US Customs and Border Protection says it seized almost $4,000 worth counterfeit Apple AirPods. The fake ear pods were discovered in a Chinese shipment at a DHL facility on June 1, CBP said Thursday. While checking the package for its lithium-ion batteries, CBP officers said the “quality of the packaging” wasn’t consistent with usual Apple packaging. …

Satellite TV provider Dish Network looks set to close its $5 billion deal with the new T-Mobile on July 1, according to a filing Wednesday with the SEC. Under the deal, which allowed for the $26.5 billion merger between T-Mobile and Sprint, Dish is acquiring Sprint’s prepaid mobile carrier Boost Mobile as well as Sprint’s 800MHz wireless spectrum to help it …

Sen. Josh Hawley introduced a bill Wednesday that would allow people to sue tech companies for “selectively censoring political speech.” Online platforms would have to update their terms of service to include a commitment to act in good faith, and could be fined $5,000 if they break that promise. The bill also prevents online platforms from hiding content from competitors.  …

AT&T is cutting more than 3,400 jobs across technicians and clerical workers in addition to axing 1,300 retail jobs, the carrier told Communications Workers of America Tuesday. The layoffs will affect jobs across the nation, with AT&T closing down more than 250 AT&T Mobility and Cricket Wireless stores.  “If we are in a war to keep our economy going during …

Hundreds of Sprint employees have lost their jobs as the new T-Mobile streamlines its operations, according to a report. The layoffs were announced Tuesday by James Kirby, T-Mobile VP, according to TechCrunch, which cited leaked audio of a call made to employees. The layoffs follow T-Mobile’s $26.5 billion merger with Sprint, which went through on April 1. T-Mobile confirmed the job …

K-Pop fans get ready: Samsung has confirmed it’s launching a BTS-themed Galaxy S20+ 5G phone. Samsung and BTS are also collaborating on the Galaxy Buds+ BTS Edition, with the phone and earbuds featuring a purple heart. Both will be available July 9. The Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G BTS Edition features purple glass and metal, and comes with stickers, photo cards …

Twitter has permanently removed 32,242 accounts that were found to be state-backed operations from China, Russia and Turkey. The accounts were suspended for violating the social media company’s platform manipulation policy. It’s publishing the accounts to its archive of foreign influence campaigns, Twitter said in a blog post published Thursday. Of those accounts, Twitter said 23,750 were linked with being part …

A 5G protest is being planned for the weekend, NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association, warned Thursday. The Global 5G Protest Day could see mobile towers attacked on Saturday, according to an advisory, spotted earlier Thursday by Light Reading. “NATE as an organization has heard through official channels that there are 5G Global Protest Day activities being planned throughout the …

The US Department of Defense is bringing 5G tests and experiments to seven more military bases across the nation, it announced Wednesday. It brings the DOD’s test sites up to 12. The department says 5G will help maintain “America’s military and economic advantages.” 5G, already available in some parts of the US by Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile/Sprint, is being tapped …

This story is part of Elections 2020, CNET’s coverage of the voting in November and its aftermath. Facebook says it’ll label links that come from state-controlled media companies, in an effort to make it clear where people are getting their news from. It’s because these news sources “combine the influence of a media organization with the strategic backing of a …