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Tag: Roblox

  • Walmart Sets Up Shop in the Metaverse

    Walmart Sets Up Shop in the Metaverse

    Walmart is joining the metaverse, setting up a virtual store and play area on Roblox’s platform.

    Companies across industries are beginning to embrace the metaverse, leveraging it as a way to engage with customers, especially younger ones. Walmart is the latest to join this trend, setting up Walmart Land and Walmart’s Universe of Play.

    ”We’re showing up in a big way – creating community, content, entertainment and games through the launch of Walmart Land and Walmart’s Universe of Play,” said William White, chief marketing officer, Walmart U.S. “Roblox is one of the fastest growing and largest platforms in the metaverse, and we know our customers are spending loads of time there. So, we’re focusing on creating new and innovative experiences that excite them, something we’re already doing in the communities where they live, and now, the virtual worlds where they play.”

    Walmart Land will provide a way for users to acquire merchandise for their avatars, as well as unlock various tokens and badges that users can earn. The virtual world will include “a physics-defying Ferris wheel giving users a bird’s-eye glimpse of the world.”

    Walmart Land will also include music festival-inspired Electric Island, a House of Style virtual dressing room, and Electric Fest, with performances by Madison Beer, Kane Brown and YUNGBLUD.

    Walmart’s Universe of Play will include immersive games, rewards, and virtual adventures.

    Walmart joins the likes of JPMorgan and British bank HSBC in staking its claim on the metaverse.

  • Roblox and Former National Security Officials Come to Apple’s Defense in Epic Case

    Roblox and Former National Security Officials Come to Apple’s Defense in Epic Case

    Apple is receiving some major backing in its fight with Epic, with former national security officials and Roblox defending the company’s App Store policies.

    Epic sued Apple in an attempt to force the company to open the App Store. Although Epic largely lost its battle, both companies are appealing the decision — Epic to achieve anything resembling a victory and Apple to try to win the one point it lost.

    Throughout the case, Apple has maintained that it’s walled-garden approach to the App Store improves the overall privacy and security of iOS, a point Roblox and former national security officials agree on, according to CNET. The various groups have filed court briefs supporting Apple’s position.

    “If Epic were to prevail, competition for higher quality device security would be stifled, and courts would be forced into unwanted regulatory postures that would open the door for greater risk of security threats,” a group of former defense, CIA, NSA, and National Security Council officials wrote.

    Roblox made a similar case in its brief.

    “Apple’s process for review and approval of apps available on the App Store enhances safety and security, and provides those apps greater legitimacy in the eyes of users,” Roblox wrote. “This is an important benefit that all apps, including Roblox’s, enjoy by choosing to be a part of Apple’s ecosystem.”

    Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’ original decision was a well-researched decision, one that many experts believe will be upheld. Given the weight of support Apple is receiving, an Epic victory is looking more and more unlikely.

  • Microsoft Unveils Tool To Help Protect Children From Sexual Predators

    Microsoft Unveils Tool To Help Protect Children From Sexual Predators

    It’s estimated that 89% of sexual solicitations made by a predator to a child were done within chat or instant messages. Microsoft is determined to help change that, with the release of “Project Artemis.”

    Project Artemis is a tool to help identify predators in online chat. It was “developed in collaboration with The Meet Group, Roblox, Kik and Thorn,” a tech nonprofit specializing in technology that helps protect children from sexual abuse.

    The tool is designed to evaluate conversations, looking for communication styles and patterns predators use to target children. According to Microsoft, “the development of this new technique began in November 2018 at a Microsoft ‘360 Cross-Industry Hackathon,’ which was co-sponsored by the WePROTECT Global Alliance in conjunction with the Child Dignity Alliance.”

    Once deployed, the tool “evaluates and ‘rates’ conversation characteristics and assigns an overall probability rating. This rating can then be used as a determiner, set by individual companies implementing the technique, as to when a flagged conversation should be sent to human moderators for review. Human moderators would then be capable of identifying imminent threats for referral to law enforcement, as well as incidents of suspected child sexual exploitation to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).”

    The tool will be freely available through Thorn “to qualified online service companies that offer a chat function.” Interested parties can contact Thorn directly at [email protected].