Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

Microsoft is fighting the US Justice Department in an attempt to quash a law that prevents companies informing customers that the government is requesting their data. The technology giant has the backing of other tech companies as well as media outlets.

Amazon, Apple, Google, Fox News, Electronic Frontier Foundation and Mozilla are among those offering their support to Microsoft. The lawsuit says that blocking companies from keeping their customers informed is unconstitutional, and it comes at a time when tech companies in particular are keen to be as open and transparent as possible about government requests for data.

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Facebook, like Twitter, is going all in on video. The social network's latest move is to bring video to its second greatest love -- Facebook Messenger. You'd be forgiven for thinking that this is not exactly new, and you'd be right.

Facebook Messenger has included a video calling option, but Facebook is concerned that this is being reserved for 'special occasions'. Instant Video is an extra new feature that is designed to make it easier to show things that can't be properly described in words, or even static pictures.

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The tax paying habits of big businesses are back in the headlines now that Apple is facing a $14.5 billion bill in Ireland -- although Tim Cook vehemently disagrees. In the wake of the Irish Apple tax ruling, 71 percent of SMEs say that the UK tax system benefits big businesses and makes thing harder for the little guy.

The figures apply to the UK's micro-businesses (those with under 10 employees) and self-employed individuals, only 1 percent of whom feel the system is working for their benefit.

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As of today, Thursday 1 September, if you stream any content from BBC iPlayer without owning a TV licence, you are breaking the law. But as with licences for televisions, it's not clear how -- or, indeed, if -- the BBC will be checking to see whether watchers have paid up or not.

If you fire up BBC iPlayer now, you'll be greeted by a nag screen that asks: "Got a TV licence? You need one to watch any BBC programme on iPlayer -- live, catch-up or on-demand. It's the law". Viewers need to click to indicate whether or not they have a licence, and of course there is nothing to stop people from lying. What is not known, though, is whether privacy-invading snooping will be used to perform licence checks.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook, talking to Ireland's RTÉ News, says that allegations put forward by the European Commission that his company owes $14.5 billion in back tax are 'maddening'. He is also very confident that the Commission's ruling will be overturned on appeal.

Echoing an open letter published earlier in the week, Cook said that the claims that Apple was given preferential treatment and special tax arrangements in Ireland have "no basis in fact or in law". The Irish cabinet has already met to discuss how to tackle the appeal that Apple is expected to launch, but has yet to reach a decision. The appeal will see Apple restating Tim Cook's claim that the tax figure put forward by Europe is "false".

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YouTube 'personality' (or walking, talking, narcissistic ego with a webcam, depending on your point of view) PewDiePie has been kicked off Twitter -- just like @Nero. It comes just a day after the internet star was stripped of his blue verification checkmark.

The debacle kicked off when Pewdi… sorry, Felix Kjellberg... lost his blue badge and he subsequently posted a video in which he revealed the 'reason' for this. A fake news story had popped up suggesting he had links with ISIS, and Kjellberg used his video to 'joke' that he had in fact joined ISIS. The ban hammer swiftly followed.

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Google's seemingly relentless expansion into just about every field of business looks set to continue as the company prepares to enter the ride-sharing arena. The likes of Lyft and Uber have already proved that there is a strong demand for such car-pooling services.

Following on from a pilot program in San Francisco, Google is set to make use of its Waze app to put commuters in touch with each other. Come the end of 2016, the program will be opened up to anyone in the Bay Area, with the possibility of a wider expansion later.

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Google has announced an update to the search function on Android devices. Helpfully named In Apps, the new search mode makes it possible to not only search online for information, but to scour the apps you have installed.

The update means that it's now easier than ever to find particular messages, files, videos and contacts. There's no need to have a data connection to make use of the new search mode, meaning that Android search now operates far more like searching from the Start menu in Windows 10.

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Twitter is to start sharing ad revenue generated by videos with the people who create those videos. The monetization model will start in the US for now, but it opens up a platform that was previously only available to big names such as the NFL and CBS.

All of the key players in social media are focusing their efforts on video, and in giving users the opportunity to make money through their footage, Twitter is really upping the ante. It's a move that pits the company against the likes of YouTube, and one that will be seen as a desperate bid to attract more users.

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Amazon Dash Button is now available in the UK. For anyone who finds logging into their Amazon account to place an order for everyday things like loo roll and coffee difficult, this physical button (thought by many to be an April Fool a couple of years ago) does the 'hard' work for you.

Available exclusively to Amazon Prime members, the Amazon Dash Button is available for a number of top brands and is (effectively) free. Amazon describes the button as "the Wi-Fi-connected device that conveniently reorders your favourite products with the simple press of a button", but it's hard not to see it as a product that panders to the terminally lazy and those under the illusion that their time is the most valuable.

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Apple is facing a bill of €13 billion (around $14.5 billion) after the European Commission ruled that Ireland granted the company illegal tax benefits. Ireland permitted Apple to pay "substantially less tax than other businesses", and the Commission has decided that not only is this illegal, but the money must be recovered.

A three-year investigation concluded that Apple was paying corporation tax of just 1 percent in Ireland. The tax arrangement meant that Apple's tax bill was "artificially lowered" -- down to as low as 0.005 percent in 2014. Ireland is used by many technology companies for its favorable tax rates, but the European Commission's ruling could have implications not just for Apple, but for its rivals and contemporaries.

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On all mobile platforms -- and, indeed, desktop ones -- there are no end of apps and websites that can be used to earn money and other rewards in return for providing feedback. Google, however, has a different idea.

The company has released a new app for Android called Crowdsource. The idea is to improve the likes of Google Maps and Google Translate with input from the likes of you and I. But rather than paying contributors -- or even offering any kind of incentive -- Google is rather cheekily looking for help completely gratis.

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If your Surface Pro 3 has been plagued with battery issues, Microsoft has some good news for you -- there's now a fix available. Not that there was actually a problem in the first place, you understand...

While many people were under the impression that their Surface Pro 3 had developed a physical battery problem, an issue with the firmware was preventing it from being fully charged.

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Kim Dotcom has never been a man to shy away from the public eye, and his upcoming trial is not going to see that change. Facing extradition to the US where he faces numerous charges, Dotcom has won the right to have the hearing live streamed on YouTube.

It's fair to say that there will be a good deal of interest in the content and outcome of the hearing, but the judge who agreed to the live streaming has insisted that a few restrictions be put in place. Firstly there will be a 20-minute delay (so not technically a 'live' stream), and comments will be disabled as well.

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Iran, much like China, is not a country that has the best reputation when it comes to granting citizens unfettered access to the internet. Now, a new initiative is underway, which sees the roll out of its own 'domestic internet', dubbed the National Information Network.

The country is rolling out its own national internet in a bid to provide affordable internet access to people, but there are concerns that there will be severe limits placed on online activity. Iran already blocks access to the likes of Facebook and Twitter, and a government-controlled internet, it is feared, could lead to a further erosion of privacy and individual control.

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