Tech Roundup: E.U. Big Tech Regulations, Meta Novi Shutdown & More

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

• The E.U. passes the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act, seeking to regulate U.S. tech giants and allow companies designated as "gatekeepers" to allow third parties to inter-operate with their own services such as messaging apps or risk facing monetary fines; says the two bills "aim to address the societal and economic effects of the tech industry by setting clear standards for how they operate and provide services in the E.U., in line with the E.U.'s fundamental rights and values."
• Global shipments for VR headsets jump 241.6% during Q1 2022, with Meta capturing 90% of market share thanks to its Quest 2 headset.
• Meta to shut down its Novi (formerly Diem and Libra) digital wallet service 11 months after launch, urging users to withdraw their remaining balance on their accounts before the closure date; comes amid a broad downturn in the cryptocurrency market and new scrutiny on stablecoins.
• Google announces plans to auto-delete user visits to medical facilities like counseling centers, domestic violence shelters, abortion clinics, fertility centers, addiction treatment facilities, weight loss clinics, cosmetic surgery clinics, and others from location histories.
• Apple to face a trial in the U.K. over claims that it breached competition regulations by taking an "unfair" 30% cut on app and in-app purchases in iOS, forcing developers to raise prices and push the cost to consumers.

• Reddit to acquire MeaningCloud, a natural language processing company, for an undisclosed amount, as part of its effort to "strengthen Reddit's platform by helping our community get the relevant information they are looking for even faster."
• Music streamer Spotify tests new tools that allow users to record, edit and publish podcasts directly from the main app without the need for a dedicated app like Anchor (which Spotify acquired in February 2019).
• Retail giant Amazon agrees to drop its use of "dark patterns" from the process required to unsubscribe from its Prime membership across its sites in the E.U.; the European Commission says "opting for an online subscriptions can be very handy for consumers as it is often a very straightforward process, but the reverse action of unsubscribing should be just as easy."
• Microsoft to release Outlook Lite app for Android later this month to bring the "main benefits of Outlook in a smaller app size with fast performance for low-end devices on any network."
• Google halts updates to popular messaging app KakaoTalk in South Korea for using an external payment link in violation of its new in-app payments policy that mandates third-party apps to use Google's own payment.
• The U.K. signs data sharing deal with South Korea, allowing organizations in the two countries to transfer data without restrictions.
• ByteDance's TikTok reportedly abandons plans to expand its TikTok Shop live e-commerce program to Europe and the U.S. after a lack of traction in the U.K.