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From the Article:

Google’s Messages app might be getting cross-platform chat encryption in the future. The company is announcing adoption of an end-to-end encryption system known as Messaging Layer Security, or MLS. It’ll allow Google’s platform to connect and exchange messages with outside messaging apps that also support MLS (via 9to5Google).

Want to message a group chat and have it securely and seamlessly appear on other people’s devices in their preferred chat apps? That’s the future European regulators are pushing for: to get tech companies to implement an end-to-end encryption system that allows users to securely message between platforms.

Meaningful interoperability would require major companies to back the same standard, and MLS now seems to have one of the biggest ones on its side. Google also supports the carrier-backed end-to-end encrypted messaging system known as RCS. For a while, RCS didn’t have proper security for group chats, but Google is now releasing a version that does (which doesn’t use MLS).

A big problem MLS may solve is better encryption for group messages. An Oxford paper published in 2017 pointed out security concerns in how some major messaging apps, including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Google Allo (RIP), could have group messages intercepted if just one member is compromised. So researchers sketched up an “Asynchronous Ratcheting Tree” that makes end-to-end group messages even more secure, and MLS was built with that idea in mind.

The MLS protocol is developed by a standards organization called the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). The body just approved publication of MLS specification (RFC 9420) in March and has previously tested draft versions in Webex and RingCentral chats.

Google is moving to place its MLS implementation open sourced into Android’s codebase but did not say when this would happen. It also did not specify how or if RCS messages, which Google has outwardly championed for more than a year, will work with the MLS-based encryption. Google continues to shame Apple for not supporting RCS, which is now available to more than 800 million Android users. It remains to be seen if other tech companies will “get the message” with MLS.

The WSJ reported, "For many years, telecom companies have known about the lead-covered cables and the potential risks of exposure to their workers, according to documents and interviews with former employees. They were also aware that lead was potentially leaching into the environment, but haven't meaningfully acted on potential health risks to the surrounding communities or made efforts to monitor the cables."

The WSJ quoted former cable splicer James Winn, who worked for several Bell system companies for 45 years, as saying the companies "knew the risks, but they didn't want to do a lot to mitigate it." "Company testing in the 1980s found that [Winn] had high levels of lead in his blood, but his manager told him to go back to working with lead shortly after, he said," the WSJ wrote. Another WSJ article on the topic that came out today profiled former workers who have illnesses that could have been caused by lead exposure. "Some of the workers have neurological disorders, kidney ailments, gastrointestinal issues and cardiovascular problems, illnesses that can be linked to lead exposure," the WSJ wrote. "There's no way to determine what triggered specific ailments. Doctors say no amount of lead is safe." According to the article, "AT&T dismissed 'anecdotal, non-evidence-based linkages to individuals' health symptoms,' saying those symptoms 'could be associated with a vast number of potential causes.' Verizon said it has 'a robust safety and health program to provide training, materials and resources,' and that workers can get lead testing at any time at no cost."

AT&T posted a statement on its website calling the WSJ's testing methodologies "flawed." The company also said it "manage[s] legacy lead-clad cables in compliance with applicable laws and regulations" and follows best practices "based on established science."

• New Geekbench listings indicate that the Galaxy S23 FE will draw its power from a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in the U.S. and an Exynos 2200 chipset in other markets.

• Samsung's Exynos 2200 SoC was previously criticized for poor energy efficiency compared to its Snapdragon counterpart, but the company may have addressed this concern.

• The phone is expected to make its debut in the third quarter of this year as a cheaper version of Samsung's latest flagship series.

TL;DR

• The European Council has ended its adoption procedure for rules related to phones with replaceable batteries.
• By 2027, all phones released in the EU must have a battery the user can easily replace with no tools or expertise.
• The regulation intends to introduce a circular economy for batteries.

Availability and pricing

As with the United States, folks around the world can place a pre-order for the Nothing Phone 2 starting on July 11. General availability begins on July 17.

Our friends up north in Canada will pay CAD $929 for the base 8/128GB model. The 12/256GB version will cost CAD $999, and the highest end 12/512GB version will cost CAD $1,099.

In the UK, the Nothing Phone 2’s 8/128GB model is £579, the 12/256GB model is £629, and the 12/512GB model is £699.

In other regions in Europe, you’ll need to fork over €679 for the 8/128GB variant of the Nothing Phone 2, €729 for the 12/256GB variant, and €849 for the high-end 12/512GB model.

The Nothing Phone 2 will also be available in India, Australia, and a few other areas. Pricing and full availability details are coming soon.

The firm, which represented Twitter as Musk tried to back out of his deal to buy Twitter, received a $90 million fee for getting the deal over the finish line, according to The New York Times. Elon Musk’s Twitter alleges the payment is “unjust enrichment” and wants the fee to be returned.