Tech Roundup: E.U. USB-C Charging Standard, Meta Bulletin Shutdown & More

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

• Twitter to be officially acquired by Tesla CEO Elon Musk following months of legal drama after Musk tried to back out of his original agreement to buy the company for US$ 44 billion over concerns that the company failed to come clean about the prevalence of bots on the platform; Musk says buying Twitter "is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app."
• Google to pay US$ 85 million to resolve a consumer privacy lawsuit filed by the U.S. state of Arizona that alleged the company surreptitiously collects users' location data for targeted ads despite turning off the location history feature.
• The European Parliament votes overwhelmingly in favour of enforcing USB-C as a common charging port across a wide range of consumer electronic devices, including the iPhone and AirPods, by the end of 2024; the requirement to also extend to laptops starting spring 2026.
• ByteDance's TikTok gets fined US$ 51,000 in Russia for promoting "non-traditional sexual values, videos featuring LGBT, feminism, and distorted representation of traditional sexual values."
• Meta's WhatsApp trials new security measure that prevents users from taking screenshots of "view once" messages; to pull the plug on Bulletin, its Substack-like off-platform newsletter offering, in early 2023 after unveiling the service in June 2021.
• VideoLAN, the developer and operator of popular media player VLC, files a legal notice to India's IT and Telecom ministries for blocking its website since February 2022 without offering an explanation.
• Amazon axes Glow, its teleconferencing and interactive gaming device aimed at kids, amid lacklustre sales and a shift in consumer behaviour, a year after its debut.
• Reddit begins testing Live Chat in its Android and iOS app; acqui-hires Oterlu, a developer of machine learning-powered content moderation tools, to beef up its ability to prevent, detect, and remove harmful content.
• Google unveils a new Nest Doorbell, faster Nest Wifi Pro router, and a redesigned Home app coinciding with the release of the Matter 1.0 smart home connectivity standard to "access and manage over 80,000 different Works with Google Home devices in a single place" and automate compatible devices.
• Meta debuts Instagram ads on the Explore page and tests ads in profile feeds, letting creators earn extra income, alongside a shorter ad format called post-loop ads for Facebook Reels and a machine learning-based tool to show ads intended to "reach people who are most likely to make a purchase," as the company opens up new avenues for advertising on Instagram and Messenger.
• Apple overhauls the developer account interface that developers access when logging into Apple's site, introducing a cleaner look that provides access to more information at a glance.
• Google Cloud launches Medical Imaging Suite, a toolset for healthcare professionals that uses AI to scan medical images with faster and more accurate diagnoses.
• Popular email client Spark debuts a new redesign and a Windows app, as it becomes the latest app to switch to a subscription model that costs US$ 4.99 a month or US$ 59.99 a year.
• Language learning app Duolingo acquires animation studio Gunner for an undisclosed price, making it the company's first purchase.
• Newsletter service Substack officially launches its Android app following beta tests, giving users to access all subscriptions and add RSS feeds in one place; comes nearly seven months after the launch of the iOS app.
• Handset maker Xiaomi announces the flagship €599 12T with a 108MP camera and the €759 12T Pro with a 200MP camera, both featuring 6.67" OLED screens.
• Apple's iPhone exports from India top US$ 1 billion in the five months since April, as the country makes headway in its bid to become a major electronics manufacturing hub for Apple; shipments of India-made iPhones to Europe and the Middle East to reach US$ 2.5 billion by March 2023.