexual content and the risk of predators. Roblox rejected the allegations, saying the platform was built around safety. "We have advanced safeguards that monitor our platform for harmful content and communications, and users cannot send or receive images via chat, avoiding one of the most prevalent opportunities for misuse seen elsewhere online," the company told the AFP. The LA county complaint is the latest in a string of lawsuits from US regions including Florida, Texas and Kentucky. The Attorney General in Louisiana also accused the company of having a "lack of safety protocols" that endanger the safety of children in favor of "growth, revenue and profits." That state's lawsuit cited a specific example of a subject arrested last year that used voice-altering tech to mimic a younger feminine voice to lure and sexually exploit young players. Roblox has said that it has about 144 million daily active users around the world, with over 40 percent of them under the age of 13. However, it has faced repeated accusations that it doesn't do enough to protect young players. In 2024, Roblox banned players under 13 from accessing some types of in-game content and restricted their ability to message with other players outside of specific games. Last year, the company also began asking tens of millions of children to verify their age with a selfie. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/la-county-lawsuit-accuses-roblox-of-exposing-children-to-grooming-and-exploitation-124523028.html?src=rss
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Its a big month for Pokémon, with February 27 marking 30 years since the worlds highest-grossing media franchise first introduced itself in the shape of two Game Boy games. Pocket Monsters Red and Pocket Monsters Green, which later arrived in the West as Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue, kicked off a craze in Japan that would soon spread worldwide. And to mark the series 30th anniversary, the little turn-based RPGs that started it all are being re-released on Nintendo Switch. Well, sort of. The versions were actually getting are the Game Boy Advance remakes, Pokémon FireRed Version and Pokémon LeafGreen Version, which originally came out in 2004. Explaining its decision to bring back the enhanced GBA titles rather than the originals, Nintendo said in an FAQ that it thought Switch owners would like the opportunity to revisit the "ultimate versions of the original Pokémon adventures in the Kanto region." Get ready to relive the Kanto region Trainers, Pokémon FireRed Version and Pokémon LeafGreen Version are coming to Nintendo Switch!Pre-order here:https://t.co/WzCCWh1fn8https://t.co/5SdXjg75is https://t.co/XVYS5wVZYp Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 20, 2026 These arent modern remakes or remasters. Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen will look and play pretty much the same as they did in 2004, just on a far superior display, obviously. Theres no online play, but the original games local multiplayer features return via the Switchs built-in wireless features. If youre playing on Switch 2, you can also play using GameChat. Other than that, it doesnt sound like there are any notable differences between the Switch and Switch 2 versions. In a move that might surprise some, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen wont be available as part of the Nintendo Switch Online GBA library. In fact you dont even need an NSO membership to play them. Instead, the games are being sold as standalone titles for $20 in the eShop. No physical release is planned outside of Japan. Nintendo added in its FAQ that there are no current plans for more old-school Virtual Console-style releases beyond these ones, with the company still committed to building out its NSO subscription offerings. Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen will be available to buy after a Pokémon Presents showcase that will air next Friday, February 27 (the day of Pokémons 30th anniversary), at 9am ET. And if you need yet more Pokémon after that, Pokémon Pokopia, which is the series long-awaited stab at a cozy Animal Crossing-like, arrives on March 5.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/pokemon-firered-and-leafgreen-are-coming-to-switch-next-week-for-the-series-30th-anniversary-123505741.html?src=rss
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