Tech Roundup: Google Antitrust, Twitter Spaces & More

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

• A coalition of 10 U.S. states file fresh lawsuit against Google, claiming the search company illegally hurt competition in the ad tech market; claims "Google repeatedly used its monopolistic power to control pricing [and] engage in market collusions to rig auctions in a tremendous violation of justice," while also accusing the company of colluding with Facebook to avoid competing with each other's ad-tech businesses.
• Google is also staring at another antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. that accuses the company of engaging in "illegal, anti-competitive conduct" to create a monopoly in search and search advertising.
• It alleges "Google's anti-competitive actions have protected its general search monopolies and excluded rivals, depriving consumers of the benefits of competitive choices, forestalling innovation, and undermining new entry or expansion," and calls out the search giant for entering into exclusionary agreements, disadvantaging specialised search sites like Expedia and Yelp and favouring its own business with its search engine marketing tools.
• Google has responded saying the lawsuit "seeks to redesign Search in ways that would deprive Americans of helpful information and hurt businesses' ability to connect directly with customers," adding people use Search "because they choose to, not because they are forced to."
• Google-owned YouTube agrees to set up an office in Turkey following a threat of de facto ban from the country; comes as most social media companies with the exception of Russia's VKontakte refused to comply with new social media law that requires technology companies to establish a formal presence in the nation, appoint a local representative who would be accountable to the authorities, and store user information on data centres within its borders.
• Facebook's WhatsApp to roll out pension and insurance products to its 400 million users in India before the end of 2020, making it possible for financial services companies to sell micro-finance products to millions from within the messaging ap, a month after receiving green light to launch its WhatsApp Pay mobile payment service.
• The European Commission officially approves Google's US$ 2.1 billion acquisition of health tracker company Fitbit, more than a year after the deal was announced on November 1, 2019, subject to a 10-year privacy commitment (and an additional 10 years, if found required) that enforces a technical separation of Fitbit's data from Google's, in addition to prohibiting the use of Fitbit user data to serve targeted ads and allowing rival wearable makers to continue access Android APIs without risking in them being shut out of the Android ecosystem.
• Pinterest overhauls its harassment policy to improve workplace conditions and prevent discrimination following employee complaints about racism and sexism at the company.
• On-demand video streaming platform Netflix begins rolling out an audio-only playback mode in its Android app for listening to shows with the screen off. (Aren't there enough podcasts already?)
• Facebook reportedly working on an AI tool called TLDR to summarise articles in a bulleted list; also said to be building a Cameo-Inspired video product called Super that will let people pay content creators or celebrities to interact with them during a live broadcast, and a tool within Marketplace that lets users find and book services like home repairs, competing with Fiverr, TaskRabbit, and others.
• Amazon's cloud gaming service Luna officially debuts on Android for US users, with initial support for select Pixel, Samsung, and OnePlus devices running Chrome browsers running versions 86 and above; launches group video and audio calling for up to seven participants on Echo devices.

• Google acquires Neverware, the company behind the Chromium-based CloudReady OS that makes it easy to convert a PC into a system that runs Chrome OS; adds support for Zoom video conferencing app to its Nest Hub Max smart displays, and offically debuts Stadia cloud streaming service for iOS via the browser putting it in the same league with NVIDIA GeForce Now, Shadow, and Amazon Luna.
• Amazon announces Amazon Location as part of its AWS services that allows developers to add location-based features (mapping data from Esri and HERE Technologies) to their web-based and mobile applications; unveils the design of the antennas that will be used by its customers to tap into the company's upcoming massive constellation of 3,236 satellites, dubbed Project Kuiper, designed to provide broadband internet coverage from space, "offering maximum throughput of up to 400 Mbps, and streaming 4K-quality video from a geostationary (GEO) satellite."
• Nigeria's telecoms regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission, orders mobile phone users to link devices to their national identity numbers by December 31 or risk getting their services blocked in a bid to clamp down on the use of unregistered lines.
• Substack launches Substack Reader, an RSS reader for tracking newsletter subscriptions and other feeds.
• Nonprofit XR Safety Initiative releases a new privacy and safety framework as a "baseline set of standards" to create accountability and trust for virtual and augmented reality technologies while enhancing data privacy for users.
• Google to shut down Android Things, a stripped-down version of Android designed for IoT and smart home devices, on January 5th, 2022; Chromecast with Google TV service to gain Apple TV integration early next year, giving users access to TV+ originals and iTunes purchases. (The move also comes on the heels of adding Apple Music support on Google smart speakers and displays earlier this month.)
• China successfully undertakes Chang'e-5 mission to return with samples of rocks taken from Moon back to Earth, becoming the third nation to achieve the feat after the U.S. and Russia after a long gap of 44 years.
• Twitter to relaunch account verification starting January 20, three years after freezing the process, and start removing tweets that spread harmful COVID-19 vaccine misinformation starting next week and will label conspiracies starting in 201; launches Spaces, its Clubhouse-like voice-only chat service, in private beta on iOS limited to select individuals largely from under-represented backgrounds.

• Samsung finally turns on support for Google RCS Chat within its Messages app for Android, two years after Samsung Messages added RCS support via carrier implementations. (Until now, users on Galaxy devices had to install the Google Messages app to take advantage of cross-carrier RCS.)
• VoIP and instant messaging app Discord brings new screen sharing feature to its Android and iOS apps, allowing users to share their screens to others in a video/audio call.
• Sony pulls much-awaited Cyberpunk 2077 game from PlayStation Store until further notice amid reports of numerous bugs and performance issues, particularly on older consoles; to offer a full refund for all gamers who have purchased the title via the store.
• Walmart partners with ByteDance-owned TikTok to test live-streamed video shopping, allowing users to shop Walmart fashion items without leaving the app.
• Google tests new feature in partnership with top brands like L'Oréal, Estée Lauder, MAC Cosmetics, Black Opal and Charlotte Tilbury to let consumers try on makeup shades across a range of models with various skin tones or even on themselves using their front-facing camera on mobile devices.
• Apple puts Taiwanese manufacturing partner Wistron on probation, after an audit found violations of Apple's Supplier Code of Conduct at itss Bengaluru plant for failing to implement proper working hour management processes.
• The U.S. Air Force says an AI copilot successfully flew a U-2 spy plane on December 15, marking the first time computer software has controlled a US military system.
• Consumer watchdog Shanghai Consumer Council criticises Tencent-owned WhatsApp for making it difficult for users to turn off personalised advertising or dismiss individual ads on the app; says the toggle to turn off personalised ads is "extremely covert" is disabled only for a period of six months before automatically being turned back on.