Tech Roundup: Google Multisearch, Mastodon User Growth & More

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

• Twitter quickly reverses course on new policy that banned links to other social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and Truth Social; debuts new Blue for Business subscription as a way for "businesses and their affiliates to verify and distinguish themselves on Twitter" with a "small badge of their parent company's profile picture next to their blue or gold checkmark" that aims to tackle impersonation.
• Google debuts multisearch in India, allowing users search for information using images and text simultaneously; pilots a new "Search in video" feature that permits users to enter search terms to surface information "buried inside a long clip," and launches DigiLocker integration in its Files app for Android for easy access to government documents.
• Tumblr adds support for livestreaming to its iOS and Android apps in the U.S. powered by Livebox.
• Meta announces plans to devote ~20% of its costs and expenses to Reality Labs in 2023, up from 18% in Q3 2022, as it ramps up investment in the virtual reality space; rolls out accidental delete feature for WhatsApp that brings a five-second window to let users reverse the action.
• Google's YouTube unveils Courses in India, letting teachers post videos and reading materials for free or for a fee across several regional languages; adds support for viewing authoritative health information in multiple Indian languages through a dubbing tool called Aloud that automatically transcribes, translates and dubs original content.
• The European Commission files complaint against Meta for possible "abusive practices" by tying Marketplace to Facebook and imposing unfair trading terms for its own benefit.

• YouTube removes Pornhub's official account, which gained nearly 900,000 subscribers over eight years, after Instagram permanently banned the company's account in September 2022.
• Epic Games, creator of the popular video game Fortnite, to pay fines of US$ 520 million over allegations that the "company violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and deployed design tricks, known as dark patterns, to dupe millions of players into making unintentional purchases."
• The U.K. Intellectual Property Office (IPO) publishes new piracy guidance that effectively prohibits "pasting internet images into your social media, password sharing on streaming services and accessing the latest films, tv series or live sports events through Kodi boxes, fire sticks or Apps without paying a subscription."
• The French Commercial Court fines Apple US$ 1 million for imposing unfair commercial clauses on app developers in the country for access to the ‌App Store.
• Amazon rolls out Matter smart home standard over Wi-Fi to 17 Echo devices, including Echo Dot (5th Gen) and Echo (4th Gen); launches Prime Gaming in India, weeks after testing the service, offering Prime and Video subscribers access to mobile, PC, and Mac games.
• Decentralised social network Mastodon reaches 2.5 million monthly active users in November 2022, up from around 300,000 in October, as Twitter users flee the service, while also raising concerns about the legal risks for hosting instances to comply with content moderation, copyright and privacy laws globally.