Spotify Poised To Pass Up Apple Podcasts; Twitter Unveils 5-Strike System Banning Users Who Lie About Covid-19; Microsoft Adding Encryption to One-to-One Teams Calls; Hyzon Motors- Hydrogen Fuel Cells from US Plants

Apple has been a big place to be for Podcasts, but it’ looking like Spotify is gaining on them. According to 9to5mac.com, the audio platform may be close to passing up Apple in monthly US podcast listenership. Spotify blew past Apple in 2019 in Europe, India, and South America, but Apple has continued to be king of the hill in the US. eMarketer forecasts that Spotify monthly podcast listenership in the US will hit 28.2 million, beating Apple’s 28 million. That’s not all…they predict that in the next 2 years, Spotify will grow to 37.5 million, while Apple stalls out at 28.8 million.

It may be late to the party, but still a welcome move. Twitter is starting up a 5-strike system today, that will ultimately result in banning users that spread misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines and the pandemic. Gizmodo.com reports that Twitter will ban all medical info that’s “demonstrably false or misleading and may lead to significant risk of harm.”  This new policy comes after a Twitter announcement the end of the year that it would take action to ‘protect the public conversation around Covid-19. 

Twitter’s five-strike policy will be enforced starting today, as the company explains:

• One strike: no account-level action
• Two strikes: 12-hour account lock
• Three strikes: 12-hour account lock
• Four strikes: 7-day account lock
• Five or more strikes: permanent suspension

In an announcement on the 1st day of Microsoft’s virtual Ignite Spring 2 event, they revealed a new-channel sharing feature coming to Teams later this year. It’s called Teams Connect, and allows users to hare channels with anyone…internal or external…to one’s organization. Zdnet.com notes that Teams will also now support end-to-end encryption for one-to-one Teams calls. Also, more came out on ‘Teams Pro.’ Users can organize webinars for those inside and outside an organization of up to 1,000 attendees. 

All the buzz is on EVs…electric vehicles (or BEVs…battery electric, if you insist), but the push for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles has not slowed. According to TechCrunch.com, Hyzon Motors will produce fuel cells at two US factories, in a move to jumpstart domestic production at a commercial scale. Hyzon is a new name, but has spun off from Singapore’s Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies…which has been developing fuel cell tech since 2003. They are already in Asia and Europe. Although focused on heavy vehicles like trucks for now, Hyzon thinks we will see more and more hydrogen vehicles in the car sector. There are already a handful on the road.