Tech Roundup: Apple Car, Tesla Surge & More

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

• Privacy focussed messaging app Signal struggles to keep up with a new influx of users after Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweets "Use Signal" following WhatsApp's plans to make data sharing with Facebook mandatory with no alternative effective February 8, 2021.
• Users who agree to the terms can expect their WhatsApp account registration and phone number, transaction data, service-related information, interaction information, mobile device information, IP address, and other data to be shared with Facebook.
• Facebook, however, has said the move is part of a previously disclosed initiative in October to allow businesses to store and manage WhatsApp chats using Facebook's infrastructure. While the lack of an explicit opt-out is concerning, users have the option of not using WhatsApp to interact with the businesses and block business profiles, if necessary.
• WhatsApp's previous update to the policy in 2016 offered its existing users a 30-day window to opt-out of sharing the data for ad targeting and product improvement purposes, and stop the app from sharing users' phone numbers back to Facebook for improving friend suggestions.
• The fact that feature is no longer accessible also means the new users who signed up for the service since 2016 (as well as those who missed the opt-out) have had their data shared with Facebook all this time.
• Viewed in that light, the new privacy policy is less about altering the messaging service's behaviour and more of an attempt to clearly spell out the data it has been collecting so far, and will amass from its users should they choose to interact with businesses on the platform.
• Consumer watchdog China Consumers Association (CCA) alleges internet companies in the country have been violating customers' rights by misusing personal data and "bullying" people into purchases and promotions; says "Consumers are being squeezed by data algorithms and becoming the targets of technical bullying," adding automated systems sift through user's internet use and personal data to deliver targeted ads and promotions, depriving customers of choice.
• Over 200 Google workers announce plans to unionise with the Communications Workers of America (CWA); form the Alphabet Workers Union that will be open to all employees and contractors at Google's parent company with an aim to tackle ongoing issues like pay disparity, retaliation, and controversial government contracts.
• Twitter acquires social podcasting app Breaker to help build its new audio-based networking project Twitter Spaces; to shut down Breaker app on January 15.
• Singapore confirms law enforcement agencies will be able to access the country's COVID-19 contact tracing data to aid in their criminal investigations, as 78% of the local population adopt the TraceTogether contact tracing app and wearable token; reiterates COVID-19 data would "never be accessed unless the user tests positive" for the virus.
• Microsoft reportedly working on a new version of its Outlook app called One Outlook that will merge existing mail and calendar apps for desktops with a goal of releasing the app in 2022; updates its Chromium-based Edge browser with ability to sync tabs and history across devices.
• Apple annouces that App Store customer spent US$ 1.8 billion on goods and services between December 24 and New Year's Eve and US$ 540 million on New Year's Day alone, with Apple Books service surpassing 90 million monthly active users; App Store reports US$ 64 billion in gross sales in 2020, a 28% increase from the estimated US$ 50 billion it made in 2019, as the company increasingly pivots to a Services-based bundle.

• Facebook-owned Instagram tests a new design for Stories on its desktop website that show the Stories in a carousel rather than a single tile that takes up the entire page; revamps Facebook Pages with cleaner design, but removes the total number of likes a Page receives, while keeping the follower count intact.
• Amazon reportedly working on a contactless Alexa-enabled device that can track and monitor sleep apnea, primarily using millimeter-wave radar; faces setback after Beijing high court orders the retail giant to stop using its AWS logo in China owing to a prior trademark for the term "AWS" that already belongs to a Chinese software company named ActionSoft and pay a compensation of 76.5 million yuan to the company. (Amazon has appealed the verdict, stating the company was "the first to use the AWS logo in China to sell cloud services by many years.")
• Microsoft's GitHub secures a license from the U.S. government to offer its service to developers in Iran, after it was forced to block the platform in the country in 2019 due to sanctions.
• The U.S. government prohibits transactions with eight new Chinese apps, including Alipay, CamScanner, QQ Wallet, SHAREit, Tencent QQ, VMate, WeChat Pay, and WPS Office, citing national security concerns, following similar proposals to ban TikTok and WeChat back in August.
• Apple patents new charging solution (after discontinuing the ill-fated AirPower) that allows users to charge iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches simply by placing them atop a MacBook, and turn its laptops, phones and tablets into wireless charging pads to charge other devices.
• Internet shutdowns cost India US$ 2.8 billion in 2020, accounting for about 755 of the US$ 4 billion lost worldwide, according to the Global Cost of Internet Shutdowns report released by Top10VPN.
• Xiaomi announces Mi 10i, a new phone in its 10 series catering to the Indian market and manufactured in the country, with a 6.67-inch 120Hz 20:9 1080p LCD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G processor with an onboard X52 5G modem, 4,820mAh battery, and up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for US$ 300.
• South Korean automaker Hyundai confirms that it is in early discussions with Apple on collaborating to develop autonomous electric cars and start production in the U.S. as early as 2024; says "Apple is in discussion with a variety of global automakers," and that the "discussion is at its early stage."
• TikTok owner ByteDance accuses rival Tencent of blocking its cloud office suite Feishu (the Chinese version of Lark that combines features from Slack and Google Docs) on WeChat; says the mini program for cloud documents app has been stuck in review limbo, without any feedback or response from the social media platform.
• Roku scoops up global rights for content from now-shuttered streaming service Quibi for less than $100 million (Quibi was valued at US$ 1.75 billion after it was launched last April); to make it available free to stream in 2021 on the Roku Channel.
• Tesla surpasses Facebook to become the fifth most valuable U.S. company with a total market cap of US$ 802.6 billion, trailing behind Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet, just two years after it became the first US$ 100 billion publicly listed U.S. carmaker in January 2019.
• The Competition and Markets Authority, the U.K. competition watchdog, opens probe into Google's "Privacy Sandbox" proposals to remove third-party cookies from Chrome browser over concerns it could curb rival advertising.
• Boeing reaches an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to pay a penalty of US$ 2.5 billion to avoid prosecution over the two fatal 737 Max crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 that killed 346 people; says "Boeing's employees chose the path of profit over candor by concealing material information from the [Federal Aviation Administration] concerning the operation of its 737 Max airplane and engaging in an effort to cover up their deception."
• Amazon shuts down its Prime Pantry grocery and household essentials delivery service, and folds thousands of products under that banner into its main retail site.