Tech Roundup: Amazon Wickr Purchase, Mozilla Rally & More

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

• The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launches an investigation to assess whether Amazon and Google are doing enough to crack down on fake reviews and deter sellers from manipulating listings.
• Google announces plans for a security update effective July 23 that effectively changes the way links are generated for Drive files and unlisted YouTube videos; to make private unlisted videos uploaded before 2017, with creators getting an option to opt out of this security update and keep their videos in their current state.
• Amazon Web Services, the retail and entertainment giant's on-demand cloud computing platform, announces acquisition of secure end-to-end encryption and communications platform Wickr for an undisclosed sum; says the purchase is motivated by an accelerating demand for secure communications due to "move to hybrid work environments," adding it intends to fold the platform to "the growing set of collaboration and productivity services that AWS offers customers and partners."
• Messaging service Telegram adds support for group video calls (limited to 30 people, unlimited for audio calls), screen sharing, noise suppression, animated backgrounds, and tablet and desktop support with side panel and split-screen view.

• Google delays its plan to scrap support for third-party cookies in its Chrome browser by nearly two years, after its current proposals — dubbed FLoC — faces pushback from regulators, privacy advocates, publishers, and advertisers alike over concerns that the technology could be used to profile users and put Google at an unfair advantage not only because it would have full control of how the cohorts are designed, but also benefit indirectly from its direct relationship with users that gives it access to a mountain of first-party data that rivals cannot match (with the exception of Facebook).
• The decision reflects the challenges companies like Apple and Google have faced as they try to address demands for stronger user-privacy protections without rattling the ad ecosystem or inviting complaints that they are giving themselves special preferences over rivals, thereby distorting the level-playing field.
• Given the central role played by Google in online ads and web browser markets, the company's plan to remove cookies could reshape the digital ad business, in the processing exposing itself to an array of regulatory scrutiny, with rivals calling out the tech giants for using privacy concerns as a pretext to hurt competition and lock users into their platforms. It raises an important question: Can conflicting incentives of fair competition and privacy ever be balanced?
• Payment processor Visa acquires Sweden-based Tink, which offers open banking APIs used by more than 3,400 banks and financial institutions in Europe, in a deal worth €1.8 billion.

• Google to begin warning users when search results are "changing quickly" around a developing story or an emerging topic by showing "a notice indicating that it may be best to check back later when more information from a wider range of sources might be available"; launches new Play Media Experience Program, enabling third-party developers to pay a lower 15% commission to Google in exchange for adding better support for multiple form factors, including Android TV, Google TV, Google Cast, Wear OS, and Android Auto. (It's worth noting that Google set a deadline of September 30th, 2021 requiring all developers selling digital goods in their apps to use Google Play’s billing system, mirroring Apple's App Store model.)
• Automaker Tesla recalls more than 285,000 Model 3 and Model Y cars in China over a safety risk with the vehicles' cruise control that could be activated by accident, causing them to speed up unexpectedly.
• Mozilla launches Rally, a Firefox plugin that lets users donate web browsing data "to research studies that are designed to build new resources, tools, and potentially even policies that empower people just like you to build a better internet and fight back against exploitative tech."