Tech Roundup: France Google/Meta Fines, Instagram Chronological Feed & More

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

• France's National Commission on Informatics and Liberty (CNIL), the country's data privacy and protection body, hits Google and Meta with €210 million (US$ 237 million) in fines for failing to provide options to easily reject cookie tracking technology as required by E.U. privacy rules.
• Brave web browsers reports over 15.5 million daily active users and more than 50 million monthly active users at the end of 2021, up from 24 million monthly active users at the end of 2020, along with 10 million mobile downloads in 2021.
• Meta's Instagram pilots private likes on Stories as part of a limited test; officially begins testing chronological feed options on the platform, giving users the ability to switch between Home (current algorithmic experience), Favourites (display posts from specific set of accounts), and Following (a list of chronological posts from every account that an Instagram user is following); to be rolled out to all users in the first half of 2022.

• Google unveils plans to bring Fast Pair in partnership with Acer, HP and Intel to enable users to easily connect their Android phones to Windows PCs; to also bring Fast Pair to devices beyond wearables, cars and Bluetooth audio accessories, to include TVs and other smart devices, announces Home integration with select Volvo cars, allowing control of car systems with Assistant commands, and debuts new cross-device messaging functionality across Android and Chrome OS as well as a feature that permits users to unlock their gear with a companion Wear OS smartwatch, as the tech giant attempts to deepen its integrations across varied platforms.
• ByteDance-owned TikTok partners with Atmosphere, a startup that provides licensed and curated streamed video content for commercial venues, to bring curated TikTok videos to the latter's ad-supported streaming service.
• Samsung launches Home Hub, a SmartThings controller with a docked tablet for households to control and monitor their smart homes, says it joined the Home Connectivity Alliance to create "cloud to cloud interoperability across brands."

• Social audio platform Clubhouse starts testing Web Listening in the U.S., letting users listen to Replays and live rooms with Replays enabled, across major browsers.
• India's BJP-led government uses an app called Tek Fog, with ShareChat integration, to spread propaganda, hijack 'inactive' WhatsApp accounts of private citizens, and manipulate Facebook and Twitter trends, new investigation from The Wire reveals.
• The U.S. International Trade Commission rules that Google is in violation of five Sonos patents relating to smart speakers, including the ability to adjust the volume of devices and synchronising over a local area network and setting up a playback device, landing a huge blow to its hardware ambitions; begins stripping functionality and changes Assistant device setup and Speaker Groups, which now require adjusting speakers individually.
• Twitter begins testing TikTok-style reaction videos called Tweet Take that allows users to attach a video reaction alongside a Quote Tweet, months after discontinuing Fleets.

• Online dating app Tinder explores a feature called Swipe Party that invites friends to join users' swiping sessions, making sorting through possible matches a more social experience.
• Microsoft's LinkedIn to begin rolling out livestream event features this month, starting with a beta release of an interactive, audio-only product similar to Clubhouse, with a video version coming later this year.
• Snapchat creator Snap sues the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for rejecting an application the company had filed to trademark the word "spectacles" in relation to its wearable of the same name.
• Music streamer Spotify introduces Call-to-Action Cards, a visual ad format for podcasts that puts clickable cards inside show and episode pages.
• Mozilla, the nonprofit organisation that makes the Firefox web browser, pauses the ability to accept cryptocurrency donations following backlash over the digital coin's impact on the environment.