Tech Roundup: Apple App Store Concession, Instagram DM Updates & More

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

• Russia threatens to fine Google's YouTube for "promot[ing] the distribution of false content" about what it calls the country's "special military operation" in Ukraine.
• The U.S. Justice Department to reportedly investigate whether Google's practice of bundling its Maps application with other Google software "illegally stifles competition."
• Apple officially begins allowing Netflix, Spotify, and other so-called "reader" apps – such as those that offer magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, or video content – to link to an external website to allow users to create or manage their account outside of the app; drops requirement for a separate binary which it had sought to impose on Dutch dating apps following a string of fines imposed by the antitrust regulator over the past 10 weeks. (The watchdog, in response, has said it has "not yet come to any conclusion regarding these adjusted conditions," and that it intends to "share these with other market participants for consultation.")
• Apple is reportedly planning to expand its financial services by adding in-house payment processing, lending risk assessment, credit checks, fraud analysis, as part of an ambitious effort to reduce its reliance on outside partners over time.
• Google begins piloting its updated Privacy Sandbox tools globally, including Topics and FLEDGE APIs, in the Canary version of Chrome browser; YouTube reportedly working on a podcasts homepage with RSS feed ingestion, audio ads, analytics, as the company doubles down on podcasts and take on rivals Apple, Amazon, and Spotify.
• Music streamer Spotify expands Blend, which lets two users merge their musical tastes in a playlist, to up to 10 users and selected artists.
• Google improves search with new features to "more accurately detect a wider range of personal crisis searches" with the goal of surfacing "trustworthy and actionable information" while also reducing explicit or suggestive content when searching for benign terms; plans to add "highly cited" Search labels for original reporting and press releases.
• Microsoft rebrands Your Phone, its Android phone linking app for Windows announced in May 2018, to Phone Link and updates the app to match Windows 11's design; to move Surface Duo OS, SwiftKey, Phone Link, and Microsoft Launcher under a new dedicated Android division.
• Samsung partners with iFixit to launch a self-repair program, offering parts, tools, and guides, for the Galaxy S20, S21, and Tab S7 Plus.
• Meta's Instagram rolls out updates to direct messages, including 30-second Spotify music previews, the ability to reply to messages while browsing the feed, reshare posts, create polls in group chats, and send messages silently.
• The European Union Parliament votes to outlaw anonymous crypto payments, extending KYC rules to even the smallest transactions with unhosted or self-hosted wallets.
• Google supercharges its Meet video conferencing tool with support for in-meeting reactions, emoji-based feedback, integrations for Docs, Sheets and Slides, a new picture-in-picture mode, and streaming straight to YouTube.