Tuesday, August 31, 2021

VPNs in India Should Be Blocked, Parliamentary Panel Again Urges Government

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs has urged the government to block virtual private networks (VPNs) in India, citing VPN services as a "technological challenge" that could lead... https://ift.tt/3t5rPKn

South Korea Passes Bill to Curb Google, Apple Commission Dominance

A landmark bill passed in South Korea's parliament bans major app store operators such as Google and Apple from forcing software developers to use their payment systems, effectively stopping them from... https://ift.tt/3zAZluv

As ad revenue surges, Alphabet shares are up 65% over 2021, and up more than 7% in August to reach a record high of $2,891.81, the longest rally since 2009 (Ryan Vlastelica/Bloomberg)

Ryan Vlastelica / Bloomberg:
As ad revenue surges, Alphabet shares are up 65% over 2021, and up more than 7% in August to reach a record high of $2,891.81, the longest rally since 2009  —  - Shares are poised for their eighth straight month of gains  — Yearly rise nearly twice as much as Facebook, Microsoft



Sources and experts say US-funded Afghan government databases containing sensitive personal data could be used by the Taliban to identify millions of Afghans (MIT Technology Review)

MIT Technology Review:
Sources and experts say US-funded Afghan government databases containing sensitive personal data could be used by the Taliban to identify millions of Afghans  —  By capturing 40 pieces of data per person—from iris scans and family links to their favorite fruit—a system meant to cut fraud …



At the behest of South Korean regulators, payments service Kakao lowers its IPO target to ~$1.3B at the top of the range, down from ~$1.4B (Sohee Kim/Bloomberg)

Sohee Kim / Bloomberg:
At the behest of South Korean regulators, payments service Kakao lowers its IPO target to ~$1.3B at the top of the range, down from ~$1.4B  —  - Regulators asked the startup to revise its IPO prospectus  — Krafton's lukewarm debut has soured sentiment domestically



TikTok parent ByteDance acquires VR headset maker Pico

In a statement issued to the publication, ByteDance said that Pico's "comprehensive suite of software and hardware technologies, as well as the talent and deep expertise of the team, will support both our entry to the VR space and long-term investment in this emerging field". https://ift.tt/3kBpsv7

Google says it removed 95,680 content pieces in July in India

On Tuesday, Google said it had received 36,934 complaints in July from individual users located in India via designated mechanisms, and the number of removal actions as a result of user complaints was 95,680 - the highest so far. https://ift.tt/3BvQcUL

Tata Tigor EV Launched in India: All You Need to Know

Tata Tigor EV has been launched in India. The electric vehicle (EV) is touted to be the cheapest EV in the country. It is available in the three trims - XE, XM, and XZ+ - with a dual-tone colour... https://ift.tt/2YgOybj

South Korea's National Assembly passes a bill that forces Apple and Google to allow alternative payment systems in their app stores (Jiyoung Sohn/Wall Street Journal)

Jiyoung Sohn / Wall Street Journal:
South Korea's National Assembly passes a bill that forces Apple and Google to allow alternative payment systems in their app stores  —  Seoul requires the companies to allow competing payment systems, threatening their 30% cut of most in-app digital sales  —  SEOUL—Google and Apple Inc …



Sources: Indian ride-hailing company Ola is seeking to raise about $1B at an $8B+ valuation in a Mumbai IPO; source says the filing could arrive by October (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg:
Sources: Indian ride-hailing company Ola is seeking to raise about $1B at an $8B+ valuation in a Mumbai IPO; source says the filing could arrive by October  —  - Citigroup, Kotak Mahindra, Morgan Stanley are on the listing  — Startup to seek valuation of more than $8 billion in the IPO



New York and San Francisco are moving to make commission caps for delivery platforms permanent; NYC voted to approve a 23% cap, below the 30% usually charged (Dave Lee/Financial Times)

Dave Lee / Financial Times:
New York and San Francisco are moving to make commission caps for delivery platforms permanent; NYC voted to approve a 23% cap, below the 30% usually charged  —  Grubhub vows to fight legislation as shares in European parent Just Eat Takeaway fall  —  Shares in Just Eat Takeaway …



A flaw in Go Ethereum, used to verify transactions, has been fixed after it caused about half of the Ethereum ecosystem to split into a separate chain (Kartikay Mehrotra/Bloomberg)

Kartikay Mehrotra / Bloomberg:
A flaw in Go Ethereum, used to verify transactions, has been fixed after it caused about half of the Ethereum ecosystem to split into a separate chain  —  - Ethereum blockchain was divided by mistake in client software  — Network patch swiftly stabilized the blockchain system



Russia's Yandex says it will buy Uber's stakes in their joint foodtech, delivery, and self-driving businesses in a $1B deal (Reuters)

Reuters:
Russia's Yandex says it will buy Uber's stakes in their joint foodtech, delivery, and self-driving businesses in a $1B deal  —  Russian internet giant Yandex (YNDX.O) said on Tuesday it would buy Uber's (UBER.N) stakes in their joint foodtech, delivery and self-driving businesses …



LG UltraGear Gaming Speaker GP9 With Hi-Res Audio, RGB Lighting Launched

LG UltraGear Gaming Speaker GP9 has been unveiled expanding LG's UltraGear line of gaming hardware. The speaker has a unique look to it paired with RGB lighting. LG says it offers three-dimensional,... https://ift.tt/3t0FH8I

Google Pixel 5a Users Are Complaining of Overheating, Touchscreen Issues

Pixel 5a users are reporting of overheating and touchscreen issues. Some users claim that the overheating warning comes in when shooting in 4K video, while others say it gets triggered even when... https://ift.tt/38sn30g

OpenAI pauses the use of the Sky voice in ChatGPT after users said it sounded too much like Scarlett Johansson, says voice was not chosen to be an "imitation" (Amy Thomson/Bloomberg)

Amy Thomson / Bloomberg : OpenAI pauses the use of the Sky voice in ChatGPT after users said it sounded too much like Scarlett Johansson,...