Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Tuesday.
- The UK has rejected Apple and Google's contact-tracing API, instead launching an app that will take a more centralized approach, according to the BBC. The move is likely to alarm privacy and security experts.
- Automation Anywhere said it is cutting jobs due to the impact of the coronavirus crisis. The cuts could affect more than 10% of the startup's 2,600 employees.
- Apple may delay mass production of the iPhone 12 by about a month, according to The Wall Street Journal. The report comes after analysts and other media reports have also suggested Apple could push back the iPhone's launch by a couple of weeks or a month because of the coronavirus pandemic.
- Microsoft billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates believes an upswing in nationalism left the world ill-positioned to cope with the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking to The Times, Gates was asked whether current politicians were up to the task of responding to the crisis.
- The UK will trial using drones to deliver urgent medical supplies and equipment as part of the fight against COVID-19. Under a trial that starts this week, an autonomous drone will carry personal protective equipment from three hospitals in Hampshire, a county in southern England, to a hospital on the Isle of Wight, an island off England's south coast, and back again.
- R5 Capital downgraded Amazon's stock from a "buy" to "sell" rating on Monday, citing concerns of slowing growth and smaller profit margins amid COVID-19. It's a rare "sell" recommendation for Amazon among Wall Street analysts, as most remain bullish over the company's stock.
- WhatsApp says viral message forwarding is down 70% after it took steps to combat COVID-19 misinformation. The private messaging service announced in early April that it was placing limits on the mass-forwarding of messages in an effort to stop misinformation about the coronavirus winging its way around the world.
- Bill Gates has said his charity was giving "total attention" to the coronavirus pandemic. To date, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has an endowment of $46.8 billion, has already pledged over $250 million toward coronavirus research and response.
- Airbnb will issue cleaning standards for rentals for the first time. The rentals company is launching an opt-in programme for hosts, which will involve leaving 24 hours between different guests and giving participating hosts a stamp of approval.
- Amazon may have violated safety standards for providing "inadequate" protections to warehouse workers in New York, according to the state attorney general's office. In a letter obtained by NPR, Letitia James' office says it is continuing to investigate whether Amazon's safety measures are sufficient.
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