Tech Roundup: Apple Pauses Sales in Russia, Uber Explore Tab & More

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

• Apple freezes all product sales in Russia in light of the country's decision to invade Ukraine; says it has limited Apple Pay, made unavailable RT News and Sputnik News apps for download from the App Store outside Russia, and disabled both traffic and live incidents in Apple Maps in Ukraine as a safety and precautionary measure.
• Google temporarily disables Google Maps live traffic data in Ukraine, and removes Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik's apps from Google Play Store; Meta, TikTok, and YouTube restrict access to Russian state-based media outlets Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik across the European Union (Meta is also suppressing the algorithmic spread of content shared by Russian state-linked media outlets and attach new labels); Snap halts ads in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine; Reddit hides r/Russia and r/RussiaPolitics subreddits from search results and recommendations due to "high volume" of misinformation; domain and web hosting provider Namecheap terminates services with the company's Russia-based users; DuckDuckGo pauses its partnership with search engine Yandex; payment processors Visa and Mastercard block Russian banks from their networks; and Twitter takes steps to fight against Russian misinformation by adding labels on tweets that share links from Russian state-based media websites, as tech platforms emerge as a key digital war front in Russia's invasion of Ukraine
• Google brings Play Pass to India after its launch in 2019, allowing users to gain access to more than a thousand apps and games with no in-app purchases or ads.
• Dutch antitrust regulators levy a sixth €5 million fine against Apple over its proposal for alternative payments for dating apps, saying Apple has not made a proposal that would comply with the rules;
• Meta's Instagram to roll out a consistent viewing experience for videos on its platform; to shut down its standalone IGTV app in mid-March; adds auto-generated captions for videos and turns on encrypted messaging in Instagram one-to-one direct messages for users in Ukraine and Russia.
• ByteDance-owned TikTok announces new feature that allows users to create 10-minute-long videos (up from three minutes), as the social video platform positions itself as a rival to YouTube and Instagram Reels; company's Chinese version of TikTok, Douyin, takes down more than 3,500 videos and 12,100 comments related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
• Online lodging marketplace Airbnb to offer free, short-term housing for up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees; to work with Poland, Romania, Germany, and Hungary for long-term stays.
• Microsoft's LinkedIn acquires Tel Aviv-based marketing analytics and attribution startup Oribi in a deal worth about US$ 90 million.
• Retail and entertainment giant Amazon rolls out its Luna cloud gaming service to all users in the U.S.
• Ride hailing company Uber debuts new Explore tab that lets users explore cultural highlights, book dinner reservations and buy tickets to live events, in 15 markets across the U.S. and Mexico.