Tech Roundup: Apple iOS 15, Facebook Project Amplify & More

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

• Lithuanian government recommends ditching Chinese phones after finding Xiaomi devices with censorship capabilities that can be activated remotely in what could post a major setback for the handset manufacturer after Huawei; comes as flagship phones sold by the company are alleged to have a built-in ability to detect and censor terms such as "Free Tibet", "Long live Taiwan independence" or "democracy movement."
• Facebook, which has spent more than US$ 13 billion on safety and security efforts since the 2016 U.S. election, reportedly signed off an initiative called "Project Amplify" that's aimed at using its News Feed, the platform's most important digital real estate, to show users positive stories about the social network and "improve its image"; Facebook says "People deserve to know the steps we’re taking to address the different issues facing our company — and we're going to share those steps widely."
• Chinese tech giant ByteDance's short video app Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, to limit users under 14-years-old to just 40 minutes of use per day, between 6am and 10pm, in the country, tightening technology restrictions among youth as the government seeks to further crack down on "internet addiction" following recent video game time limits.
• Indian antitrust watchdog, the Competition Commission of India, finds that Google abused its dominant position of Android in the country to illegally hurt competitors; says the company reduced "the ability and incentive of device manufacturers to develop and sell devices operating on alternative versions of Android."

• Instagram chief Adam Mosseri faces criticism after comparing social media to cars, saying "cars create way more value than they destroy", even though people die in accidents, as sister instant messaging service WhatsApp tests new feature that will automatically transcribe voice notes to text.
• Alphabet's Project Taara, which uses light beams to deliver internet, says it transmitted nearly 700TB of data across the Congo River over 20 days.
• China intensifies its crackdown on cryptomining in the country by expanding to focus on illegal mining in colleges, research institutions, and data centres amid concerns over power supply shortages for the upcoming winter season.
• The U.S. Federal Trade Commission says Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft made 819 unreported acquisition deals worth more than US$ 1 million, including for voting control of companies, partial investments, patent acquisitions and acquihires, from 2010 to 2019.
• Retail giant Amazon says it has closed 3,000 online merchant accounts backed by about 600 Chinese brands for review fraud following an extensive clean-up campaign that the company kicked off in May; introduces three new Kindle Paperwhites: US$ 140 Paperwhite with 6.8-inch display and USB-C, US$ 190 Signature Edition with 32GB of storage, and US$ 160 Kids Edition.
• Cameo launches Cameo Calls, a native experience in the app for fans to video chat with influencers and celebrities for up to 15 minutes.
• Electric car maker Tesla to use a week of personal driving data to determine whether owners who paid for "Full Self-Driving" can access its latest beta version.
• 47% of U.S. Facebook users regularly get news on the platform, down from 54% in 2020, with 29% of U.S. TikTok users relying on the app to check news, up from 22%, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center.

• Apple officially rolls out iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 with improvements to notifications, text recognition in images, focus mode for digital wellbeing, and redesigned Safari and Weather apps; expands FaceTime to Android and desktop web, makes Siri process requests on-device, adds new Health Trends, adds support for system-wide translation, and debuts iCloud Mail revamp for desktop web.
• On a related note, iOS 15.1 beta lets users store their verifiable health records, including COVID-19 vaccination cards and test results, in the Health app.
• Apple is also said to be working on developing a number of advanced health tools, ranging from blood glucose monitoring to body-temperature-based fertility as well as detect depression, anxiety and cognitive decline by analysing facial expressions, heart and respiration rates, mobility, sleep patterns and typing behaviour on the devices.
• On-demand video streaming service Netflix launches a free plan in Kenya with a quarter of the content from its paid plans and available only on Android phones.
• Online payments processor PayPal launches new "Super App" that offers a combination of financial tools including direct deposit, bill payments, a digital wallet, peer-to-peer payments, shopping tools, crypto capabilities, and support for paying with QR codes.
• Facebook announces Portal Go, a US$ 199 10-inch battery-powered portable device (promises five hours of standard usage and up to 14 hours of music playback), a US$ 349 Portal+ device with a 14-inch tilting display and stereo speakers, and Portal for Business, a service for small and midsize businesses that will allow companies to purchase, deploy and remotely manage Portal devices for their workers, as it takes aim at Apple iPad.
• Social network Tumblr expands Post+, a subscription product that allows creators to gate some of their content behind a monthly paywall, to all users across the U.S.
• Saleforce-owned enterprise communications app Slack announces Clips, a Stories-style short video voicemail messages for channels to share work updates, for paid accounts.