Tech Roundup: Facebook Memorial Glitch, Paytm Record & More

[A recurring feature on the latest in Science & Technology.]

Alphabet/Google:

• Responds to European Union Android antitrust complaints by saying it offers choice at every turn; says all preloaded apps on iPhone come from Apple, and argues rival apps like Spotify and Dropbox have enjoyed great successes on the platform.
• Officially rolls out Daydream virtual reality platform in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany and Australia.
• Updates Android Auto for use on phone screen (Android 5.0 and later) for cars not compatible with Google's infotainment system.
• Crosses two billion active installs of Chrome web browser.
• Gives Play Newsstand and Play Music a major visual overhaul.

Facebook:

• Agrees to suspend using WhatsApp users' data in the U.K. for purposes of targeting advertising on the social network.
• Takes aim at Prisma photo filter app (an app that uses AI to turn photos into works of art) with live video filters.
• To stop some of its race-based ad targeting after criticism (and getting sued for discriminatory practices).
• Acquires CrowdTangle, a social analytics platform that lets publishers track how their content is being shared on social media.
• Encroaches on LinkedIn territory with job opening features on the social network.
• Builds new Snapchat clone (after Poke and Slingshot) called Flash targeting emerging markets (live only in Brazil).
• Updates Messenger Platform (version 1.3) with new message templates and checkbox plugins (to let businesses message you with status of your online order, for example) for developers and advertisers.
• Adds two factor authentication to WhatsApp.
• Declares two million users, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, dead due to a software glitch.

In other news:

• Chinese government approves a new cybersecurity law that mandates "security reviews of equipment and data in strategic sectors," reports The Wall Street Journal.
• Indian digital wallet service Paytm touches record 5 million transactions per day after Indian government demonetizes Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes in an bid to crack down on corruption and black money.
• Yahoo! admits that some staff were aware of the massive data breach that compromised half a billion user accounts back in 2014 (RIP Yahoo!).
• Researchers at University of St. Andrews develop a new technology that uses radar waves to identify any object using Google's gesture-driven Project Soli smartwatch.
• Samsung to integrate Viv, the digital voice assistant it acquired in October, into Galaxy S8 smartphone.
• Beleaguered social networking service Twitter, which announced its plans to shut down Vine last month, is on the lookout for a potential buyer, with some bids as less than US$ 10 million. 
• British Uber drivers are entitled to national minimum wage and holiday pay, U.K. employment tribunal rules; ride-hailing startup to appeal the ruling.
• Snapchat Spectacles go on a limited sale in California for US$ 130.
• OnePlus to announce its next smartphone on November 15.
• LinkedIn is blocked in Russia after professional social network fails to move personal data of users to the country.
• Online marketplace Etsy rolls out support for Apple Pay on the web.