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WhatsApp extends 'confusing' update deadline

WhatsApp has extended the deadline by which its two billion users must either accept its updated terms and conditions or stop using the service.
The original cut-off date was 8 February, but users now have until 15 May to take action. The firm was criticised for sending the notification, which seemed to suggest changes to the data it would share with its parent company Facebook. It said there had been "confusion" about its message. Since the announcement and notifications went out across its platform, millions of people around the world have downloaded alternative encrypted messaging apps such as Signal and Telegram. In a blogpost, WhatsApp said personal messages had always been encrypted and would remain private. It added that its practice of sharing some user data with Facebook was not new, and was not going to be expanded. "The update includes new options people will have to message a business on WhatsApp, and provides further transparency about how we collect and use data," it said.

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India to begin first round of massive Covid vaccination programme

India will on Saturday begin one of the world's largest vaccination programmes, aimed at protecting more than 1.3 billion people from Covid-19.
Millions of doses of two approved vaccines - Covishield and Covaxin - have been shipped across the country. They will go first to health workers and frontline workers, then to other at-risk groups. India has recorded the second-highest number of Covid-19 infections in the world after the United States. An estimated 10 million health workers will be vaccinated in the first round, followed by policemen, soldiers, municipal and other front-line workers. Next in line will be people aged over 50 and anyone under 50 with serious underlying health conditions. India's electoral rolls, which contain details of some 900 million voters, will be used to identify eligible recipients. The government plans to vaccinate 300 million people by early August. This will happen in state-run health care centres, schools, colleges, community halls, municipal offices and wedding halls.

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Google tries to allay Fitbit-deal privacy fears

Google has completed its acquisition of Fitbit and tried to reassure users it will protect their privacy.
The search giant bought the health-tracking company for $2.1bn (£1.5bn) in November 2019 but faced questions from regulators. Following a four-month European Commission investigation, it agreed not to use health and location data from Fitbit devices for advertising. The deal was then approved by authorities in December. In a blog, Google said the acquisition "has always been about devices, not data". "We've been clear since the beginning that we will protect Fitbit users' privacy," it added, promising the commitments given to the commission, which it must keep for 10 years, would be implemented globally.

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Capitol riots: Who has the FBI arrested so far?

The suspects in the Capitol riot are a varied group: they include a West Virginia lawmaker, a Florida firefighter and a QAnon shaman from Arizona.
More than 170 case files have been opened and 70 people charged so far, said Michael Sherwin, US Attorney for the District of Columbia. Some of the misdemeanour charges filed so far are "just the beginning", he said, with officials looking at "significant felony cases" tied to sedition and conspiracy. After a week of FBI appeals for help identifying the man seen carrying a Confederate flag in the Capitol during the riots, a man was arrested on Thursday in Delaware, according to US media reports. The Confederate flag is widely seen as a racist symbol due to its links to slavery - it was originally used by the southern states that didn't want to abolish slavery but lost in the US Civil War (1861-65).

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Lisa Montgomery: US executes only woman on federal death row

Lisa Montgomery - the only female inmate on federal death row in the US - has been executed for murder.
She received a lethal injection at a prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, after a last-minute stay of execution was lifted by the US Supreme Court. The case attracted attention because her lawyers argued she was mentally ill and suffered serious abuse as a child. The 52-year-old strangled a pregnant woman before cutting out and kidnapping her baby in Missouri in 2004. Her victim, 23-year-old Bobbie Jo Stinnett, bled to death but her baby was safely recovered and returned to her family. Montgomery is the first female federal inmate to be put to death by the US government in 67 years.

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Man has two guesses to unlock bitcoin worth $240m

We've all been there - brain fog makes us forget our password and after eight frantic attempts, we have just two left.
That's the situation for programmer Stefan Thomas but the stakes are higher than most - the forgotten password will let him unlock a hard drive containing $240m (£175m) worth of Bitcoin. His plight, reported in the New York Times, has gone viral. Ex-Facebook security head Alex Stamos has offered to help - for a 10% cut. Bitcoin has surged in value in recent months. One bitcoin is currently worth $34,000. But the cryptocurrency is volatile. And experts are divided about whether it will continue to rise or crash.

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Parler social network sues Amazon for pulling support

Parler has hit back after Amazon pulled support for its so-called "free speech" social network.
Parler is suing the tech giant, accusing it of breaking anti-trust laws by removing it. Parler had been reliant on the tech giant's Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing service to provide its alternative to Twitter. The platform was popular among supporters of Donald Trump, although the president is not a user. Amazon took the action after finding dozens of posts on the service that it said encouraged violence.

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Capitol riots: FBI warnings amid fears of more pro-Trump violence

The FBI is warning of the possibility of armed protests being held across the US in the days before Joe Biden is sworn in as president.
There are reports of armed groups planning to gather at all 50 state capitols and in Washington DC in the run-up to his 20 January inauguration. The fears come as security plans are hardened for the event itself. On Monday, Mr Biden told reporters he was not afraid to take the oath of office outside of the US Capitol. Both he and Kamala Harris are still expected to be sworn in outside the building, only two weeks after it was the site of a deadly raid by radical supporters of President Donald Trump opposing the election result.

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Roku snaps up Quibi's collection of short shows

Entertainment platform Roku has acquired the rights to more than 75 programmes and short films created for the failed streaming service Quibi.
Quibi broadcast short programmes less than 10 minutes long, but collapsed just six months after its launch. Roku, which is known for its internet-connected set-top boxes and dongles, will show the programmes on its own streaming service free of charge. Quibi co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg said he was "thrilled" by the deal. Roku has not announced how much it paid for Quibi Holdings. But Rob Holmes, vice-president of programming for Roku, told the BBC: "The pivot from subscription to ad-supported is a different set of economics. We're really excited about the value we were able to achieve through the ad-supported model. "This is the kind of content that you don't normally get for free."

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Capitol riots: The hunt to identify and arrest Capitol rioters

After the siege on the US Capitol building, the FBI is appealing to the public for help in bringing the assailants to justice. Will this approach work?
Trump supporters converged on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to express their rage over Joe Biden's victory in the election, wreaking havoc in Congress. Rioters were pictured vandalising congressional offices, and an aide to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Washington's top Democrat, reported a laptop was stolen. Richard Barnett, a 60-year-old from Gravette, Arkansas, one of the individuals who entered the Capitol building, has been arrested, according to Justice Department officials. He was not hard to find.