United States

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has finalized a new rule that will bring Apple Pay and other major digital wallet services under the same oversight as banks. The CFPB today announced that, effective 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register, digital payment platforms processing over 50 million annual transactions in U.S. dollars will be subject to federal...

Apple's A16 chips are now being manufactured on American soil at TSMC's Arizona plant, according to Taiwan-based independent journalist Tim Culpan. The A16 chip, which debuted in the iPhone 14 Pro two years ago, is reportedly being produced in small but meaningful quantities at TSMC's Fab 21 facility in Arizona. The chips are said to be manufactured using the same 4nm N4P process employed in ...

Apple has reached a provisional agreement with its first unionized retail store in Towson, Maryland, marking a significant development in the company's labor relations (via Bloomberg). Apple has agreed to a tentative collective bargaining agreement with retail employees at its Towson store, the first of its kind for the company's operations in the United States. The International Association ...

WhatsApp this week reached a significant milestone of 100 million monthly active users in the United States, a market traditionally dominated by other messaging services such as SMS and iMessage. The achievement, announced in an official blog post, indicates a potential shift in the American messaging landscape, where WhatsApp has steadily gained ground despite the longstanding popularity of ...

Apple has committed to a set of voluntary AI safeguards established by President Joe Biden's administration, joining other tech giants in a move to ensure responsible AI development (via Bloomberg). Apple is now part of the a group of influential technology companies agreeing to the Biden administration's voluntary safeguards for artificial intelligence. The safeguards, announced by the...

Apple today announced a multibillion-dollar deal with American technology company Broadcom to make several key components for its devices in the United States. The multi-year agreement with Broadcom will see Apple use 5G radio frequency and wireless connectivity components, including FBAR filters, that are designed and manufactured in the U.S. Apple CEO Tim Cook said: We're thrilled to make...

A report commissioned by the Biden administration this week recommended new legislation to make major changes to Apple's platform restrictions and App Store policies. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is the president's main advisor on telecommunications and Internet policy. In April last year, the NTIA announced that it had launched an investigation into...

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has launched an investigation into competition in mobile app ecosystems. On behalf of the United States Department of Commerce, the NTIA is now requesting comments about competition in mobile app ecosystems. The investigation was triggered by an executive order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy from July...

Currently, when users in a certain area face potentially bad weather, threats of danger, or a nearby AMBER alert, their iPhone or other smartphone sounds off and displays a message explaining the emergency. In new legislation shared today, United States senators Brian Schatz and John Thune hope to "explore" ways this system could improve to enhance reliability, including implementing these...

Last month, Europe implemented its General Data Protection Regulation in an effort to protect the data of all individuals within the European Union, with some aspects affecting users worldwide. According to a new report by Axios, the White House is "in the early stages" of figuring out what a federal approach to online data privacy would look like in the United States. So far, special...

In a renewed effort to clamp down on potentially threatening drone use, the United States Department of Homeland Security today will be urging Congress to approve new anti-drone legislation. Specifically, the proposed legislation would give the U.S. federal government new powers "to disable or destroy" any drone perceived to be "threatening" (via Reuters). The DHS deputy general counsel Hayley ...