Starting in December 2025, Roblox will block children from chatting with adults or much older teen strangers, using facial age estimation to ensure kids can only talk with others in a similar age group. According to The Guardian, the move follows lawsuits claiming the online gaming platform — now reaching 150 million daily players — has been exploited by predators to groom children as young as 7, alleging its design made them “easy prey for paedophiles.” Roblox’s new system will sort users into age bands: under 9, 9 to 12, 13 to 15, 16 to 17, 18 to 20, and 21 and over. Children will be allowed to chat only with users in their own or adjacent groups — for instance, a 12-year-old will only be able to communicate with those under 16. Roblox says it will not store images and videos used for age checks. Roblox will first introduce the change in Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands, with a global rollout scheduled for early January 2026. “We see it as a way for our users to have...

Stacey Abrams wears many hats. The first Black woman nominated for governor in U.S. history, she is a national leader, voting rights advocate, romance and thriller novelist, and serial entrepreneur with her own media and podcast ventures. At AFROTECH™ Conference 2025 in Houston, Abrams joined Dr. Rachel Gillum, vice president of ethical and humane use of technology at Salesforce, for a session titled “Democracy in the World of AI,” highlighting AI’s rapid spread, its impact on every sector from health care to the economy, and its connection to democracy. Abrams explained that her commitment to democracy is driven by her experience with poverty, which she called immoral, economically inefficient, and solvable — a reality she is determined never to return to. “Democracy is how we have always advanced the cause of more voices being involved in the answer,” Abrams shared from the stage. “I create companies because I was poor, and I don’t like it, and don’t ever want to do it again. My...

Apple officially launched iOS 26 on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, bringing new features to iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro — all powered by Apple Intelligence and designed with privacy and data protection at every step, according to a news release. Developers can take advantage of iOS 26’s new features at no cost. The operating system also introduces Liquid Glass, Apple’s latest software material that unifies user interfaces with a sleek, glass-like aesthetic. “At Apple , we’ve always believed in the deep integration of hardware and software that makes interacting with technology intuitive, beautiful, and delightful,” Alan Dye, vice president of Human Interface Design, said in a statement. “This is our broadest software design update ever,” he added. “…[Liquid Glass] combines the optical qualities of glass with a fluidity only Apple can achieve, as it transforms depending on your content or context. It lays the foundation for new experiences in the future and,...

Facebook users are finally seeing payments from a $725 million privacy case. The Facebook user privacy settlement payout comes after years of lawsuits alleging the company allowed third parties to access user data without permission, USA Today reports. It is reportedly the largest class-action settlement in U.S. history based on number of class members, according to Money. Over 19 million claims have been validated. Meta, Facebook’s parent company, has already started sending out payments tied to the settlement. Notifications began in September 2025, and payments will continue over the coming weeks. The case covers Facebook’s data-sharing practices over 15 years, including the infamous Cambridge Analytica scandal that broke in 2018, where the consulting firm accessed data from as many as 87 million users without consent, AFROTECH™ previously reported. While Meta has denied wrongdoing, the company agreed to settle to avoid trial. This is not the first privacy-related action against...

Google has issued an urgent warning to all Gmail users after a major third-party breach exposed billions of individuals to potential cyberattacks , Geek Spin reports. While Google says its own systems remain secure, the incident shows how stolen data from other platforms can be exploited to target Gmail accounts. The alert follows a breach of Salesforce’s cloud platform, which has left users of Google services more vulnerable to attacks. According to a Google Cloud blog post, Google’s Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) first spotted these attacks in June. Hackers used social engineering tactics, such as posing as IT support staff, to trick users into sharing their login credentials. By August, the attackers had already carried out multiple “successful intrusions” using accessed passwords, Geek Spin reports. While the stolen information was initially considered “basic and largely publicly available business data,” Google warned that it is now being used for more damaging purposes. The...

A new app that went viral for helping women date more safely has hit a major snag. Tea, the women-only platform designed to crowdsource safety information about men, surged to popularity in July, hitting over 4 million users and topping Apple’s App Store, according to Complex. Marketed as a “space to safely talk about men,” the app lets women upload photos of guys, run reverse image searches, and perform background checks to identify someone as a “red flag” or “green flag” for dating. But just as the app was hitting its stride (going viral on TikTok, especially among Gen Z), Forbes reports, a massive data breach compromised the information of thousands of users. What Is The Tea App? Tea isn’t a traditional dating app. Instead, it acts as a safety tool. Per Forbes, users can upload photos of men they’re talking to, search by name or phone number, and ask the community if anyone has “tea,” or gossip, about the men. It offers features such as: Catfish Finder AI to identify fake or...

Artificial intelligence (AI) is driving a wave of transformation, reshaping how organizations adapt and compete — making it essential to foster a culture of innovation and adaptability to navigate disruption and ensure long-term success. At AFROTECH™ 2024, Temi Soleye, the senior director of learning & performance at Merlin Labs, and Ashley Gatewood, the change & transformation leader at Google, came together to discuss the opportunities and challenges AI presents for businesses, how to lead effective transformations and what it takes to build a future-ready workforce. When it comes to AI and transformation, Soleye noted that AI has productivity tools, such as support for coding and coders — but its challenges and opportunities go hand in hand. “High performance culture depends on the people, but it also depends on the processes and the systems,” Soleye said. Adding that, to streamline workflow, people should consider what the person currently does and how artificial intelligence...

Cybersecurity remains one of the most important — and unpredictable — topics shaping today’s technology landscape. At AFROTECH™ 2024, Nicole Dove, director of security engineering at Riot Games, led a session on how bad actors use artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance cyberattacks and how defenders are evolving to stay ahead. Moderated by Dr. Christine Izuakor, founder and CEO of Cyber Pop-up, the session also included Oluwadamilola Obamehinti, who has over a decade of experience at major tech companies including eBay. During the session, Dove and Obamehinti were presented with high-stakes real-world scenarios to respond to live. “We’ve all heard a lot of the nightmare stories over the last year, especially when it comes to security,” Izuakor said. “Everything from unprecedented amounts of data being leaked to social media hacks to a global IT outage — and it’s important as leaders for us to be able to respond in ways that are efficient, to remain calm, to think critically while...