Biden and Modi meet Apple, Google CEOs and other executives as Indian premier wraps state visit
President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have capped their meetings in Washington by joining top U.S. and Indian executives in talks to increase cooperation on artificial intelligence, semiconductor production and space.
Battle over the iPhone app store spills into appeals court
Apple and the company behind the popular video game Fortnite squared off Monday before three federal appellate judges who will decide the next round in a high-stakes battle over whether the iPhone app store is an illegal monopoly that stifles competition and drives up consumer prices.
Apple maintains prices on new iPhones despite inflation
Apple revealed its next line-up of iPhones will boast better cameras, faster processors, and a longer lasting battery at the same prices as last yearโs model, despite the mounting pressures of inflation that has driven up the cost of other everyday items.
Accused stalker of Apple CEO Tim Cook agrees to stay away
A woman accused of harassing Apple CEO Tim Cook with pleas for sex and other crude suggestions before showing up at his Silicon Valley home in a threatening manner last October agreed to stay way from him for the next three years under an agreement approved Tuesday.
Did Amazon violate federal laws? Lawmakers ask for DOJ probe
Lawmakers have made good on their threat to seek a criminal investigation of Amazon, asking the Justice Department to investigate whether Amazon and its senior executives obstructed Congress or violated other laws in testimony on its competition practices.
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Apple CEO faces tough questions about app store competition
Apple CEO Tim Cook described the companyโs ironclad control over its mobile app store as the best way to serve and protect iPhone users, but faced tough questions about competition issues from a judge while testifying Friday about allegations that he oversees an illegal monopoly.
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Apple CEO escalates battle with Facebook over online privacy
Apple says it will roll out a new privacy control in spring 2021 to prevent iPhone apps from secretly shadowing people. Cook's broadside came as Apple prepares to roll out a new privacy control in the early spring to prevent iPhone apps from secretly shadowing people. Apple released the latest schedule update as part of Data Privacy Day. Apple has been holding off to give Facebook and other app makers more time to adjust to a feature that will require iPhone users to give their explicit consent to being tracked. Currently, iPhone users are frequently tracked by apps they install unless they take the extra step of going into iPhone settings to prevent it.
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Khashoggi doc, too explosive for streaming, debuts on-demand
(Photo by Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP, File)NEW YORK โ Even before โThe Dissidentโ made its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, director Bryan Fogel had a sense that his explosive Jamal Khashoggi documentary was going to be a tough sell. The film, available on-demand this week, was one of the most anticipated of last January's Sundance. The audience at Sundance included Hillary Clinton, Alec Baldwin and Reed Hastings, the Netflix chief executive. Mohammed denied Saudi Arabia was behind the murder, then eventually granted it was carried out by agents of the Saudi government. โUltimately, those risk assessments took the place of whether or not their couple hundred million subscribers would like to see this film,โ Fogel says.
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Musk: Apple CEO didn't take meeting about buying Tesla
FILE - In this Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, file photo, SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives on the red carpet for the Axel Springer media award, in Berlin. In a tweet Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020, Musk said he once considered selling the electric car maker to Apple, but the iPhone makers CEO Tim Cook blew off the meeting. (Hannibal Hanschke/Pool Photo via AP, File)Tesla CEO Elon Musk says he once considered selling the electric car maker to Apple, but the iPhone makerโs CEO blew off the meeting. In a tweet Tuesday, Musk said he reached out to Apple CEO Tim Cook โto discuss the possibility of Apple acquiring Tesla (for one-tenth of our current value). Musk said he sought out the meeting with Cook โduring the darkest days of the Model 3 program,โ a reference to Teslaโs first electric car designed for the mass market.
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Apple's app stores open new privacy window for customers
CUPERTINO, Calif. โ Apple has begun spelling out what kinds of personal information is being collected by the digital services displayed in its app stores for iPhones and other products made by the trendsetting company. Starting Monday, the additional disclosures will begin to appear in apps made for iPads, Mac computers and Apple's TV streaming device, as well as its biggest moneymaker, the iPhone. Apple also has plans to impose a new mandate that will require all iPhone apps to obtain permission before tracking a personโs activities on the device. The anti-tracking feature was supposed to be released in September, but Apple delayed after Facebook and many other app makers protested. Apple is vowing to oust apps from its stores if they try to bypass the new anti-tracking rule when it becomes effective next year.
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As leaders set fresh climate goals, Biden pledges US support
Five years after a historic climate deal in Paris, world leaders are again meeting to increase their efforts to fight global warming. The outgoing administration of President Donald Trump, who pulled Washington out of the Paris accord, wasn't represented at the online gathering. โThe United States will rejoin the Paris Agreement on day one of my presidency,โ he said. The 189 countries that are party to the Paris agreement are required to submit their updated targets to the United Nations by the end of the year. Former U.N. climate chief Christiana Figueres, who was a key player at the Paris negotiations, said leaders had a duty to be optimistic about their ability to curb global warming.
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Out magazine names Lizzo, Monae, Maddow to its Out100 list
NEW YORK โ Award-winning singers Lizzo and Janelle Monae, Apple CEO Tim Cook and MSNBCโs Rachel Maddow have made Out magazineโs 2020 Out100 list. Honorees will be celebrated Saturday at the first 2020 Out100 Virtual Honoree Induction Ceremony, which will stream live at 8 p.m. EDT at Out.com/Out100Live. Others who made this yearโs list include Donald Trumpโs niece, the psychologist and author Mary Trump, former baseball player Billy Bean, teen rapper Kidd Kenn and actors Lili Reinhardt, Cheyenne Jackson, Jonathan Bennett and Dashaun Wesley. Several members of President-elect Joe Bidenโs team made the Out100 list, including Jamal Brown, Reggie Greer and Karine Jean-Pierre. ___This story corrects the spelling of Andrรฉ Leon Talley.
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Apple to cut app store fees as legal scrutiny intensifies
Both those companies have helped spur increasing scrutiny of Apple's app store practices among lawmakers and regulators in the U.S. and Europe. The app store commissions feed Apple's services division, which saw its revenue climb 16% to nearly $54 billion during the company's last fiscal year ending in September. That's because the small developers in line to qualify for the cut only contribute about 5% of Apple's app store revenue, based on SensorTower's estimates. โThis latest move further demonstrates that their app store policies are arbitrary and capricious," Spotify said in a statement. โWeโre launching this program to help small business owners write the next chapter of creativity and prosperity on the app store," Cook said in a statement.
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Senate panel moves to compel 3 social media CEOs to testify
(AP Photo/Amr Alfiky, File)WASHINGTON โ A Senate panel voted Thursday to compel testimony from the CEOs of Facebook, Google and Twitter as lawmakers opened a new front in the battle over hate speech, misinformation and perceived political bias on social media a month before the presidential election. With Trump leading the way, conservative Republicans have kept up a barrage of criticism of Silicon Valleyโs social media platforms, which they accuse without evidence of deliberately suppressing conservative views. The Justice Department has asked Congress to roll back long-held legal protections for online platforms, putting down a legislative marker in Trumpโs drive against the social media giants. At a White House event last week, officials said the legislative proposal would protect the open internet and prevent hidden manipulation by social media. The subcommittee, which is expected to issue a report on its findings soon, held a hearing Thursday at which experts discussed proposals to strengthen the antitrust laws and promote competition among Big Tech companies.
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Apple to launch first online store in India next week
FILE - In this Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020, file photo, people walk past an image of an iPhone displayed at an Apple store in Ahmedabad, India. Apple announced Friday, Sept. 18, that it will launch its first online store in India next week, as it seeks to increase sales in one of the worlds fastest-growing smartphone markets. The company at present uses third-party online and offline retailers to sell its products in the country. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki, File)NEW DELHI โ Apple announced Friday that it will launch its first online store in India next week, as it seeks to increase sales in one of the worldโs fastest-growing smartphone markets. The company at present uses third-party online and offline retailers to sell its products in the country.
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Apple debuts discount watch, but no new iPhones ... yet
In this still image provided by Apple from the keynote video of a special event at Apple Park in Cupertino, Calif., Apple's Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams unveils Apple Watch Series 6 on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020. The Apple Watch has never come close to rivaling the iPhone's popularity, but it does dominate the market for smartwatches. Canaccord Genuity analyst T. Michael Walkley estimates about 51 million Apple Watches will be sold this year, a 5% increase from last year. The new discount model, called the Apple Watch SE, will sell for $279 and be available beginning Friday. Apple watches have been selling for an average of $377, based on Walkleyโs calculations.
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MTA asks Apple's help to solve iPhone mask issues
FILE - In this April 7, 2020, file photo, some people wear masks while using the New York City subway system during the coronavirus pandemic in New York. Previously, an iPhone user wearing a mask would have to wait a few seconds as face recognition software tried to identify them before they eventually could enter a passcode. Also, Apple Pay Express Transit, introduced last year, allows riders on some bus and subway lines to pay with their iPhone or Apple Watch without having to wake the device. Bus and subway use in New York and other cities plunged during the height of the pandemic. The authority has said in recent weeks that more than 90% are wearing some form of face covering.
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Lawmakers batter Big Tech CEOs, but don't land many blows
(Graeme Jennings/Pool via AP)WASHINGTON Congressional lawmakers finally got a chance to grill the CEOs of Big Tech over their dominance and allegations of monopolistic practices that stifle competition. While the executives faced hostile questioning and frequent interruptions from lawmakers of both parties, little seemed to land more than glancing blows. But Stephen Beck, CEO of the management consulting firm cg42, said the tech companies and their brands emerged relatively unscathed. As Democrats largely focused on market competition, several Republicans aired longstanding grievances, claiming the tech companies are censoring conservative voices and questioning their business activities in China. While forced breakups may appear unlikely, the wide scrutiny of Big Tech points toward possible new restrictions on its power.
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The Latest: Zuckerberg questioned on viral misinformation
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks via video conference during a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on antitrust on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, July 29, 2020, in Washington. His comments came Wednesday during a congressional hearing into the market dominance of four tech giants Amazon, Google, Facebook and Apple. Zuckerberg's comments came at hearing that also featured Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. The questioning came at a congressional hearing that also featured Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. He is Jeff Bezos.
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4 Big Tech CEOs getting heat from Congress on competition
A key question: Whether existing competition policies and century-old antitrust laws are adequate for overseeing the tech giants, or if new legislation and enforcement funding is needed. While forced breakups may appear unlikely, the wide scrutiny of Big Tech points toward possible new restrictions on its power. The companies face legal and political offensives on multiplying fronts, from Congress, the Trump administration, federal and state regulators and European watchdogs. I understand that people have concerns about the size and perceived power that tech companies have, Zuckerberg's statement says. He is making the case that the fees Apple charges apps to sell services and other goods are reasonable, especially compared with what other tech companies collect.
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Spotlight on 4 Big Tech CEOs testifying in competition probe
The House Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust is capping its yearlong investigation of Big Techs market dominance with Wednesdays teleconferenced hearing spotlighting the four CEOs. The tech companies now face legal and political offensives on multiplying fronts, from Congress, the Trump administration, federal and state regulators and European watchdogs. Facebooks fiercest critics in Congress, including liberal Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren and conservative Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, have put breaking up Big Tech companies on the table. He also met privately with key lawmakers and with President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly criticized the tech companies and asserted without evidence that they are biased against him. Cook is expected to lay out the case that the fees Apple charges apps to sell services and other goods are reasonable, especially compared with what other tech companies collect.
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Zuckerberg, Bezos, other tech CEOs testify on competition
This Sept. 19, 2019 photo shows Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos arriving to a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington. Bezos is willing to testify to the congressional panel investigating the market dominance of Big Tech, but along with other tech industry CEOs, lawyers for the company say, according to a published report Monday, June 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)WASHINGTON Four Big Tech CEOs Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg, Amazons Jeff Bezos, Google's Sundar Pichai and Apple's Tim Cook will answer for their companies practices before Congress at a hearing Wednesday by the House Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust. The panel has conducted a bipartisan investigation over the past year of the tech giants market dominance and their effect on consumers. Its the first such congressional review of the tech industry.
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Apple previews new iPhone software, changes to Mac chips
(Brooks Kraft/Apple Inc. via AP)Apple on Monday provided a glimpse at upcoming software changes designed to make the iPhone even easier to use and announced underlying hardware changes to its line of Mac computers. In recognition of the pandemic, Apples next iPhone operating system will include an option to put a face mask on a personalized emoji. Upgraded software for the Apple Watch will detect when wearers wash their hands. Apple also said its Mac computers will begin shifting to the company's own processor chips and away from the Intel chips that have powered those computers for 15 years. Some Macs will have the Apple chips before the end of the year, but the full transition away from Intel chips wont be completed until 2022.
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Netflix CEO to donate $120M to historically black colleges
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and his wife, Patty Quillin, are donating $120 million toward student scholarships at historically black colleges and universities. The couple is giving $40 million to each of three institutions: the United Negro College Fund, Spelman College and Morehouse College. The organizations said it is the largest individual gift in support of student scholarships at HBCUs. He launched a $100 million education fund in 2016, beginning with money toward college scholarships for black and Latino students. YouTube, meanwhile, pledged $100 million to help black artists and other creators.