legal action Archives

AppWizard

May 14, 2025

Modders use reverse engineering to bring Mario Party 4 to PC, more GameCube games to follow

The gaming community has seen a rise in reverse-engineering source code from retro console games, particularly from the Nintendo 64 era and earlier, leading to native PC ports. The decompilation of Mario Party 4 is nearly complete, making it the first fully decompiled GameCube title, which will facilitate unofficial PC ports. A port of Mario Party 4 with online multiplayer is in development. Other GameCube titles like Super Smash Bros. Melee and Metroid Prime are also being targeted for decompilation. An unofficial PC port of the Xbox 360 game Sonic Unleashed has been completed. Previous titles such as Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time have received PC ports with enhanced features. Modders are experimenting with advanced technologies like ray tracing for classic games. A modding tool has improved the recompilation process, but technical challenges remain. Nintendo has not taken legal action against these decompilation efforts, and modders use clean room tactics to avoid legal issues, requiring ownership of the original game for PC ports.

AppWizard

April 25, 2025

Fallout creator laments the loss of the game’s earliest development materials: ‘I had that in digital form and was ordered to destroy it’

Tim Cain, the creator of the original Fallout, shared insights on his YouTube channel about his career and the game's origins, including the purposes of the Vaults and the game's setting in 2161. He recounted a past incident with publisher Interplay, where he was compelled to destroy a collection of early Fallout materials, including design notes and game builds, to avoid legal conflict. Cain highlighted the industry's failure in game preservation, noting that when he left Fallout, he was instructed to destroy his entire archive. A study indicated that about 87% of all games created are now unplayable without piracy or archival visits, underscoring the challenges in preserving both games and development materials.

AppWizard

April 24, 2025

Bethesda gave Oblivion Remastered game keys to the entire Skyblivion development team and ‘made it clear that they have no intention of shutting down our project’

Bethesda did not terminate the Skyblivion project and instead provided game keys for Oblivion Remastered to the modding team. The Skyblivion team expressed gratitude for this support. Despite the competition from Oblivion Remastered, they maintained a positive outlook. Oblivion Remastered launched successfully, surpassing 150,000 concurrent players on Steam within 12 hours and receiving overwhelmingly positive user reviews.

AppWizard

April 23, 2025

Florida attorney general files lawsuit against instant messaging app Snapchat

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has filed a lawsuit against Snapchat due to concerns that the platform is being misused by predators to target minors. The lawsuit claims Snapchat violates Florida's House Bill 3, which prohibits children under 13 from creating accounts and requires parental approval for users aged 14 and 15.

AppWizard

April 18, 2025

N.J. sues Discord, alleging the messaging app leaves kids vulnerable to predators

State officials in New Jersey have filed a lawsuit against Discord, alleging that the messaging platform fails to protect children from online predators and misrepresents its safety features, particularly regarding direct messaging. New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin claims that Discord's misleading safety settings have made it a target for predators, exposing young users to risks. Discord has announced its intention to contest the lawsuit, asserting its commitment to safety. The complaint points out that Discord's default settings allow users to receive friend requests from anyone and that its claims about scanning and removing explicit content are misleading. The lawsuit demands that Discord relinquish profits earned in New Jersey and seeks civil penalties, following incidents where inadequate safeguards led to child exploitation. Additionally, a man has been accused of communicating with a 14-year-old victim on Discord after previously assaulting her.

AppWizard

April 18, 2025

N.J. sues messaging app Discord for alleged youth endangerment

New Jersey has filed a lawsuit against Discord, alleging that the platform's safety measures for young users are inadequate and misleading. The lawsuit claims that Discord's safety protocols have exposed children to violent content, harassment, and sexual abuse, despite the company's assertions that it provides a "safe space for teens." Key concerns include the platform's ineffective age-verification process, which allows children under 13 to access the app, and the failure of its "Safe Direct Messaging" feature to effectively scan for explicit content. Discord has expressed surprise at the legal action and maintains its commitment to improving safety on the platform.

AppWizard

April 17, 2025

N.J. attorney general sues Discord messaging app over child predator concerns

New Jersey has filed a lawsuit against Discord, claiming the platform fails to adequately protect underage users from predators, thus breaching the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. The lawsuit highlights that children can easily create accounts without proper age verification, allowing adult users to contact them. New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin criticized Discord's safety measures, stating they can be easily bypassed. In 2023, an NBC News investigation linked 35 cases of serious crimes to interactions on Discord. Discord’s CEO acknowledged the severity of these issues and announced updates to child safety policies, including a ban on teen dating and AI-generated child sexual abuse material.

AppWizard

April 12, 2025

Two men flee Oconee theater with Minecraft display, but alert citizen foils escape plan

Two young men, aged 21 and 22, attempted to steal a large cardboard display promoting "A Minecraft Movie" from the University 16 theater in Georgia on April 6. Their plan was interrupted when a bystander photographed their getaway vehicle, an Audi, and alerted the theater's manager. Sheriff’s Cpl. Baer Schiffer reviewed surveillance footage and identified the suspects through the vehicle's license plate. The 21-year-old suspect admitted to the theft and he and his accomplice returned the display to the sheriff’s office. No charges have been filed yet, as the theater manager has not decided whether to pursue legal action.

AppWizard

April 8, 2025

Meta adds new age-based restrictions to Facebook, Messenger to curb…

Meta has introduced "Teen Accounts" on Facebook and Messenger, automatically enrolling users under 18 to enhance their safety. Key restrictions include limiting messages to individuals teens follow or have interacted with, ensuring only friends can view and respond to their stories. Additionally, teens will receive notifications to log off after one hour of screen time, and apps will switch to "quiet mode" at night. This initiative follows increased calls for safety measures amid concerns about social media's impact on mental health. Critics express skepticism about the effectiveness of these features, noting previous claims by Meta about implementing similar safety measures.

TrendTechie

March 25, 2025

Яндекс

On October 14, the Moscow City Court permanently restricted access to the torrent tracker Rutor.org and twelve other websites known for hosting pirated content, following a lawsuit by LLC "Basileus Distribution." The court ordered the blocking of sites including Bobfilm.net, Dream-film.net, Kinokubik.com, Kinozal.tv, Kinobolt.ru, Seedoff.net, Torrentor.net, Tushkan.net, Tv.serial-online.net, and Wood-film.ru. This ruling marks the first permanent site block in Russia based on a copyright protection lawsuit. The legal basis for these restrictions stems from amendments to the "anti-piracy law" signed by President Vladimir Putin in November 2014, which allow for lifetime bans on sites that repeatedly infringe intellectual property rights. Additionally, a request for the permanent blocking of RuTracker.org was submitted earlier in October, but discussions between rights holders and RuTracker representatives may lead to the withdrawal of this request.