Tech Roundup: India Chinese Apps Ban, Walmart+ & More

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

• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rules that the National Security Agency's bulk collection of Americans' phone records was illegal, seven years after former NSA contractor Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the mass surveillance program.
• India bans an additional 188 Chinese apps, including PUBG, Baidu, WeChat Work, and Alipay for engaging in activities which are "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order."
• Pakistan blocks dating apps Tinder, Grindr, Tagged, Skout, and SayHi for violating local laws and streaming "immoral content."
• Russia tables new draft legislation that would mandate both Apple and Google to lower the commission on the sale of mobile applications and digital goods distributed on their platforms to 20%; also proposes to force owners of mobile operating systems to allow users to install alternative stores in a move that could spell trouble for Apple.
• When Apple debuted the App Store in 2008, the very idea of an ecosystem was non-existent. The iPhone maker strategically built a hardware moat to trap its users, and it's this increased stickiness that goes against the principles of fair play in a field that was always going to be in favour of Apple.
• Besides taking control of app installation and payment processing through the App Store, the complete ownership of a huge customer base is what makes Apple such a lucrative platform for third-party app developers.
• So for all the arguments that iOS is not a monopoly, the fact remains that Apple singlehandedly owns the iOS (and by extension iPadOS) and macOS, and the only way to access what Apple has to offer is only through its products. (With the exception of Apple Music, Apple's services are practically non-existent on Android and the web.)
• If Apple regulates the online experience through its App Store, Google does the same, but for the open web. Not only does it own the search engine market, but with Chrome (and Chromium), Android, and AdWords under its control, Google is closer than ever to replicating the WeChat and Facebook walled-garden model on the web, allowing it to act as the web's gatekeeper and dictate new technologies like AMP.
• Facebook expands its data porting tool to allow users to export photos and videos to Dropbox and Koofr, months after adding support for Google Photos back in June; temporarily halts sales of its Oculus Quest headsets in Germany following concerns from regulators with regards to the company's new requirement that mandates all Oculus users to use a Facebook account by 2023 to log in to the device.
• Google removes NEXTA LIVE Android app from the Play Store after it was used to collect personal information from Belarusians attending anti-government protests.
• Facebook limits forwarding on Messenger to five people or groups at a time to slow the spread of viral misinformation and harmful content; to ban new political ads from running in the week before the presidential election in U.S. on November 3, adding it will "attach an informational label to content that seeks to delegitimize the outcome of the election or discuss the legitimacy of voting methods."
• Facebook's new policies are unlikely to have any real effect on election interference, in part because the ban doesn't prevent campaigns from running existing ads, but also due to the fact that social media platforms, by design, are engineered for virality that lets bad actors spread fake news easily. The bug is the feature.
• Google Images lets users search for photos by licensing type and adds a Licensable badge on images linking to licensing requirements and where to buy rights.
• Twitter officially begins showing quote tweet counts directly under tweets, rebranding "Retweets with comments" as "Quote Tweets."

• Amazon receives approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to operate its fleet of Prime Air delivery drones for unmanned package delivery within 30 minutes; launches Alexa for Residential, a service for property managers to set up and maintain Alexa-powered smart home devices in their apartment buildings as it aims to expand Alexa as a tool for smart home management, even for home owners who lack an Amazon account of their own.
• Since its introduction in late 2014, Amazon has increasingly integrated Alexa into its vast empire and beyond, and the latest move is another attempt on part of the retail giant to get an Echo or equivalent Alexa-compatible device into as many homes as possible, and the in the process integrate the smart tech into consumers' lives and undercut competitors.
• Walmart to launch its new membership service Walmart+ on Sept. 15 for US$ 98 per year; to take on Amazon Prime with free, unlimited same-day delivery, fuel discounts, and other perks.
• Amazon debuts redesign of its iOS app with an aim to make it easier to direct mobile users to their most-used features; expands its Amazon Music service by partnering with Twitch to let artists livestream to the Amazon Music app on iOS and Android.
• Apple App Store appeal process goes live, allowing third-party app developers to appeal a specific violation of an App Store guideline, in addition to challenging the guideline itself as well as not delay app updates intended to fix bugs and other core functions over App Store disputes; offer one-time use codes for developers to entice users with free or discounted subscriptions that can be redeemed on devices running iOS and iPadOS.
• Drivers working for ride-hailing services in the Lagos State of Nigeria launch a one-week strike to protest new regulations by the government that introduces a 10% state tax on every completed trip and restrictions that cap the maximum age of operated ride-hail vehicles to three years.
• Facebook introduces "Your Topics" to Facebook Watch, allowing users to tailor the feed to include content from topics of their liking, as the two-year-old video streaming platform surpasses 1.25 billion monthly viewers (includes those who streamed for at least one minute); Instagram rolls out new feature that replaces Explore tab in the app with Reels in India, two months after debuting the short video format in the country following TikTok's ban.
• China's ZTE announces 6.92" Axon 20 5G sporting under-display front-facing camera and fingerprint sensor, Snapdragon 765G processor, and 4,220 mAh battery for US$ 322.
• Microsoft unveils new tools to identify deepfake videos to combat disinformation as part of its Defending Democracy Program ahead of U.S. elections in November.
• Google launches Kids Space, a mode for Android tablets with kid-friendly features and content, including apps, games, videos, and books, as well as parental controls, aimed at children under nine years.

• Apple to raise developer fees in the U.K. by 2%, Amazon to increase third-party seller fees by 2%, and Google to up fees for all advertising bought on Google Ads and YouTube in the U.K. by 2% in response to a new "digital services tax" introduced by U.K. government, which increases tax on any revenue produced by "search engines, social media services and online marketplaces" by 2%.
• Chipmaker Nvidia announces RTX 3090 GPU for US$ 1,499 capable of 60fps gaming at 8K resolution; rival Intel debuts new logo and announces its new 11th generation Tiger Lake CPUs for laptops, with integrated Xe graphics, Thunderbolt 4 support, Wi-Fi 6, and battery and performance improvements, as Qualcomm launches Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 5G for Windows ARM-based laptops, with better AI performance and support for Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1.
• Stock trading platform Robinhood comes under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation for its practice of selling clients' orders to high-frequency traders; to face a potential fine of US$ 10 million.
• ByteDance-owned TikTok announces Stitch, a feature that lets users sample five seconds of video from other users, alongside a set of marketing tools and partnerships for brands.
• Apple publishes a new human rights policy document that commits to "freedom of information and expression," following years of criticism from investors that it accedes to China's censorship demands; formalises Apple's commitment to "respecting the human rights of everyone whose lives we touch," but concedes it's "required to comply with local laws."
• Amazon deletes 20,000 reviews by seven of its top 10 U.K. contributors after an investigation by The Financial Times found found the users to be profiting from posting thousands of fake five-star ratings.
• TikTok's parent ByteDance acquires Chinese third-party payment service UIPay to "supplement the existing major payment options, and to ultimately enhance user experience on our multiple platforms in China."
• Facebook tests displaying Instagram Stories directly in the main Facebook app for users who opt in and link their accounts together, as the social media company continues to stitch its disparate social networks together.
• Ride-hailing platform Uber to launch car rentals in the U.K. via its app through a partnership with car rental company CarTrawler, following trials in France and Australia.