Mentioned in today’s edition: Jony Ive, Roblox, Discord, TSMC, YouTube Music, MrBeast, BoM and Oreo emojis. Plus, deals on Nothing earbuds, Garmin watches and Logitech mice.

The News

Discord will treat everyone like teens until proven otherwise

Discord will make every user prove their age or have their accounts placed under teen-specific restrictions (Discord). This has already rolled out in Australia, so not a change for us, but now is going global. Discord's teen accounts can't get into age-restricted servers, and other safety settings will be turned on by default (although they can be turned off by the user). Meanwhile, Roblox has been given a "please explain" by both the Communications Minister and eSafety Commissioner about more reports of child grooming on the platform (ABC News).

The Sizzle: We've already got these rules in Australia so we can attest to the fact that it's not like the sky has fallen (although as you probably remember, I reported that 68,000 Australians were caught up in Discord's breach of age check data so this stuff comes with big privacy risks). What I think is interesting is how some of these measures feel like "safety theatre". Like sensitive content filters that can be turned off or having a separate inbox for adult messages. Maybe it has some impact at the edges but doesn't feel like it will drastically protect kids. Even on Roblox, which has taken more steps than most other services, is still accused of being filled with child predators. 

So what is the answer? I'm sure Roblox and Discord can do more, but, like, specifically what? How do you run a service for young people at a global scale and deal with this stuff, particularly without massively impacting the privacy of everyone else too? I'd love to hear thoughts, I'm definitely going to do some more reporting. Until then, we're all going to be teens: 

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The Ferrari EV is the Apple Car we didn’t get

Ferrari has given the first look inside its first ever EV to the world and it's a glimpse into what the Apple Car might have looked like (Engadget). The Luce's interiors were designed by ex-Apple designer Jony Ive's firm LoveFrom and Australian designer Marc Newson (News dot com dot au). It's a huge W for the "cars should have buttons and dials" crew, but the displays are touchscreen as well. I'm not really a car guy so would love to hear your reviews of the look but one cool little thing I noticed: the key fob clicks into the centre and has an e-ink screen that changes the colour of the background, which is pretty cute (Ferrari).

Discuss in Slack or Forum.

The teen social media ban's mystery number: 4.7 million

After a $20 million campaign promoting the scheme (a number I just found out), the government said last month that its teen social media ban is a success because it saw that 4.7 million accounts were taken down (PM dot gov dot au). Meta, owner of Facebook, IG, Threads, said it removed 550,000 accounts (ABC News). Snapchat ditto with 410,000 (Guardian). 

So, my maths says you've still got 3.7 million-ish accounts unaccounted for. Of the remaining, TikTok and YouTube would be a big number, but it's still difficult to see how it all stacks up — something that politicians are struggling with, too . The Department of Communications said only the eSafety Commissioner knows, and she's up at Estimates this afternoon... 👀

Related: Survey reveals mixed reactions to Australia’s under-16 social media ban (Mi3)

Discuss in Slack or Forum.

Leftovers

Australia:

Rest of World:

Discuss in Slack or Forum.

Oh, Also

Plus: Why does Microsoft Teams have an Oreo emoji?

One of the running themes of the Sizzle has been "doesn't Microsoft have any shame?". I've received yet more confirmation that, no, it doesn't: someone in a Discord found that Microsoft Teams has in-built Oreo emojis.

As it turns out, this is a hangover from 2022 sponcon which included a 15-minute "thinvite" (???) which was a type of calendar event that would play a video of puppies (Microsoft). I'm legitimately lost for words. 

Discuss in Slack or Forum.

Bargains

Electronics

Computing

Mobile

The End

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