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EU lawmakers reach a deal on the basics of major legislation meant to address the negative side of online platforms.

Lawmakers in the European Union reached an agreement Saturday on the basic points of major legislation designed to curb negative impacts from social media sites and other digital platforms.

The Digital Services Act would, among other things, compel services including Facebook, Google, Twitter and others to crack down on the spread of disinformation on their platforms and to reveal how their algorithms recommend content to users. The DSA would also prohibit certain kinds of ads on the platforms, such as targeted ads aimed at children or tailored to people’s ethnicity or sexual orientation.

“With the DSA we help create a safe and accountable online environment,” European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement. “Platforms should be transparent about their content moderation decisions, prevent dangerous disinformation from going viral and avoid unsafe products being offered on market places. With today’s agreement we ensure that platforms are held accountable for the risks their services can pose to society and citizens.”

The DSA is one of two pillars of a major tech-regulation overhaul first unveiled in draft form by the EU in December 2020. The other pillar, the Digital Markets Act, received preliminary approval last month and is designed to address issues such as anticompetitive behavior. Both acts still await a final vote, but major changes aren’t expected. The EU has also passed the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, which is designed to give people more control over the collection and sharing of their personal information.

Europe has long taken the lead in efforts to rein in big tech, and both the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act could influence efforts by governments worldwide to address problems around major technology platforms. The US so far hasn’t passed any comprehensive laws to tackle such issues.

Under the DSA, platforms that reach more than 10% of the EU’s population would be subject to independent audits of the steps they’re taking to prevent their systems from being abused, according to a rundown posted by the European Commission. Other steps the law would take include compelling online marketplaces to help identify sellers of illegal goods, and setting up ways for users to flag illegal goods, services or content and for platforms to work with “trusted flaggers.”

Companies that break the law could face fines of billions of dollars, as well as possible damage to the reputation of their brands.

Major tech companies said they support the EU’s goals but that specifics of the legislation are key.

“As the law is finalized and implemented, the details will matter,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement. “We look forward to working with policymakers to get the remaining technical details right to ensure the law works for everyone.” In addition to its massive search engine, Google owns top video site YouTube.

Twitter said it looks forward to reviewing the DSA in detail and working with the EU. “We support smart, forward thinking regulation that balances the need to tackle online harm with protecting the Open Internet — while also understanding that a one-size-fits all approach fails to consider the diversity of our online environment,” a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement.

TikTok said it’s also awaiting details on the legislation. The company supports the EU’s “aim to harmonise the approach to online content issues” and welcomes the DSA’s “focus on transparency as a means to show accountability,” a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement.

Amazon pointed to comments made this past June by James Waterworth, its EU public policy director. Waterworth said Amazon supports the DSA “introducing regulated obligations to ensure that services act against illegal content.” But such obligations “need to be carefully balanced to provide certainty while allowing flexibility.”

Facebook didn’t respond to a request for comment.

EU lawmakers reach a deal on the basics of major legislation meant to address the negative side of online platforms.

Lawmakers in the European Union reached an agreement Saturday on the basic points of major legislation designed to curb negative impacts from social media sites and other digital platforms.

The Digital Services Act would, among other things, compel services including Facebook, Google, Twitter and others to crack down on the spread of disinformation on their platforms and to reveal how their algorithms recommend content to users. The DSA would also prohibit certain kinds of ads on the platforms, such as targeted ads aimed at children or tailored to people’s ethnicity or sexual orientation.

“With the DSA we help create a safe and accountable online environment,” European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement. “Platforms should be transparent about their content moderation decisions, prevent dangerous disinformation from going viral and avoid unsafe products being offered on market places. With today’s agreement we ensure that platforms are held accountable for the risks their services can pose to society and citizens.”

The DSA is one of two pillars of a major tech-regulation overhaul first unveiled in draft form by the EU in December 2020. The other pillar, the Digital Markets Act, received preliminary approval last month and is designed to address issues such as anticompetitive behavior. Both acts still await a final vote, but major changes aren’t expected. The EU has also passed the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, which is designed to give people more control over the collection and sharing of their personal information.

Europe has long taken the lead in efforts to rein in big tech, and both the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act could influence efforts by governments worldwide to address problems around major technology platforms. The United States so far hasn’t passed any comprehensive laws to tackle such issues.

Under the DSA, platforms that reach more than 10% of the EU’s population would be subject to independent audits of the steps they’re taking to prevent their systems from being abused, according to a rundown posted by the European Commission. Other steps the law would take include compelling online marketplaces to help identify sellers of illegal goods, and setting up ways for users to flag illegal goods, services or content and for platforms to work with “trusted flaggers.”

Companies that break the law could face fines of billions of dollars, as well as possible damage to the reputation of their brands.

Major tech companies said they support the EU’s goals but that specifics of the legislation are key.

“As the law is finalized and implemented, the details will matter,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement. “We look forward to working with policymakers to get the remaining technical details right to ensure the law works for everyone.” In addition to its massive search engine, Google owns top video site YouTube.

Twitter said it looks forward to reviewing the DSA in detail and working with the EU. “We support smart, forward thinking regulation that balances the need to tackle online harm with protecting the Open Internet — while also understanding that a one-size-fits all approach fails to consider the diversity of our online environment,” a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement.

TikTok said it’s also awaiting details on the legislation. The company supports the EU’s “aim to harmonise the approach to online content issues” and welcomes the DSA’s “focus on transparency as a means to show accountability,” a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement.

Amazon pointed to comments made this past June by James Waterworth, its EU public policy director. Waterworth said Amazon supports the DSA “introducing regulated obligations to ensure that services act against illegal content.” But such obligations “need to be carefully balanced to provide certainty while allowing flexibility.”

The carrier is focused on using its C-Band spectrum for improved 5G, but it’s feeling the pressure from rivals, its earnings report shows.Verizon is feeling the competitive heat. The nation’s largest wireless carrier suffered a decline in the first quarter and warned that its earnings growth would be at the lower end of its previous expectations.

Verizon lost 292,000 consumer postpaid phone subscriptions, the metric used by the industry as an indicator of success. In a Friday press release on its earnings for the quarter, Verizon chalked the loss up to “competitive dynamics.” On Thursday, rival AT&T reported first-quarter subscriber gains.

Verizon’s losses were largely offset by 256,000 business postpaid phone net additions, but the carrier is still concerned about the consumer losses, which mostly happened in March, when the first quarter closed, and into April, suggesting additional slowdown in the second quarter.

“We will continue to take appropriate measures to be competitive in the market,” Verizon Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Matt Ellis said during the earnings call, though he didn’t offer specifics beyond comments about relying on the carrier’s network and flexible plans.

Still, overall wireless services revenue was up 11.2% over last year, thanks in part to existing customers moving to pricier plans, as well as revenue from prepaid mobile company Tracfone, which appeared on Verizon’s books for the first time after the carrier finished acquiring the company last November. Verizon reported a loss of 80,000 Tracfone net phone subscriptions over the quarter, which the carrier pegged to the sunsetting of generous pandemic mobile service subsidies that benefited the prepaid company’s customer base.

Verizon’s focus on wireless and broadband internet may take some time to attract more customers and offset losses, especially as it spends this year building out coverage of its so-called C-band range of 5G, which launched in January. The carrier is betting big on C-band radio frequencies as a lure for customers, with higher speeds and wider coverage of its 5G Ultra Wideband network. But this quarter’s losses suggest customers aren’t yet convinced.

After reaching C-band 5G coverage of 100 million people in January, Verizon has continued to activate more service and is on track to reach 175 million people by the end of 2022. At Verizon’s investor day in March, the carrier said it had reached agreements with satellite companies to access more C-band spectrum, which will speed up coverage of 40 million people in certain markets, a year ahead of Verizon’s expectations.

Verizon has continued encouraging its existing customers to upgrade their phones, and 40% of customers are now using 5G handsets. That’s not much higher than the 33% reported in January. Numbers will slowly grow over the next year, with the carrier expecting six out of 10 customers to be using 5G phones by the end of 2023.

Verizon’s Fios fixed broadband added a modest 55,000 subscribers while its fixed wireless access, called Verizon 5G Home, continues to grow, with 112,000 net new customers. The carrier credited this to the wider availability of 5G Home thanks to the continued rollout of C-band service. Under current expansion plans, the service will cover 50 million households and 14 million businesses by the end of 2025.

Verizon posted $33.6 billion in revenue in the first quarter, up 2.1% from the same period last year. With Tracfone in its portfolio, wireless revenue grew to $15.2 billion, up from $13.7 billion in the first quarter of 2021. This is partially offset by the lost revenue from Verizon Media Group, sold last year, which dropped service and other revenue by 2.5%.

The carrier reported net income of $4.7 billion, or earnings of $1.09 per share. Its adjusted earnings came in at $1.35 per share, which is in line with analyst expectations per Yahoo Finance, but down slightly from $1.36 a share a year ago.

WWDC 2022 is just weeks away. Here’s everything we want Apple to add and fix in its next big iPhone update.

The next major version of the iPhone’s software will likely be called iOS 16 and debut at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference in early June. Apple is expected to share previews of iOS 16, iPadOS 16, WatchOS 9, MacOS and other software. We’re most excited about the next version of iOS since it usually includes a few impressive changes for the iPhone.

Rumors for iOS 16 are relatively sparse, which is typical for unreleased Apple software. So it will truly be a surprise to see what new iOS features are revealed.

The last three versions of iOS have been similar. iOS 15 feels like a riff of iOS 14 which felt like a continuation of iOS 13. Any visual changes are able to be turned on-and-off instead of being forced onto your iPhone. For example, if you don’t like home screen widgets or Focus mode, you don’t have to use them. Even if you opt out of the more conspicuous changes, running iOS 15 brings a bunch of background improvements to keep your iPhone running smoothly and securely. And that will likely be the case with iOS 16.

iOS 15 has been out for seven months and the operating system has been relatively stable with very few bugs. Some features, such as Universal Control and SharePlay, took a while to roll out but everything seems to be up and running now. iOS 16 will likely continue where iOS 15 leaves off, adding new features to its existing design.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t things Apple needs to add or improve. My colleagues and I came up with a list of improvements, additions and fixes that we’d like Apple to make for iOS 16. Some are big, like adding support for the Apple Pencil, and others are small but significant, like giving home screen widgets more functionality. We’ll have to wait until June to see what Apple actually does.

iOS 16: The Photos app needs copy and paste for edits
We use iPhones to take photos and videos all the time, and editing photos is just as satisfying as taking them. Most people’s place to edit is the iPhone’s Photos app: The interface is straightforward, and there are an abundance of tools for getting the exact look you want.

But the MacOS version of the Photos app has one useful feature that would improve editing on the iPhone: the ability to copy and paste edits between photos. This is especially helpful when you take several photos at the same place, such as at a restaurant or party. Since all of the photos were taken under the same lighting and conditions, you can just edit one photo and then copy and paste those adjustments to the others.Instead, in iOS 15, you’re left making those adjustments one-by-one for each photo on the iPhone. It’s tedious.

In iOS 16, it would be great to see a similar copy and paste feature on the iPhone. We’d give iOS 16 bonus points if the edits you made in the Photos app on the Mac could be applied to the Photos app on the iPhone, and vice versa. But, one step at a time.

T-Mobile’s home internet service is growing, and is now available to 40 million homes.Just over a year after its launch, T-Mobile is sharing some updates for its 5G Home Internet service. On Wednesday the carrier revealed that it now has 1 million customers on the $50 per month internet option and has expanded the service’s availability from 30 million “eligible households” to 40 million.

T-Mobile ended 2021 with 646,000 home internet subscribers and revealed during its most recent earnings that it had added 224,000 home internet users during the fourth quarter of the year. The company has increasingly promoted the new service, including in a Super Bowl spot featuring Scrubs actors Donald Faison and Zach Braff. T-Mobile is set to report its 2022 first-quarter earnings on April 27.

Touted as an alternative to traditional cable service, T-Mobile’s option doesn’t have data caps or annual contacts and includes a modem and router in its $50 monthly price (assuming you have automatic payments enabled). The carrier has previously said it aims to have 7-8 million customers for its home internet service by 2025.

While the carrier is expanding home internet availability to another 10 million households today, it still lacks a map for quickly seeing if your home can sign up. Instead, those interested still need to enter their addresses and information into T-Mobile’s website to see if the option is available where you live.

T-Mobile isn’t the only wireless carrier using 5G to provide home internet. Verizon recently has begun rolling out an updated version of its own $50 per month, 5G broadband option and in February announced that this service is available to over 30 million households. Verizon will report its first-quarter earnings on April 22.

Workers at Apple’s Grand Central Station store in New York have announced a plan to start a union.

If their bid is successful it would be the first union at one of the tech giant’s US stores.

The group of staff known as Fruit Stand Workers United must get signatures of support from 30% of colleagues at the store to qualify for a union election.

The move follows unionisation drives by staff at Starbucks and Amazon. Apple has not commented on the announcement.

A statement on a campaign website for the prospective union said: “Grand Central is an extraordinary store with unique working conditions that make a union necessary to ensure our team has the best possible standards of living.

The group described themselves as working in “extraordinary times with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and once-in-a-generation consumer price inflation,” though their website did not disclose the name of staff members leading the effort.

The group said it also wants a $30 (£23) minimum hourly wage for all workers, additional holiday time and information on more robust safety protocols at the Grand Central location.

The campaign is connected to Workers United, an affiliate of the national Service Employees International Union, which was established in 2009 from several earlier unions.

The Apple effort comes as a Starbucks unionisation drive backed by Workers United has spread nationally after election victories last year in New York.

Amazon is also facing a growing challenge from unions after an upstart campaign won an election at a warehouse in nearby Staten Island earlier this month.

Employees working in at least three other Apple stores are also attempting to organize, according to The Washington Post.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the BBC.

A group of employees at Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal store has started formally collecting signatures to form a union, says a report.

A group of workers at Apple’s flagship retail store in Manhattan has begun formally gathering signatures to form a union, The Washington Post reported Saturday. Organizers at Apple’s Grand Central Terminal store say they voted Feb. 21 to affiliate with Workers United, the national labor union involved in recent efforts to unionize at Starbucks outlets, the paper reported.

If the organizers can collect enough signatures and then either bring about a successful union vote or prompt Apple to voluntarily recognize a union, the iPhone maker’s Grand Central store would, the Post said, become the first of its retail outlets to unionize. At least three additional Apple stores are working toward forming unions, the Post said, citing anonymous employees.

A website put together by the Grand Central organizers, who are calling themselves the Fruit Stand Workers United, says a union is needed “to ensure our team has the best possible standards of living in what have proven to be extraordinary times with the ongoing covid-19 pandemic and once-in-a-generation consumer price inflation,” the Post said.

The news comes just over two weeks after workers at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, New York, voted in favor of joining a union, a first for Amazon’s US facilities.

Apple didn’t respond to CNET’s request for comment. The Post said the company wouldn’t say if it would support or push back against the organizing effort. Instead, it provided a general statement of appreciation for its retail employees, along with an overview of benefits it provides them, including health care, tuition reimbursement and new parental leave.

Apple is reportedly testing a range of new Macs with its next generation of silicon, the M2 chips, which could be released later this year.

Apple is actively testing the next generation of in-house chips, the M2 series, in several different new Mac models, according to a Bloomberg report.

The company is testing four different types of M2 chips across nine new Macs. While detail about the machines being tested is scant, the report claims that the models tested with the base M2 chip include a MacBook Air, Mac mini and an entry-level MacBook Pro.

Other test models have reportedly packed an M2 Pro chip, including a Mac mini and both 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros. An M2 Max chip is also being tested with both sizes of MacBook Pros, and a Mac Pro desktop will use a successor to the M1 Ultra chip that debuted in the recently unveiled Mac Studio.

Read more: Best MacBook for 2022

Apple is also testing models with different configurations of existing chips, like a Mac mini with an M1 Pro and an M1 Max, but the report was unsure whether their overlap with the Mac Studio would keep them from being released.

While the report stressed that these models may not all reach production, those that are destined for store shelves could launch later this year. Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Delivery dates for certain models like the MacBook Pro could be delayed until June.

Apple is facing production woes for its MacBook Pros, with delivery dates being pushed back into June, according to a report from Bloomberg. As a result of China’s zero-tolerance policy for COVID-19 outbreaks, more than 30 Taiwanese companies, including major laptop manufacturer Quanta, have suspended production in China, the news outlet reported.

For Apple’s highest-end MacBook Pro, delivery times are estimated as late as June 16, while deliveries of lower-end configurations of the 14-inch MacBook Pro are set back until the end of May, Bloomberg said. The majority of other Apple laptop models like the 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air haven’t been impacted and still offer same-day delivery or delivery within a few days of ordering, the report said. So far, no delays in iPhone shipments have been reported.

The latest MacBook Pros, which range in price from $999 to $6,000 or more, are powered by Apple’s expanded M1, M1 Pro and M1 Max chips.

Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on production delays.

Apple’s CEO also pushes back against charges that its app store controls are anti-competitive.

Calling it “one of the most essential battles of our time,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday that his company will continue to fight for data privacy protections that are in the best interests of consumers.

Cook also pushed back against charges that his company’s tight controls over its app store are anti-competitive. While Apple maintains that the controls protect consumer security and privacy, the store is the only official way to download apps to iPhones, iPads, Apple TVs and Apple Watches.

Speaking at the International Association of Privacy Professionals’ Global Privacy Summit, Cook said privacy continues to be threatened by the “data industrial complex,” which seeks to collect information about everything from the restaurants where people eat and the stores where they shop to the websites they browse.

While those companies say they’re collecting that data in order to provide consumers with a more custom experience, they usually don’t give consumers a choice about it, Cook noted.

“Who would stand for such a thing if it were unfolding in a physical world?” he asked, noting that few people would actually agree to have someone with a camera follow them as they took their child to school, or watch them as they worked on their laptop.

“You wouldn’t call that a service, you’d call that an emergency,” he said. “In the digital world it is one too.”

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Cook pointed to several features designed to protect data privacy that Apple has introduced in recent years, noting that users can now decide for themselves if their apps should be able to track their activity across their devices, as well as take steps to mask their location and shield their email addresses if they desire.

He also pointed to Apple’s efforts to minimize the data it collects and maximize the amount of processing that’s done on device, rather than in the cloud, reducing the risk that consumer data could be stolen by cybercriminals.

While Cook said the company remains in favor of strong privacy regulations like the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, and continues to call for such a law in the US, he said new regulations being debated in this country could put security and privacy at risk.

There’s been fierce debate both in the public and within the tech industry about how much power tech giants should wield over their respective app stores and platforms.

Lawmakers, regulators and developers have argued that Apple, in particular, should loosen its restrictions, which don’t allow developers to offer alternative app stores or to use alternative payment processors for in-app purchases of digital goods like new looks for a character in a game. Apple and Google both charge commissions of between 15% and 30% for those purchases, which they say help fund the technology and administration of their respective stores.

Some of the largest developers in the industry have taken strong stances against the current app store system. One of them, Fortnite maker Epic Games, sued both Apple and Google over the way they restrict payments on their respective app stores. The game maker, whose online battle royale game has become an international sensation, unsuccessfully argued to a California District Court Judge last year that Apple’s actions ran afoul of antitrust laws. It is appealing that decision.

Cook argued Tuesday that allowing the downloading of apps from outside sources could let companies subvert Apple’s privacy protections, as well as put the security of consumer data at risk. While not naming Google’s Android operating system specifically, he pointed to the recent case of a malicious app that spread ransomware on devices other than Apple’s after users downloaded it from outside of the official app store.