China limits children’s online gaming to one hour on weekends

Aug 30 2021

China’s video game regulator has issued a statement declaring that online gamers under the age of 18 will only be allowed to play for an hour on Fridays, weekends and holidays. News agency Xinhua was told by the National Press and Publication Administration that playing online games would only be allowed between 8 and 9pm. Instructing gaming companies to prevent children playing outside this time span, inspections of online gaming companies are set to increase.

Such rules are not foreign for China as previously, 90 minutes per day was the set time with three hours on holidays. A month prior to the latest restrictions claimed that many teenagers were addicted and impacted negatively by online gaming. Following fears that children were using adult ID’s to work around the rules, Chinese gaming giant Tencent announced that it was rolling out facial recognition to stop children from playing between 22:00 and 08:00.

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Photo Source: Internet Matters

Notarial clients to be protected as active talks underway

Aug 30 2021

The Notarial Council has entered ‘active talks’ with the government to enhance the protection of contracting parties through the improvement of digital technology and real-time registration systems usage. The Justice Ministry confirmed the information, stating that, to protect clients from the situation whereby notaries entrusted with their funds could default, online payment of property taxes and registration fees have been identified by the council as the solution.

This creates an electronic ecosystem which avoids having to pass money for the purchase of properties through third parties, including notaries. These would no longer hold funds for clients but would still hold responsibility for the transactions concluded before them.

Council president Clinton Bezzina told Times of Malta that the real-time element of this proposed project is lagging due to limited banking infrastructure and investment. The project is important for sellers to ensure that money has been passed on before the contract is signed.

A spokesperson for the Justice Ministry highlighted how notaries have public obligations to the government and other legal/disciplinary obligations for which they are answerable to the Court of Revision of Notarial Acts and under criminal law. The profession’s integrity was supervised by the Notarial Council and they had civil obligations to the parties appearing before them.

The ministry stressed the necessity for a regulatory framework. Despite there being only a handful of abuse cases from around 500 practicing notaries over the years, the ministry was asked if it was looking into the situation and had plans to provide any remedies for such rare instances.

Stating that notaries are independent professionals and public officers in that they fulfil the function of drawing up and keeping public deeds, they are not obliged to act as safe keepers of deposits on account of the price of the property. The ministry however pointed out that notaries must have one or more separate Notarial Deposit Accounts into which all monies deposited with them are to be deposited.

MaltaDaily

Ford hits back at homophobic comment with ‘Very Gay Pickup Truck’

Aug 30 2021

A German branch of Ford hit back at homophobic comments in the best way possible by building a rainbow-painted and dazzling pick up truck. The LGBTIQ+ themed vehicle was debuted as the ‘Very Gay Raptor’ ahead of Christopher Street Day, an annual LGBTIQ+ commemoration of the Stonewall riots. The glittered-up raptor is set to feature in a Cologne parade.

The manufacturer has had a longstanding relationship and alliance with the event, but this year’s support has an extra layer of meaning. A troll comment on Ford’s original ‘Performance Blue’ stated that the vehicle was ‘very gay’. Instead of answering directly, Ford went an extra couple of steps ahead and assured their loyal buyers that they do not stand for any homophobic discrimination.

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Photo Source: Ford

Fake emails circulating under PN leader Bernard Grech’s name

Aug 30 2021

The Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech posted a statement to social media revealing that fake emails are circulating in his name as part of a widespread disinformation campaign in Malta. Grech stated that ‘after cloning news websites to deliberately spread fake news, the perpetrators are now specifically trying to damage the Opposition.’

He labelled these tactics as dangerous and anti-democratic. He stated that Malta cannot allow these crimes to go unpunished and that we cannot accept the strengthening of a culture of impunity which led to the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Grech called for an urgent meeting between the Opposition and the government, along with a beefing up of the police’s cybercrime unit. This is to make sure that laws regulating cybercrime are strengthened ahead of the impending upcoming election. He concluded his statement by saying that Prime Minister Robert Abela cannot remain silent as ‘silence is complicity.’

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Photo Source: Bernard Grech FB, BitLyft Cybersecurity