The Great Firewall of China is well established, but Russia is set to take an equally censorious approach. A new law that will come into force on November 1 gives the country a “sovereign internet.” It could isolate Russia from the rest of the web, the Financial Times reported.

The bill, which goes into force on November 1, requires internet service providers to filter all traffic through special nodes under the control of Roscomnadzor, the Kremlin’s internet censor. The Kremlin will compel ISPs and other communications services to test the system at an unspecified time later this year. Though it remains largely unclear how — or even whether — the disconnect would work in practice, the move would theoretically make it easier for Roscomnadzor to enforce its highly inefficient blocks of banned websites, messaging app Telegram, and non-compliant VPN services.

Tech firms are increasingly focussed on being eco-friendly and reducing their contribution to climate change. Tim Cook has made it a key value of Apple’s. Wired looked at the progress that Apple and other tech firms are making in the fight against climate change, particularly in their data centers.

Apple breaks down the energy mix of its US data centers in its sustainability report, and that shows where real progress is being made. Its Newark, California data center pulls from the grid, but via that state’s Direct Access system Apple can buy directly from suppliers. There, it claims its energy is “mostly wind”, and takes that to mean there were no emissions. On the other hand, its Reno, Nevada data centre is 99 per cent powered by Apple’s own solar panels, with less than one per cent from purchase agreements — there’s no question where the power is coming from.

Speaking at Facebook’s F8 developer conference Tuesday, Mark Zuckerberg laid out his company’s new privacy-focussed approached. Mike Isaac looked at the announcements and spoke to the CEO himself for the New York Times.

Mr. Zuckerberg is working to integrate and encrypt Facebook’s different messaging services, which include WhatsApp and Messenger. The company also plans to continue emphasizing its Stories product, which allows people to post updates that disappear after 24 hours. And it unveiled a spare, stark white look for Facebook, a departure from the site’s largely blue-tinted design. The features, when combined, “will end up creating a more trustworthy platform,” Mr. Zuckerberg said in an interview. “Everywhere you can see and connect with friends, you’ll be able to see and connect with groups; it’s going to be woven into the fabric of Facebook.”

Apple is no stranger to patent and legal tussles. However, one currently happening in Germany is a bit out of the ordinary. It thinks a German bike path’s logo is too similar, AppleInsider reported.

The logo for the “Apfelroute” — Apple Route — was registered with the German Patent and Trademark Office in 2018, and is already in use for tourism marketing in the Rhine-Voreifel region, said Westdeutscher Rundfunk. Lawyers for Apple have not only filed an appeal with the GPTO, but sent cease-and-desist letters to Rhine-Voreifel Tourism. Apple’s trademark objections revolve around the Apfelroute’s green leaf and “bitten” side.