Tech Roundup: Google Android 12.1, Zello Russia Ban & More

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

• Netflix, Mastercard, Visa and PayPal become the latest platforms to pause its services in Russia, citing "violent military aggression," joining a long list of tech companies including Google, Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Adobe, Cisco, Oracle, SAP, Nokia, Intel, AMD, Activision Blizzard and Epic Games; comes as Coinbase blocks 25,000 Russian-linked accounts that are believed to have engaged in illicit activity; Apple suspends Search Ads on the Russian App Store "until further notice", Cogent Communications, an internet backbone provider that carries approximately 25 percent of all global web traffic, has begun cutting ties with Russian businesses.
• ByteDance-owned TikTok announces plans to suspend live streaming and new content on its video service in Russia while it reviews the safety implication of a new "fake news" law which imposes prison terms for spreading false information about the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
• Russia bans walkie-talkie app Zello over claims that users are spreading "false information" about its invasion of Ukraine; looks to legalise software piracy as a potential workaround for products whose companies’ have recently cut off distribution in the country.
• Meta-owned Instagram pulls Boomerang and Hyperlapse apps from the app stores, a week after it shut down IGTV, as it streamlines its offerings to "better focus [its] efforts on the main app."
• Retail giant Amazon reportedly employs five Chinese suppliers with links to forced Uyghur labour camps from the Xinjiang region; company says "we take allegations of human rights abuses seriously." (Two of the suppliers named in the report — Luxshare Precision Industry and AcBel Polytech — were also used by Apple, according to an investigation last year, an allegation Apple has denied.)
• Google debuts new speed enhancements to Chrome on Android and macOS (outperforming Safari on WebKit's Speedometer 2.0 benchmark by 15%), as it readies to launch version 100 of its web browser.
• Cryptocurrency exchange Binance resumes bank transfers for European users, except those in Switzerland and The Netherlands, after suspending the service in July 2021 following pressure from regulators.
• Google officially releases 12L, its tablet-focused release of Android, as 12.1, with the search company announcing plans to bring 12L to tablets and foldables with planned updates from Samsung, Lenovo and Microsoft; adds new features like YouTube watch party support in Duo, a night photography mode for Snapchat, and a new Live Caption feature that allows users to type to talk during phone calls.
• Google-backed Indian telecom operator Airtel to launch a credit card, the latest attempt from the company to make inroads with financial services as it looks to expand its offerings in the world's second-largest internet market.
• Amazon acquires Veeqo, a company that makes tools to help online businesses manage their storefronts on and off Amazon, in an attempt to capture a share of sales on other digital platforms like eBay, Etsy, Shopify and Walmart.