Tech Digest daily roundup: Facebook allows calls for violence against Putin

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The owner of Facebook and Instagram will allow users in some countries to call for violence against Vladimir Putin and Russian soldiers. Meta says it has temporarily made allowances for some violent speech, like “death to the Russian invaders,” that would usually break its rules. However, it says it won’t permit calls for violence against Russian civilians. In response, Russia called on the US to stop the social media giant’s “extremist activities”. The announcement came after Reuters news agency said it had seen internal emails outlining the policy shift. “In light of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, we made a temporary exception for those affected by the war, to express violent sentiments toward invading armed forces,” a Meta spokesperson told the BBC. BBC 

Apple’s latest iPhone SE has been announced, and it seems very similar to the iPhone SE (2020). While we heard lots of information about the phone on stage, it’s taken us a few days to hear about one extra detail. According to a report by MacRumors, the new iPhone has 4GB of RAM, the same as the iPhone 13. This information was retrieved from the strings of code that Apple released after its first event for the year. The iPhone SE 2020 reportedly had 3GB of RAM, so this would seem like an upgrade. While it doesn’t exactly bring the new phone to the level of same-price Android rivals, many of which have 8GB or even 12GB of RAM, iOS is typically a less RAM-intensive operating system, so the spec isn’t as important for Apple’s phones. Tech Radar 

Samsung has mocked Apple’s newly-unveiled green smartphones by suggesting they are a very similar shade to its own Galaxy S22 Ultra. Earlier this week Apple announced that its iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro would be available for pre-order in the new green colour from today (Friday). But the South Korean tech giant appeared to hint that its Silicon Valley competitor had taken inspiration from its own products, tweeting: ‘Ultra? Green? We’re feeling sincerely flattered today. ‘Samsung’s largest smartphones are known as ‘Ultra’, the equivalent to Apple’s Pro. But despite throwing shade at Apple, many social media users were quick to point out that it is not the first time the Californian tech giant has offered iPhones in a green colour. Daily Mail 

UK and EU regulators have opened investigations into tech giants Google and Meta over concerns the firms broke competition rules for online display advertising services. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and European Commission announced parallel probes into the “Jedi Blue” agreement between the firms, amid worries this impacted competition. The CMA said it is specifically looking into whether the firms restricted or prevented the uptake of header bidding services. Header bidding is a service which allows sellers, such as news publishers, to offer their online advertising space to multiple buyers at the same time, rather than receiving offers one by one. Yahoo!

Milton Keynes has emerged as the best area in the UK to own an electric car, with 137 charging points per 100,000 people, new research shows. The area also has the highest number of rapid charging devices at 121, according to the vehicle checking company, Car Guide. Coventry ranks as the second best with 127.8 charging points per 100,000 people, whilst Brighton sits in third place with 117.9 devices. On the other hand, Bolton ranked as the worst area, with just 8.3 charging points per 100,000 people. This was closely followed by Walsall at 8.4 and Southend-on-Sea which has an average of 9.8. iNews

Chris Price
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