legal

The doors are closing in on Huawei as the deadline for extensions given to it looms closer. One door, however, was just recently reopened courtesy of ARM Holdings, the company that designs (not makes) the chips that drive today's smartphones and mobile devices. Not only is this second chance a big relief for the embattled Chinese company, it could also create opportunities for other partners to follow suit, provided they're willing to take risks for Huawei.

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US Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi has announced new legislation that aims to cap the amount of nicotine that can be used in vaping liquids. Assuming the legislation passes, the FDA will retain the right to lower the maximum nicotine concentration in these liquids in the future if necessary. The move is intended to reduce the addiction potential of nicotine-based vaping liquids, some of which contain very high concentrations.

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After the almost unending litany of scandals that have rocked Facebook, many drawing intense criticism from the US government, the social networking giant is ready to turn a new leaf. Ironically, it is also receiving criticism from the US, specifically the Justice Department. In its efforts to begger protect the privacy of users that it has violated, Facebook is reportedly planning to introduce strong encryption in WhatsApp, Instagram, and its other messaging services. For Facebook, it is to protect users but the government insists it will be putting them in danger in the long run.

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It's almost hard to believe that it has been half a decade since the very first benchmark cheating scandal erupted in the mobile market. That has caused no small amount of drama and for benchmark suites to defend their territory, make changes, and blacklist certain phones. Unknown or forgotten to many, one such result of that media circus was a lawsuit against Samsung revolving around the 2013 Galaxy S4. That case has now been settled but it is one case where "better late than never" doesn't really apply.

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Massachusetts has banned the sale of all vaping products for the duration of four months, state health officials have announced. The ban covers all varieties of vaping products, including ones that are flavored, non-flavored, that contain nicotine, and ones that contain THC. The ban was made as part of a public health emergency declaration over the growing number of vaping-related illnesses.

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It probably isn't too hard to imagine people scampering whenever a new major product is about to be launched. Everyone from marketing to retail to production are "all hands on deck" to meet deadlines. While that's almost normal in the industry, that doesn't mean they are acceptable. Even worse if they run into violations of laws relating to labor and fair compensation. That is exactly what Apple and assembler Foxconn are now being accused of in China just a day before the iPhone 11 is officially revealed to the world.

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US regulators at the EPA and DOT are threatening California with legal action, after the state agreed a voluntary emissions deal with four big automakers that was more stringent than that imposed by the Trump administration. Ford, Honda, BMW, and Volkswagen defied the US Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation earlier this year, and inked an agreement with California for tougher pollution standards.

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Michigan has officially become the first state to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes that contain a flavored liquid. The ban will be made by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services under the direction of state Governor Gretchen Whitman as a move to protect teens from the unknown health risks associated with vaping. The news comes amid reports from multiple states of a severe lung condition associated with these devices.

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The Federal Aviation Administration really wants the public to stop attaching weapons and fireworks to drones. Officials with the agency published a statement about the matter last week, warning that operating weaponized drones is not only dumb and dangerous but also against the law. Anyone caught flying a drone modified with these items faces a huge fine, something that could snowball into more serious punishment if someone gets hurt.

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Support phone numbers for DoorDash are down or slow-to-respond at the moment due to "issues" with the DoorDash "consumer platform." I say "this is just the beginning" in the title of this article because the ugly truth of DoorDash, its leadership, and its policies have been coming to a head for a while now, and with the legal head of the mess popping up earlier this week, now this, it's plain to see: Nastiness is about to go down.

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The future is officially, legally bindingly, inclusive of eSIM. Official court filings released today stipulate that both The New T-Mobile (with Sprint) and DISH "agree to support eSIM technology on smartphones, including working with handset equipment manufacturers to support eSIM-capable phones to the extent such phones are technically capable of operating on [aforementioned carriers'] wireless networks."

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Earlier this month we heard some relatively unofficial news about Facebook's FTC fine and fallout. Today the FTC made it all official with some friendly infographics that they are, indeed, levying a major fine against the Social Network. They've made the case that they're bringing big penalties to Facebook, and that this is super serious! But fancy graphics and additional assurances of the scale of the changes do not necessarily an adequate penalty make.

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