NewsBytes Briefing: WhatsApp avenges Twitter in India, and more
Not long after Delhi Police raided Twitter's offices, WhatsApp has avenged its social media peer by suing the Indian government. Facebook is playing it smart by refraining from simply refusing to comply to government demands. The WhatsApp owner has instead cited the Supreme Court's 2017 pro-privacy decision to make the case that compliance to government regulations will be a violation of constitutional rights.
As the government distances itself from Big Tech, the local Twitter alternative continues to thrive. Not surprisingly, Indian microblogging platform Koo has raised $30 million in Series-B funding led by Tiger Global. At 60 lakh users, Koo qualifies for the same government regulations that Twitter and Facebook are resisting. But it knows which side the bread is buttered, so it has no qualms complying.
There are 4.66 billion internet users worldwide as of 2021. Of these, 3.26 billion use Google's Chrome browser. That's a market share of 69 percent. Nice! To put this into perspective, Apple's Safari browser can't even muster up a billion despite all the iPhones, MacBooks, and iMacs out there. All because of cross-device synchronization and password management. Never underestimate the power of laziness.
Sony might have thrown in the towel in the handheld console race and left the entire segment to Nintendo, but it looks like we have a new challenger. And it comes from the unlikely quarters of PC gaming. Valve might be working on a Nintendo Switch-like handheld console that could run Linux while being powered by AMD or Intel SoC. This is most exciting.
Apple isn't known to bow down to pressure. It also fosters a strict work culture devoid of drama. But all that changed when 2,000 employees petitioned it to get rid of a high-profile hire. It doesn't matter who was wrong or right, but what does matter is the fact that Apple has crossed the Rubicon by bending its knee to an internal lynch mob.
