10 things in tech you need to know today

Good morning! Here's the tech news you need to know midweek.

1. Europe has agreed tough new data protection rules for tech companies, Companies could be fined up to 4% of their turnover for failing to comply, as Forbes reports.

2. Slack, the red-hot messaging app worth $2.8 billion (£1.9 billion), just launched an app store and VC fund. It wants to become the central platform for all work communications.

3. Facebook quietly tested a Yelp competitor and Yelp's stock plummeted 9%. The social network is experimenting with letting users find the top-rated businesses in their area.

4. Top Apple exec Craig Federighi has explained the genius behind Swift, the company's smash hit programming language. "We saw open sourcing as a critical element to make Swift reach its potential to be the language, the major language for the next 20 years of programming in our industry," he said.

5. Donald Trump wants to close "areas" of the internet "where we are at war with somebody." The bombastic businessman made the comments during the Republican presidential debate on Tuesday night.

6. Facebook is changing how it enforces its real name policy. The social network has come under sustained criticism for the rules, and it's making it easier for users to explain the names they use, according to The Verge.

7. Apple is shuttering the social analytics firm Topsy. The Cupertino company acquired the service for $200 million (£133 million) two years ago, TechCrunch reports.

8. A British man has been arrested over the hack of toy company VTech that left 6.5 million kids' details exposed. He is 21 and from Berkshire, England, and held under suspicion of offences connected to the Computer Misuse Act.

9. Ashley Madison users are now receiving blackmail demands in the post. Five months after the extra-marital affairs website's devastating hack, the human effects are still being felt.

10. Google has launched a "Star Wars" game for Google Chrome that lets you use your smartphone as a lighsaber. It's one of a series of tie-ins between the search giant and Disney.