Tech Roundup: China's New Push Notification Rules, Twitter Podcasts & More

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

• China's Cyberspace Administration publishes new draft regulations to restrict push notifications on sensitive news topics, disasters and celebrity gossip as part of its efforts to shape public discourse; mandates service providers "adhere to the correct directions of politics, public opinion and values" and help "develop a positive and healthy network culture."
• Google Maps and Tripadvisor block users from posting reviews to some listings in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus after activists used them to share Ukraine news; comes as Microsoft removes Russia Today's (RT) apps from its Windows app store, and purges content from RT and Sputnik on Microsoft Start and MSN.com to "reduce the exposure of Russian state propaganda."
• NFT marketplace OpenSea deletes account holders (along with their NFTs) with Iran-based IP addresses to comply with sanctions imposed by the U.S.; says "OpenSea blocks users and territories on the U.S. sanctions list from using our services, including buying, selling, or transferring NFTs on OpenSea."
• Google to kill Snapshot feature, the Google Now like contextual cards displayed in Google Assistant; asks users to find the necessary information in other Assistant-supported products.
• Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) rejects Ukraine's request to cut Russia off from the global internet by revoking to top-level domains (TLD), such as .ru, .рф, and .su be, saying the proposal is neither technically feasible nor within its mission; notes that "ICANN has been built to ensure that the Internet works, not for its coordination role to be used to stop it from working."
• Amazon-owned Twitch updates its content streaming policies to block harmful misinformation superspreaders who persistently share misinformation on or off" of the platform.
• Twitter reportedly dipping its toes in the already-crowded Podcasts market with a new dedicated Podcasts tab.
• New findings show that Samsung is throttling the performance of 10,000 popular Android apps on Galaxy smartphones, including Google and Samsung's first-party apps, including Instagram, TikTok, Netflix, Microsoft Office, Google Keep, Spotify, Snapchat, YouTube Music, and more, via an app called Game Optimization Service in a likely attempt to improve battery life. (Not surprisingly, benchmark apps are given a free hand.)
• Reddit bans links to Russian state media outlets across its entire site for all users worldwide and ads that either originate from Russia or target the country; online lodging marketplace Airbnb suspends all operations in Russia and Belarus; and computer chip manufacturer Intel announces plans to stop all shipments to customers in Russia and Belarus, amid escalating conflict between Russia and Ukraine.