Files from Tom Li
Instagram CEO to testify before Congress, U.S. government bans Chinese quantum compute companies, and France ministers are calling for search engines to hide Wish.
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That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now, welcome to Hashtag Trending! It’s Friday, November 26, and I’m your host, Samira Balsara.
Facebook’s name change isn’t stopping the controversies generated in recent months. In the newest development, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri is expected to testify before Congress on allegations that the platform is harmful to young people. The Senate Commerce subcommittee on consumer protection will question Mosseri on how Instagram’s algorithm recommends content. Moserri has announced his appearance on Instagram, along with a list of ways the platform protects its users.
The U.S. government has added 27 more companies to its entity list. The list blocks them from doing business with the U.S., and this time includes several Chinese companies working with quantum computing. The reason for the ban, as explained in a Financial Times report, was out of national security concerns. The U.S. did not want the eight newly listed companies to gain access to its quantum technologies. Further, a Secretary of Commerce spokesperson accused these companies of working with the Chinese military.
Several France ministers are asking main search engines in the country to hide Wish from its list of its search results. As an e-commerce platform, Wish is a popular destination for buyers looking for novel goods for cheap. The listed items are often sourced from China. The call to hide Wish resulted from an investigation by the French administration, in which it found that it was too easy to list counterfeit goods on the platform. Additionally, the administration found that out of the 140 items they ordered from the platform, 95 per cent of toys didn’t comply with European regulations, and 45 per cent of them were deemed dangerous.
It turns out that Netflix’s smash TV series Squid Game is not only popular on screen, but on Spotify as well. According to a company blog post, its fans have created more than 22,500 unique themed playlists since the series ended. To sate their demand for the series’ unique music, Netflix and Spotify have partnered to create the Netflix Hub, through which listeners can stream the series official soundtracks and podcasts. The hub will contain soundtracks from other shows as well, including Bruised, Cowboy Bebop and many others.
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home daily briefing. Make sure to sign up for our Daily IT Wire Newsletter to get all the news that matters directly in your inbox every day. If you have a suggestion or tip, please drop us a line in the comments or via email. Thanks for listening, I’m Samira Balsara.