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FTC to fine Facebook £4bn over Cambridge Analytica Data Harvesting Scandal

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has voted to approve a £4bn ($5bn) settlement with Facebook over the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The fine is the largest-ever imposed by the FTC for violating an order and is in line with what the company said it expected to pay in its quarterly report in April. In July, the ICO issued a Notice of Intent to fine Facebook as part of a wide ranging investigation into the use of data analytics for political purposes.
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FedEx sues U.S. Department of Commerce

FedEx has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Commerce to stop it from enforcing certain export restrictions against the company. In a statement, FedEx didn’t name Huawei specifically but the filing comes after the company has botched Huawei-related shipments on at least two occasions.
NewsUS
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Apple teams up with Best Buy for expanded repair service

Apple today announced the completion of a major expansion of its Apple authorised service network. With nearly 1,000 Best Buy stores across the US now providing expert service and repairs for Apple products, customers have even easier and more convenient access to safe and reliable repairs.
USApple
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Google Assistant rolling out to Waze Android app

Rolling out to Android phones in the United States, beginning today, Google Assistant will be fully integrated into Waze so users won’t have to tap on their screens to get things done. Many of Waze’s most popular features will be supported, such as reporting traffic jams, calling out potholes, and checking for alternate routes.
AppsUSAndroidAutomotive
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Huawei

White House wants the US to postpone Huawei restrictions

It has been hard to miss but back in May the US commerce department added trade restrictions on Huawei and discontinued its business with American firms, and now the Trump government’s acting chief is asking for a postpone in restrictions on Huawei’s products.
USHuawei
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Huawei granted three month reprieve from ban

The US Department of Commerce has issued a licence allowing US companies to keep doing business with Huawei for the next three months. The company now has a Temporary General License to engage with U.S. vendors on a limited basis.
USHuawei
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Trump bans Huawei in United States

President Trump has issued an executive order giving his administration sweeping powers to block Huawei and other foreign communications firms from doing business in the United States.
HuaweiUS
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Apple App Store

Customers can sue Apple for App Store monopoly rules US Supreme Court

The US Supreme Court has said customers could sue Apple over the 30 per cent commission it charges developers who want to sell apps through its App Store, paving the way for a landmark antitrust lawsuit filed by iPhone owners who argued that Apple’s “walled garden” for apps is anti-competitive.
USApple
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Smartphone Shipments hit 5 year low in North America

Smartphone shipments in North America dropped 18 percent in Q1 2019 to a five-year low of 36.4 million units.While the region’s biggest ever recorded fall in smartphone sales is being credited primarily to Apple’s lacklustre performance, the iPhone maker remained the clear leader despite suffering a regional decline of 19%.
NewsUS
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Data Breach

Data Breach Exposes 80 Million US Household Details

A hack discovered by us-based firm vpnMentor that has exposed a database of 80 million (nearly 65 percent) American households. The unprotected 24GB database, hosted on Microsoft Cloud servers, includes the number of people living in each household with their full names, their marital status, income bracket, age, and more. While some information is available freely, other data like title, gender, etc are coded.
NewsUS
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Qualcomm

Apple and Qualcomm Huge Legal Battle Kicks Off in San Diego

Apple and Qualcomm head to court in San Diego Monday, in what could be one of the biggest US corporate lawsuits Apple Chief Executivr Tim Cook is expected to give testimony in a four-week trial in a federal court in which the iPhone maker and four companies in its supply chain are suing Qualcomm for up to $27bn in damages for overcharged chip royalties.
AppleUS
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Facebook

HUD charges Facebook with housing discrimination

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)  is charging Facebook with violating the Fair Housing Act by encouraging, enabling, and causing housing discrimination through the company’s advertising platform.
NewsUS
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Apple Card

Apple Card is Apple’s new Credit Card

Apple launched a credit card at the “Show Time” event called Apple Card. It’s an actual titanium-based MasterCard credit card made in partnership with Goldman Sachs. The card has no late fees, annual fees, over limit fees, and international fees. The card will have your name etched with laser on the card.
USFinancialApple
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Instagram launches in-app shopping in US

Instagram is launching an online shopping feature that will allow users to buy products directly within the Instagram app, marking a major move into ecommerce and a bid to tap new revenue streams.
AppsUS
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US Court tells Qualcomm to pay Apple nearly $1billion in Rebate Payments

The never-ending mess of Apple and Qualcomm legal disputes continued today.  While a court in California was awarding Qualcomm $31 million in damages against Apple, a Federal court in the US was ruling that Qualcomm owes Apple nearly a billion dollars, or £754 million from previous payment agreements.
USApple
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Qualcomm

Qualcomm awarded $31 million in Apple Patent Infringement Case

A jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California has found that Apple iPhone 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus and X infringe two Qualcomm patents, U.S. Patent No. 8,838,949, and U.S. Patent No. 9,535,490, and Apple iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X infringe Qualcomm's U.S. Patent No. 8,633,936.
AppleUS
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Huawei Sues United States Government

Huawei has filed a lawsuit against the United States government over a provision (Section 889) to the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that effectively bans all US government agencies from using products manufactured by the company (as well as ZTE), over spying concerns.
USChinaHuawei
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Microsoft and Invenergy sign solar agreement

Microsoft will become the sole offtaker of the energy generated by the Wilkinson Solar Energy Center, a 74-megawatt solar project in North Carolina that will be constructed, owned and operated by Invenergy after the companies today announced a 74-megawatt solar project in North Carolina.
MicrosoftUS
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Verizon

Verizon acquires ProtectWise

In addition to adding BlackBerry Cylance’s artificial intelligence (AI)-based endpoint security products to its managed security services portfolio, Verizon further added to its security portfolio with an acquisition of ProtectWise.
USConnected
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Apple implements AT&T’s Fake 5G E Network Icon

In the United States, AT&T has been creating a lot of controversy for its 5G Evolution (5G E) naming, which is the company’s consumer-facing name for LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) technology. 5G E in essence is an extension of existing 4G LTE technology and is not in fact true 5G.
US5GApple
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US files fraud charges against Huawei

The US justice department has filed charges against Chinese company Huawei.  A 13-count indictment was unsealed in New York charging Huawei, two of its affiliates and a senior executive at the company. The charges include bank fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
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HMD partners with Cricket, Verizon and Rogers to offer latest Nokia phones

HMD Global has announced collaborations with three leading wireless providers in North America – Cricket Wireless and Verizon in the United States and Rogers in Canada. HMD Global is also expanding its selection of Nokia smartphones on Android with the launch of two wireless provider-specific devices coming to the United States this month and another coming to Rogers subsidiary brand, chatr, in Canada very soon.
AndroidDevices and OSUSCanada
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iPhone XR colours

iPhone XR attracting Android Users in the U.S.

Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) released the results of its analysis of the first 30 days of iPhone XR sales in the U.S. In short, not only is the iPhone XR one of Apple's best-selling iPhones, but it's also one of the most appealing iOS-based phones for Android users.
OpinionUS
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Verizon

Verizon and Samsung plan to release 5G smartphone in U.S. in first half of 2019

Verizon and Samsung plan to bring one of the first commercial 5G smartphones to market in the first half of 2019. The companies will unveil a proof of concept, powered by the upcoming flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon Mobile Platform with the Snapdragon X50 5G NR modem and antenna modules with integrated RF transceiver, RF front-end and antenna elements, at the annual Qualcomm Snapdragon Technology Summit in Maui this week.
USSamsung5GConnected
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Amazon

Amazon Launches New Business Prime Benefits in US, Germany and Japan

Amazon Business today launched new Business Prime benefits for businesses of all sizes in the United States, Germany and Japan. Business Prime now helps members visualize spend data and identify money-saving opportunities with Spend Visibility, as well as set policies to improve compliance and maximize their budget with Guided Buying.
AmazonGermanyNewsUS
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Pandora

SiriusXM to acquire Pandora

SiriusXM is to acquire Pandora in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $3.5 billion, the companies announced Monday. According to the announcement, the deal will create the world’s largest audio-entertainment company, with more than $7 billion in projected revenue in 2018.
NewsUS
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Square launches Square Reader SDK for Developers

Square today launched the Square Reader SDK, giving Android and iOS developers the ability to use Square hardware to accept in-person payments directly from within their own application, with no app-switch required. With only a few lines of code, developers can quickly add EMV- and PCI-compliant in-person payments to any Android or iOS app.
USDevelopers
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Security

US Supreme Court rules a warrant must be obtained to access Phone Location Data

The US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on Friday that police must get a warrant in order to obtain your phone’s location data over an extended period of time. The decision is a major victory for privacy advocates, who have long argued that the law has failed to keep pace with the amount of intrusive data we voluntarily hand over to private companies.
NewsUS
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Verizon

Verizon Certifies Sequans LTE-M/NB-IoT Monarch SiP

Sequans Communications has announced that Verizon has certified its Monarch SiP all-in-one, LTE-M/NB-IoT connectivity solution. Monarch SiP (system-in-package) integrates Sequans’ Monarch LTE baseband platform with an RF front-end module in the world’s smallest form factor.
USConnected
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BlackBerry Secure World Tour 2018

Zia Consulting Joins BlackBerry Secure World Tour 2018

Zia Consulting announced today that it will participate in and sponsor three stops of the BlackBerry Secure World Tour 2018, the premier industry event for business leaders to gain insights into the hyperconnected world of people, enterprises, assets, and infrastructure.
USBlackBerry
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T-Mobile and Sprint

T-Mobile and Sprint announce plans to merge their operations

T-Mobile US and Sprint today announced they have entered into a definitive agreement to merge in an all-stock transaction at a fixed exchange ratio of 0.10256 T-Mobile shares for each Sprint share or the equivalent of 9.75 Sprint shares for each T-Mobile US share.
NewsUS
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Snapchat

BlackBerry files patent infringement lawsuit against Snap Inc

BlackBerry has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Snap Inc. SImilar to the companies lawsuit against Facebook last month, BlackBerry says that Snap has infringed on intellectual property, including innovations on real-time activity location for maps, message notification techniques and methods for integrating advertising on mobile devices.
USBlackBerry
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BlackBerry 10 Jam

BlackBerry to face amended lawsuit over Misleading BlackBerry 10 prospects

Back in March of 2015, BlackBerry won the dismissal of a U.S. lawsuit accusing it of fraudulently inflating its stock price by painting a misleadingly upbeat picture of the prospects for its BlackBerry 10 smartphones. However, after the plaintiffs submitted an amended lawsuit, over statements related to blackberry 10, a US Judge has rejected BlackBerry's request to dismiss the amended lawsuit.
USBlackBerry
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Facebook

US and EU urge probes of Facebook data practices

UK privacy regulators are seeking a warrant to search the offices of the political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, following reports that the company may have improperly gained access to data on 50 million Facebook users.
UKNewsUS
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Broadcom

Trump kills off Broadcom’s attempted takeover of Qualcomm with national security order

Donald Trump has blocked Broadcom's $142bn (£102m) takeover of US rival Qualcomm, killing the biggest technology deal ever under the assertion that it would be a threat to U.S. national security. In an order issued on Monday evening, the US president said there was "credible evidence" that led him to believe that, in buying Qualcomm, Broadcom "might take action that that threatens to impair the national security of the United States".
USNews
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Euro Tech Week

Euro Tech Week Kicks Off At CES 2018

Global startups and digital stakeholders will all be networking during Euro Tech Week happening at CES 18. Euro Tech Week allows CES international visitors and exhibitors to meet, exchange, and possibly start collaborating between themselves and with US counterparts before and during CES.
NewsUS
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Apple Pay Cash officially launches in US

Apple has officially launched Apple Pay Cash today for all iOS 11.2 users with an eligible iPhone or iPad model in the United States. Apple Pay Cash allows for quick person-to-person money transfers, much like competing services..
USFinancialApple
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Hacker

San Francisco sues Equifax over massive data breach

Equifax is being sued by the city of San Francisco. City Attorney Dennis Herrera has filed a lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court for “failing to protect the personal data of more than 15 million Californians,”.
NewsUS
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Samsung and Verizon First 5G Customer Trials Set to Begin in Mid 2017

Samsung and Verizon have completed deployment of 5G systems in five U.S. cities in preparation to begin customer trials of 5G technology. The customer trials, beginning in April, will deliver fixed wireless access to customers through 5G connectivity in order to gauge user experiences, evaluate the performance of 5G technologies, and help streamline the delivery of mmWave 5G across various environments.
ConnectedUSSamsung5G
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patent trademark

BlackBerry files patent suit against Nokia

In what could be perceived as a surprise move, BlackBerry launched an infringement suit against Nokia Corp. in a US court Tuesday for allegedly using 11 of BlackBerry's patents that describe proprietary technology.
BlackBerryUS
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