10 things in tech you need to know today

PewDiePie/YouTube

PewDiePie.

Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Tuesday.

1. Apple, Google, and Tesla have been accused in a lawsuit of 'aiding and abetting' child deaths in Congolese cobalt mines. The federal lawsuit is lawsuit from parents who say their children were injured or killed in cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, The Guardian first reported.
2. Apple will take a rare shareholder grilling about free speech after it removed a map app used by Hong Kong protesters. The tech giant faced intense criticism in October for its removal of an app that let Hong Kongers track police movements.
3. Twitch is being sued for $2.1 billion for broadcasting English Premier League games. Russia's third-largest internet company, Rambler Group, alleges its broadcasting rights were breached over 30,000 times between August and November, BBC News reports.
4. A US judge has swatted down a bid from California Uber drivers to make Uber convert them from contractors employees. But the judge also refused to throw out the case, Bloomberg reports.
5. Uber has filed an appeal after losing its license in London. Uber drivers will still be allowed to operate while the court fight goes on, which could take months or even years.
6. Intel acquired Israeli AI startup Habana Labs for $2 billion. Intel expects the company to be worth $25 billion within five years.
7. Researchers have built AI technology that uses algae to fight climate change, and they're planning on releasing the design so anyone can build one. With help from AI, a new bioreactor could draw out more greenhouse gas than trees.
8. YouTube's biggest star, PewDiePie, has deleted his Twitter after criticizing the media coverage of his 'break' from posting videos. After uploading a video called "I hate twitter," Felix Kjellberg (aka PewDiePie) deleted all his tweets.
9. The next-generation Xbox is simply called 'Xbox'. Microsoft is making a huge change with its next-generation Xbox: it's rebranding the console as simply "Xbox," with specific models like Series X.
10. Facebook built an entire 'Game of Thrones'-themed kingdom for its employee holiday party, complete with White Walkers, swords and archery. The lavish event took place over two days at Pier 8o on the waterfront in San Francisco, California.

Have an Amazon Alexa device? Now you can hear 10 Things in Tech each morning. Just search for "Business Insider" in your Alexa's flash briefing settings.

You can also subscribe to this newsletter here - just tick "10 Things in Tech You Need to Know."

NOW WATCH: What it's like to get laser eye surgery