Tech Roundup: Instagram Safety Tools, Twitter Quill Purchase & More

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

• Meta gets hit by two class action lawsuits valued in excess of US$ 150 billion for its role in sparking the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar; accuses the company of allowing "the dissemination of hateful and dangerous misinformation" and that it "amplified hate speech" against the persecuted minority.
• Amazon starts rolling out Smart Home Dashboard, with options to quickly access smart cameras and toggles for connected lights, plugs, and switches that are linked to users' Alexa accounts, and other features, including the ability to plug a camera into the USB port for videoconferencing and a new Alexa Shortcut Panel, to Fire TV streaming devices; launches its US$ 19.99 per month Alexa Together elder care subscription for families.
• New investigation undertaken by the Tech Transparency Project finds that Instagram's algorithms recommend drug dealers' accounts and drug-related hashtags to minor users aged 13, 14, 15, and 17, as the Meta-owned social media service announces it will take a "stricter approach to what we recommend to teens" and that it will be "launching our first tools for parents and guardians early next year to help them get more involved in their teen' experiences on Instagram."
• Twitter acquires Slack-competitor Quill to help make the platform's messaging tools such as direct messages "more useful and expressive" (the app will be discontinued on December 11); rolls out playback of recorded Spaces to all iOS, Android, and web users.
• Ubisoft will add NFT items into its games, starting with Ghost Recon Breakpoint on the Tezos blockchain, becoming the first major gaming company to come aboard the NFT bandwagon.
• Messaging service Discord launches a pilot program for premium memberships that allows community creators to put parts or all of their servers behind a paywall and monetise through tiered perks.

• Apple reportedly struck a secret five-year agreement with the Chinese government in 2016, paving the way for Apple's success by promising to invest more than US$ 275 billion in improving country's economy and technological capabilities, an extensive report from The Information alleges; says China quashed a number of regulatory actions against the company with exemptions and enabling access to the Chinese market, in return for significant investments, business deals, and worker training in the country.
• Meta launches a website that lets fans buy digital tokens called Stars to tip Facebook creators using Facebook Pay, avoiding app store payment commissions; to prioritise selling products directly on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger in 2022 through its digital storefronts like Shops on Instagram and Facebook Shops, partially in response to Apple's anti-tracking changes.
• Google adds the ability to join one-on-one Google Chat voice and video calls from within the Gmail app without the need for sending an invite to a Google Meet video conferencing call.
• Samsung merges its mobile and consumer electronics divisions into one business unit, with two new CEOs overseeing two divisions: Device Solutions semiconductors business led by Kyehyun Kyung and a new DX (Device eXperience) Division that includes mobile, TVs and consumer electronics, which will surpervised by JH Han, also the head of its Visual Display business.
• Adobe announces plans to acquire ContentCal, which helps creators automate social media publishing and reporting tasks, in an all-cash deal valued at for more than US $100 million.