Hashtag Trending – Apple slashes developer fees and settles for $113M over phone throttling; Solomon Islands to ban Facebook

Apple is slashing developer fees on one end and putting fires out in the other, and the Solomon Islands is looking at banning Facebook.

It’s all the tech news that’s popular right now. Welcome to Hashtag Trending! It’s Friday November 20, and I’m your host Alex Coop.

 

======

Apple says it’s cutting the fees it charges software developers to help them thrive during the pandemic. As of next year, the company says it will halve the charge that most developers pay to sell services and software on its App Store to 15 per cent of revenue. That’s down from 30 per cent of revenue. The comes in the midst of Apple’s ongoing battle against a suit brought by video-game maker Fortnite over fees. The App Store, which carries 1.8 million apps, accounts for about a third of the iPhone maker’s total services revenue of almost $54 billion. [LinkedIn thread]

======

Apple will pay $113 million to settle a ‘batterygate’ investigation into its practice of intentionally slowing down old iPhones from technology

Speaking of Apple, The Washington Post is reporting that Apple is expected to a $113 million settlement in an investigation into the company’s practice of throttling old iPhones, a move that some customers viewed as a way to get them to buy a new, more expensive iPhone. Apple declined Business Insider’s request for comment. Instead, it pointed to a part of the filing that stated Apple’s settlement does not imply admittance of wrongdoing. So long #batterygate, it was nice knowing you.

======

Solomon Islands government preparing to ban Facebook | Facebook from technology

And lastly, the Solomon Islands government says it’s planning to ban Facebook to limit “abusive language” and “character assassination,” but some critics argue the move is to stomp out criticism of the government. According to the Guardian, if implemented, the Solomon Islands would join China, Iran, and North Korea who have also outlawed Facebook. Other countries have temporarily blocked it, including the island nation of Nauru, which prohibited Facebook in 2015. They did a bit of a 180 however in 2018, and unblocked access.

That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home daily briefing. I’m Alex Coopraw audio, thanks for listening.

Would you recommend this article?

Share

Thanks for taking the time to let us know what you think of this article!
We'd love to hear your opinion about this or any other story you read in our publication.


Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada
Alex Coop
Alex Coophttp://www.itwc.ca
Former Editorial Director for IT World Canada and its sister publications.

Follow this Cyber Security Today

More Cyber Security Today