Tech Roundup: Google Checks, LinkedIn Podcasts & More

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

• The European Union unveils the Data Act, adding to its fast-updating digital rulebook; sets rules that "allow users of connected devices to gain access to data generated by them, which is often exclusively harvested by manufacturers; and to share such data with third parties to provide aftermarket or other data-driven innovative services" and enable "customers to effectively switch between different cloud data-processing services providers."
• Amazon sues AppSally and Rebatest, alleging the sites used their combined 900K+ users to post fake Amazon reviews to boost third-party sellers' product rankings.
• Apple faces fresh criticism from the European Commission over its refusal to address its "gatekeeper" App Store behaviour; says "Apple essentially prefers paying periodic fines, rather than comply with a decision of the Dutch Competition Authority on the terms and conditions for third parties to access its App Store."
• Google announces plans to kill classic Hangouts for Workspace effective March 22, as part of a transition to Google Chat that it initiated in January 2019. (In the intervening years, Google has rebranded Hangouts Chat and Meet to Google Chat and Meet, G Suite to Workspace, and killed its Slack-rival Google Currents, making it one the most confusing messaging strategy ever.)
• Meta's Facebook officially rolls out Reels in more than 150 countries worldwide, on Android and iOS, following the feature's U.S. launch in September 2021.
• Spotify's first foray into hardware, Car Thing, goes on sale in the U.S. for $90, after its April 2021 announcement; to add Audible audiobooks support in a future software.
• Google-owned YouTube takes a leaf out of TikTok and Instagram; adds "Live rings" to help users identify and view channels that are actively live-streaming.
• Microsoft's LinkedIn becomes the latest social network to double down on podcasts; debuts a podcast network that features in-house shows from the LinkedIn News team as well as programs from industry figures that are geared towards a professional audience.
• Meta comes under renewed scrutiny after a new analysis by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) and the Observer found Facebook is still letting users post content inciting violence in Ethiopia through hate and misinformation.
• Google's Area 120 incubator project debuts Checks, an AI-powered privacy compliance solution for mobile apps, amid a rapidly changing regulatory and policy landscape.
• Microsoft's Chromium-powered Edge is set to overtake Apple Safari as the world's second most popular desktop browser, having installed on 9.54% of desktops worldwide, a mere 0.3% behind Safari, which stands at 9.84%. (Google Chrome continues to hold first place with an overwhelming 65.38% of the market.)