Tech Roundup: Instagram for Kids, Twitter Responsible ML & More

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

• The E.U. is considering a ban on using artificial intelligence technologies for social credit scores, indiscriminate mass surveillance, in addition to requiring authorisation for using remote biometric identification systems in public spaces and notifications "when people are interacting with an AI system, unless this is obvious from the circumstances and the context of use,'" with plans to fine non-compliant companies up to €20 million or 4% of turnover.
• Australian Federal Court rules Google "partially" misled consumers by collecting "Location History" and "Web & App Activity" on some Android and Pixel phones, even for users who ticked "No" or "Do not collect" on their settings.
• Facebook-owned Instagram says it is running a global test to let users turn off Like counts on their own or others' posts; an international coalition of 35 children's and consumer groups calls on CEO Mark Zuckerberg to scrap plans for an Instagram for children under age 13 over concerns that it could make them "vulnerable to the platform's manipulative and exploitative features" and fail to adequately protect them from sexual predators and bullying.
• Indonesia's Gojek and Tokopedia reportedly finalise a US$ 18 billion merger, creating a combined company called Goto, in a deal expected to close as early as April.
• Google updates Assistant with new features, including sunrise and sunset triggers in Assistant Routines, helping find misplaced iPhones (even those in silent mode), order takeout from restaurants online via its Duplex service; updates Google Earth with historical 3D time lapses that makes use of satellite photos from the last 37 years.

• PC maker Dell to spin off virtualisation services provider VMware, years after acquiring the company as as part of the massive US$ 58 billion EMC acquisition in 2015.
• Parallels releases Desktop 16.5 with native Apple Silicon support, letting users run Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview on M1 Macs.
• Payment processor Mastercard imposes stricter requirements for adult websites, announcing that it will require "clear, unambiguous and documented consent" for content on all of the platforms, including "documented age and identity verification for all people depicted and those uploading the content."
• Retail giant Amazon's Prime surpasses 200 million subscribers, up 50 million from the beginning of 2020, with net profit in 2020 at US$ 21.3 billion; launches a US$ 250 million fund in India to invest in startups that focus on helping SMBs automate and digitise their operations.
• Microsoft launches a Kids Mode in Edge browser for Windows and macOS, with two age range options of between 5 to 8 years or 9 to 12 years, that comes with the highest level of tracking prevention and strict Bing SafeSearch to filter out adult text, images, and videos from searches.
• Twitter debuts new "responsible machine learning" initiative to study the inintended consequences of algorithms such as gender/racial bias and disparate impact in an attempt to take responsibility for algorithmic decisions, ensure equity and fairness of outcomes, enabling agency and algorithmic choice, and maintain transparency.