LinkedIn is now also available in Hindi; Big Tech may challenge India’s data law; $120mln drained in a crypto heist; plus, Google is making a smartwatch

LinkedIn has started supporting Hindi—the first Indian regional language on the professional network—to support 600 million Hindi language speakers globally, the company said in a press release. With the launch of Hindi, LinkedIn now supports 25 languages globally. As part of the phase 1 rollout of LinkedIn in Hindi, members will be able to access their feed, profile, jobs, messaging, and create content in Hindi on desktop and their Android and iOS phones. The platform will also continue to add more Hindi publishers and creators in the coming weeks to boost member engagement and conversations in Hindi. Big Tech is preparing to legally challenge certain provisions in India’s data protection bill if lawmakers accept and adopt all the recommendations of the Joint Committee of Parliament in the final legislation, Economic Times reports. The biggest point of contention is a proposal to classify social media platforms as publishers as it places the onus for user-generated content on internet companies. That could impact companies including Facebook, Google’s YouTube, Twitter, and WhatsApp—all of whom stand to lose the safe harbour or immunity currently provided by the Information Technology Act, 2000. Someone drained funds from multiple cryptocurrency wallets connected to the decentralised finance platform BadgerDAO on Wednesday, The Verge reports. According to the blockchain security and data analytics Peckshield, which is working with Badger to investigate the heist, the various tokens stolen in the attack are worth about $120 million. While the investigation is still ongoing, members of the Badger team have told users that they believe the issue came from someone inserting a malicious script in the UI of their website.  Timnit Gebru, the Google AI researcher who was fired controversially a year ago, has launched a new research institute to ask questions about responsible use of artificial intelligence that she says Google and other tech companies won’t, Wired reports. Gebru is now the founder and executive director of Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research. “Instead of fighting from the inside, I want to show a model for an independent institution with a different set of incentive structures,” she says. In more Google news, the internet search giant is planning to launch its smartwatch next year, Slashdot reports, citing a report from Insider, which is behind a paywall. "Two employees said a spring launch was possible if the latest testing round is a success, however, all sources stressed that details and timelines were subject to change depending on feedback from employees testing the device," reports Insider. The device, which is internally codenamed ‘Rohan,’ (from the Lord of the Rings maybe) will showcase the latest version of Google's smartwatch software to customers and partners, according to Slashdot. Tesla says it plans to ship a smaller version of its Cyberquad EV, named 'Cyberquad for Kids' in four weeks, MobileSyrup reports. While the Cyberquad—which cost $1900—maybe targeted for kids, Tesla's Head of Design says that adults can ride it as well. The company's website states that the little quad has 15 miles (24 km) of range and can go up to 10mph (16km/h). Its battery takes around five hours to charge, according to the report.