Tech Roundup: China's Platform Wars, Facebook's U-Turn & More

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

• China's Alibaba said to be in the process of offering its Taobao Deals service in the form of a mini program embedded on Tencent's WeChat platform, signally a potential end to vicious platform wars as the government clamps down on Big Tech with tighter antitrust regulations and enhanced oversight into the mega app ecosystems aimed at preventing monopolistic behavior by internet companies like Tencent and Alibaba, both of which have blocked content from being accessible on each other's platforms as early as 2013.
• While other e-commerce rivals like JD.com and Pinduoduo thrive as mini programs on WeChat, Taobao has remained a no show until now. What's more, Taobao doesn't support WeChat Pay, and WeChat doesn't support Alipay. WeChat users also cannot directly access links to items sold on Taobao; to open a Taobao link sent via WeChat, users have to copy and paste the URL in a web browser. Separately, Tencent has also been accused by ByteDance of prohibiting sharing its content on WeChat and messaging app QQ.
• Google's plan to block third-party cookies in favour of a new "Privacy Sandbox" solution draws attention from the U.S. Department of Justice; probes whether the upcoming changes to Chrome browser, which has a 60% global market share, will put its smaller rivals at a competitive disadvantage, joining a chorus of concerns that big tech companies are weaponising "privacy to justify business decisions that consolidate power to their business and disadvantage the broader marketplace."
• Nvidia announces a new subscription tier for its GeForce Now cloud gaming service called Priority that replaces its existing paid Founders tier; doubles the price from US$ 4.99 per month to US$ 9.99 per month for new subscribers. (Existing subscribers as of March 17 will continue to be eligible for the Founders pricing as long as the subscription remains active.)
• Sony unveils PS5 VR controllers with haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, and finger touch detection.
• Facebook-owned Instagram is reportedly working on a version of the service aimed for kids under 13; faces fresh setback after Indian government warns the company's proposed privacy policy update to WhatsApp violates local laws, intensifying pressure on the popular messaging service in its biggest market by users.

• Twitter says it will set up a legal entity in Turkey to comply with the country's social media law that took effect in October 2020, which mandates social media companies that have more than 1 million users store Turkish users' data in the country; begins testing a new way for its iOS users to watch YouTube videos straight from their timelines without having to leave the app in the U.S., Japan, Canada, and Saudi Arabia, and confirms it's working on an "undo tweet" feature that allows paid subscribers to take back tweets. (Yes, Twitter has a potential subscription service on the way.)
• Facebook says Apple's upcoming privacy changes in iOS 14 to limit tracking across apps could work in its favour if more businesses decide to sell goods directly through its family of social media services; says "we may even be in a stronger position if Apple’s changes encourage more businesses to conduct more commerce on our platforms by making it harder for them to use their data in order to find the customers that would want to use their products outside of our platforms."
• The U.K.'s antitrust regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority, plans fresh investigation into Facebook over its alleged use of customer data to squash rivals in social media and online ads in the next few months; marking its latest crackdown on Big Tech's dominance after launching similar probes pertaining to Google's decision to phase out third-party cookies in Chrome browser and Apple's alleged stranglehold over the app market through its App Store (i.e., the 30% commission on digital purchases) earlier this year; to probe whether the company abuses its position as a gatekeeper for its ability to collect data from its users to boost its competitive advantage over rivals.
• Subscriptions to streaming services surpass 1.1 billion globally in light of challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Brazilian consumer protection agency Procon-SP fines Apple US$ 2 million for selling iPhones without a power adaptor in violation of the country's Consumer Defense Code, and allegedly misleading customers about the water resistance of iPhones.
• Beijin internet tech giant ByteDance is considering launching a group messaging feature on TikTok this year in a bid to become a more direct competition for social media rivals like Facebook. (The feature has been part of the Chinese version of TikTok, Douyin, since 2019.)