Tech Roundup: Google RCS Push, Slack Public Debut & More

[A recurring feature on the latest in Science & Technology.]

• The U.K. formally delays its controversial age-verification system for online pornography; the ban, which was to go into effect on July 15, is designed as a way to prevent children under the age of 18 of viewing illicit media on the internet, but its implementation (called AgeID, the age verification system) has raised serious privacy concerns.
• Facebook-owned WhatsApp rejects Indian government demands to "digitally fingerprint" every message sent on its platform without breaking its encryption; comes amid growing public and political agreement that the big consumer tech companies, now global powers with valuable data on billions of users, require more oversight.
• Popular enterprise chat service Slack goes public with a direct listing price of US$ 26 per share, valuing the company at US$ 15.7 billion.
• Google takes control of RCS; says Android users in UK and France can, later this month, opt in to RCS Chat services provided directly by Google instead of waiting for carrier support.
• Facebook-owned Instagram now makes it possible to reclaim hacked accounts by sending a six-digit code to the original email address and phone number provided when signing up.
• Apple is reportedly exploring moving between 15 and 30 percent of its hardware production out of China, according to Nikkei, amid ongoing trade war between U.S. and China.
• Microsoft makes its Chromium-based Edge browser available on Windows 7 and 8 for beta testing; officially previews Windows Terminal command line app for Windows 10 on the Windows Store.
• Anti-spam and Caller ID service Truecaller adds free voice calling feature.
• Google open-sources cryptographic tool Private Join and Compute that makes it possible to keep sensitive data sets private while sharing it with other organisations; resolves a security loop hole that allowed previous owners of Nest Cam Indoor devices to tap into the feeds of the new users via their Wink Hub accounts.

• Google-owned YouTube said to be considering far-reaching changes to protect kids, including moving all children's content to YouTube Kids app and turning off autoplay as it continues to face backlash for letting disturbing videos, including graphic discussions about pornography and suicide, and explicit sexual language in cartoons, float around the app. (YouTube has resorted to turning off comments on videos that feature minors, and disabling live-streaming options for kids unless a parent or guardian is present. YouTube Kids also allows parents to report an inappropriate video, or customise kids' viewing experience by adding or blocking channels they don't want their children to watch.)
• Google continues to streamline its product lineup; shuts down its video call broadcast service Hangouts in Air (the feature was migrated from Google+ to YouTube in August 2016), phases out Nest.com website and begins to sell Nest smart home products in its Google Store, and says it no longer plans to pursue making its own tablets (was it ever serious to begin with?), but confirms it's committed to bringing Chrome OS to tablets and other form factors.
• Since the start of 2019, Google has shutdown an alarming number of services: Chromecast Audio, YouTube Annotations, Google Fiber's service in Louisville, Android Things' IoT support, Google Allo, Spotlight Stories, goo.gl URL shortener, Gmail's IFTTT support, Google Inbox, Google+, folding Nest into Google, YouTube Gaming app and Google Trips. Later this year, Google is also set to sunset Google Hangouts and Google Play Music.
• It would be a lot better if Google gets better at communicating what products will be around for a while and which ones will be thrown against the wall to see what sticks.
• Apple launches a voluntary recall program for certain 15-inch MacBook Pro laptops over battery safety issues; company says the battery could overheat and pose a safety risk.
• Bitcoin's price surges past US$ 10,000 for the first time since early 2018, marking a new milestone for the virtual currency's latest comeback.
• Facebook limits WhatsApp forwards to five in Sri Lanka, and that it will reduce the distribution of all content from people who show "a pattern" of violating Facebook's community standards in Myanmar, both of which have been hit by social media-fuelled conflict.
• Google to roll out dynamic email in Gmail starting July 2; allows users to take action directly from within the message, such as providing an RSVP to any event or filling out a questionnaire or browsing a catalog or responding to any comment, etc.
• Facebook get removed from S&P's list of ethical companies after the company scored poorly for social responsibility and governance following a string of data and privacy scandals over the last few years.