Tech Roundup: Amazon Ring Encryption, Apple Pay Later & More

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

• Google faces fresh fines of US$ 593 million in France following the search giant's failure to follow an April 2020 ruling to display snippets of articles on its Google News service and negotiate "in good faith" licensing deals with publishers and news agencies; comes amid a period of global onslaught as regulators across the world sharpen scrutiny of the world's largest tech firms, looking at its advertising business, apps and search.
• Amazon begins rolling out end-to-end encryption for Ring doorbells as an opt-in security measure; says Ring "encrypts customer videos when they are uploaded to the cloud (in transit) and stored on Ring's servers (at rest)" and that the new feature allows users to "opt into video End-to-End Encryption, to add an extra layer of security that only allows their videos to be viewed on their chosen mobile device."
• China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) officially approves Tencent's acquisition of U.S.-listed search engine Sogou, days after the watchdog blocked Tencent's merger of Huya and Douyu, two of the country's biggest video game live-streaming platforms on antitrust grounds, and reports emerged that SAMR is taking a closer look at Tencent's music streaming arm, forcing Tencent Music to give up exclusive streaming rights the company has reached with music labels.
• Twitter debuts a new feature update that enables users to change the settings of who can reply to their tweets midway through a conversation globally on iOS, Android, and the web as part of its attempts to give users more control and curb harassment on the platform.

• Google adds support for HTML5 minigames in Android Auto, letting users play games on car infotainment screens; begins imposing 1-hour limit for Google Meet group video calls for free Gmail users. (It's worth noting that one-on-one calls can continue to run for up to 24 hours on free and enterprise accounts, while Zoom's free tier caps group calls at 40-minutes.)
• Facebook-owned Instagram launches new security features to help users recover their accounts as part of a "Security Checkup" feature that enables users to protect accounts using their WhatsApp numbers and tests "reshare" sticker that lets users choose recently viewed or saved posts to their stories; starts rolling out the ability for Group administrators in Facebook to designate "group experts", partly in an effort to help Facebook combat misinformation.
• Apple is reportedly working with Goldman Sachs on a new "buy now, pay later" service to let consumers pay for any Apple Pay purchase in installments over time, as the iPhone maker tests additional financial services through its Wallet app and partnerships with financial services firms.
• Mozilla launches Firefox 90 with improved Print to PDF and SmartBlock features, and a new "about:third-party" page to help identify compatibility issues introduced by third-party applications.