Here are today’s top trending stories from the world of technology. News that we feel every tech enthusiasts keep a tab on.
1)
After Backlash, Softbank backed Ola Electric to recall 1,441 EV Bikes
EV startup Ola Electric has decided that it will voluntarily recall specific batch of 1,441 S1 Pro e-scooters. The SoftBank backed startup has taken this decision after one of its EV bikes caught fire in Pune last month. The visuals of an Ola bike catching fire in Pune had immediately gone viral on social media platforms, causing a huge public outcry over the safety of Ola Electric bikes. Even Transportation Minister Nitin Gadkari gave a stern warning to EV companies. Gadkari warned that EV companies will have to recall the faulty bikes or else face heavy penalties.
Meanwhile, the Bhavesh Agrawal led company said that it will conduct a detailed diagnostic and health check of all the EV scooters that will be recalled. The company also said that last month’s fire incident in Pune was an isolated case.
2)
Apple app store likely to crackdown against outdated apps
Do you have an app on the Apple app store that has not been updated for a long-time? If the answer is ‘yes’ then you should be updating the app pretty soon. This is because latest media reports claim that Apple is likely to crackdown against apps that haven’t been updated for a long time. In an e-mail sent to app developers, which has been accessed by the media houses, Apple has said that it will give 30 days to app developers to update their apps or else their apps will be removed from the app store. Apple has presumably taken this step due to security issues.
3)
In Future Google, Meta & Twitter can’t keep their algorithm secret in the European Union
Google, Meta and other big social media platforms will have to soon brace for the Digital Services Act. This soon to be passed legislation in the European parliament is likely to redefine how the world will police the online world. Last week, the EU’s tech regulation body broadly agreed on terms and conditions for this soon to be passed law. Perhaps the most important rule that it has agreed on is that Google, Meta and other social media platforms will have to make its algorithm transparent. Till date most social media platforms kept their algorithm highly secret, allowing them to moderate their content as per their wish. Algorithms have always been a controversial issue, with many experts accusing that algorithms of popular social media platforms are inherently biased against certain political views. Experts strongly argue that this practice is posing a grave danger to democracies across the world.
4)
Twitter has a change of heart over Elon Musk’s Takeover offer
Till now Twitter has been staunchly opposed to Elon Musk’s hostile takeover bid. The microblogging platform has already deployed the poison pill strategy to stop the tech billionaire from buying more than 15% stake in the company. However, it now seems that Twitter might have had a change of heart over Musk’s takeover offer. Tesla’s CEO privately met several shareholders of the microblogging company on Friday, according to latest media reports. The complete turnaround by Twitter’s shareholder has supposedly happened after last week Musk claimed that he has arranged the required funds to buy Twitter for approximately $43Bn.