Tech Roundup: Apple Oct. 13 Event, Google Workspace & More

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

• The European Union is said to be drafting a "hit list" of up to 20 big tech firms, including Facebook, Google, and Apple, that would face harsher regulations than smaller rivals, requiring mandatory data sharing and greater transparency in a bid to curb market power.
• The European Court of Justice, the E.U.'s highest legal authority, rules that member states cannot collect mass mobile and internet data of citizens; stipulates that forcing internet and phone operators to carry out the "general and indiscriminate transmission or retention of traffic data and location data" is against E.U. law.
• U.S. lawmakers call Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google "monopolies" for dominating markets such as social networking, online search and advertising, online retail, and mobile operating systems at the end of a 16-month probe into their competitive practices, stating that the companies "abuse their power by charging exorbitant fees, imposing oppressive contract terms, and extracting valuable data from the people who rely on them."
• The report also calls out Facebook for expanding its monopolistic power in the social media industry by using a "copy, acquire, kill" strategy against its competitors, and recommends that the four companies be "structurally separated" to make the market more competitive along with crafting new regulations to prohibit dominant platforms from preferencing their own services and enter adjacent lines of business.
• "Online platforms rarely charge consumers a monetary price—products appear to be 'free' but are monetised through people's attention or with their data. In the absence of genuine competitive threats, dominant firms offer fewer privacy protections than they otherwise would, and the quality of these services has deteriorated over time. As a result, consumers are forced to either use a service with poor privacy safeguards or forego the service altogether," the report notes.
• Apple announces "Hi, Speed" digital-only event on October 13 to announce next-generation iPhones; stops selling headphones and speakers from Bose, Logitech, and Sonos from its online store, as it readies to launch a new, lower-cost HomePod and AirPods Studio headphones.
• Facebook-owned Instagram celebrates its 10th anniversary with new private Stories map posted in the last three years; begins labeling "state-controlled media" accounts for users in the U.S., and expands further into ecommerce with new direct shopping features integrated in IGTV and Reels in a bid to give the company a leg up on TikTok.
• Facebook informs the Turkish government that it won't be complying with recent legislation requiring it to establish a local presence in the country; to launch an emotional health resource centre, with expert guides and information, and other location-specific resources from mental health officials.
• PayPal's Venmo announces a Visa credit card, managed through its app and with a QR code on the physical card, for making online and in-store payments.
• Indian ride-hailing service Ola gets stripped of London license over safety concerns, a week after Uber wins reprieve to keep operating in London; London's licensing authority says "flaws in Ola's operating model have led to the use of unlicensed drivers and vehicles in more than 1,000 passenger trips, which may have put passenger safety at risk."
• Google to delay the enforcement of its 30% commission on in-app purchases of digital goods from its Play Store in India from September 2021 to April 2022 following pushback from Indian developers; limits experimental features in YouTube to Premium subscribers, and adds a Stories feature to its Google iOS and Android app in the form a carousel focusing on publisher content that can include audio, full-screen video, and photos.

• Microsoft rebrands Bing search engine to Microsoft Bing as part of its "continued integration of our search experiences across the Microsoft family"; takes a not so subtle dig at Apple and Google with new fairness principles for its Windows 10 App Store, including permitting competing app stores and letting users choose their own payment system for in-app purchases.
• Google launches Chrome 86 with stronger password protections on iOS and Android and debuts incognito-like guest mode for Google Assistant on Nest smart home devices to prevent voice queries from being associated with a Google Account; renames G Suite as Google Workspace, as it integrates Docs, Gmail, Calendar, Meet, Chat, and Rooms across its applications, allowing users to dynamically create and collaborate on a document with guests in a Chat room, preview linked files, and use Meet videoconferencing app in picture-in-picture mde in Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
• ByteDance-owned TikTok surpasses Instagram as the second favorite social media app among U.S. teens after Snapchat, according to a report published by Piper Sandler.
• Web browsers Brave and DuckDuckGo rally behind a new proposl called Global Privacy Control that aims to let users opt out of the sale of personal data at the browser level in a manner similar to Do Not Track, a feature introduced in web browsers about a decade ago but never gained traction.
• A newly leaked memo from February reveals Amazon's plans to invest in software to analyze data on unions, alongside non-union "threats" like crime and weather.
• Facebook adds support for Netflix to Portal TV and Zoom to Portal Mini, Portal, and Portal+ devices; revamps Threads app to integrate Instagram's direct messaging feature, allowing users message any Instagram account holder, and not just close friends.
• Music streaming service Spotify now lets users search song by lyrics, two years after Apple Music debuted the same feature with iOS 12 in 2018.
• Enterprise messaging platform Slack rolls out new feature that allows employees to directly connect with people from other organisations; unveils plans to add Snapchat-like video stories and push-to-talk audio calls by the end of the year.
• Google faces fresh antitrust investigation in India over allegedly by creating barriers for firms wanting to use or develop modified versions of Android for smart TVs, such as Amazon Fire TV (companies selling Android smartphones, for example, cannot sell smart TVs running on competing platforms); comes months after the Indian antitrust watch opened a proble into Google for abusing its market position to promote Google Pay mobile payments service in the country.
• Popular caller-identification service Truecaller hits 250 million monthly active users and 200 million daily active users, with over 185 million monthly active users in India.

• Google Chrome emerges the most popular browser in China across both desktops and smartphones, with a 36%-39% market share in 2020 according to Baidu Analytics; updates Assistant with capabilities to search and control third-party apps, starting with the top 30 on the Play Store, with support for performing specific tasks like ordering food, playing music, posting to social media, hailing a ride, and more.
• Chinese tech giant Baidu releases a new video search app called Kankan to find short videos and live streams, in a move to challenge Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.
• Apple tells Telegram chat app to take down three channels used by Belarus protesters to identify members of authoritarian government regime, arguing the channels can promote violence.
• COVID-19 contact-tracing apps that rely on an API developed by Apple and Google and bluetooth technology cannot accurately measure the distance between users on public transport, a new study by Trinity College Dublin finds, as scientists express skepticism regarding the effectiveness of the technology.
• Google reportedly hands over data (such as IP addresses of users) to law enforcement based on specific search keywords, new court documents unsealed in the U.S. state of Florida show; begins testing new features to turn YouTube into a shopping destination, allowing creators to tag and track featured products for users to buy directly on the site.
• Pakistan becomes the latest country to ban TikTok on the grounds of "immoral and indecent content," a month after the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority blocked dating apps such as Grindr and Tinder for similar reasons.
• The U.S. District Court refuses to grant Epic Games a preliminary injunction against Apple that would force the game developer to reinstate Fortnite on the App Store; Epic wins order that will require Apple to continue to allow Epic to operate its Unreal Engine developer account.
• Cybersecurity firm Qihoo 360 newly released Android app Tuber, which allowed users in China visit otherwise banned websites, like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Wikipedia, while still prohibiting all material censors deem politically sensitive (such as the Tiananmen massacre), gets blocked and removed from third-party Android app stores.