A US judge early Sunday temporarily blocked a Trump administration order requiring Apple and Google to remove the Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat from their app stores. US Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in San Francisco said in an order that WeChat users who filed a lawsuit “have shown serious questions going to the merits of the …

Facebook said it will remove posts that falsely claim deadly wildfires in Oregon were deliberately started by arsonists for both far-right and far-left groups. The move came as the FBI said its investigations have found the claims to be unsubstantiated. New research published Wednesday, however, shows that deleting these posts may be easier said than done.  Facebook, which typically places …

The Trump administration’s looming ban on WeChat won’t target people who use or download the Chinese-owned app, the  administration said in a filing Wednesday. The government’s filing came in response to a lawsuit filed in August by a group of WeChat users who aren’t affiliated with the company behind the app and argued that President Donald Trump’s ban is unconstitutional. …

The Federal Trade Commission is preparing a possible antitrust lawsuit against Facebook that could be filed as soon as the end of the year, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. The agency is examining Facebook’s dominant position in social media, sources told the newspaper. The case, part of a larger US antitrust investigation into tech companies, focuses on whether Facebook …

An executive order banning TikTok from the US won’t affect employees’ paychecks, the Trump administration said Monday in a court filing. The executive order bars any US transactions with TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance. The company behind the short-form video app quickly sued, as did an employee worried that wages and salaries would be covered by a section of the …

Amazon said Wednesday it’s appointed former National Security Agency chief Keith Alexander to its board of directors. Alexander will serve on Amazon’s audit committee, the internet retail giant said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Alexander came under fire during his time as head of the agency after former NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked secret documents …

Samsung has won a $6.6 billion contract to provide network equipment to wireless provider Verizon, providing a big boost to Samsung 5G market ambitions. The Korean electronics giant will install and maintain equipment for Verizon, the company said in regulatory filing Monday. The order, which was finalized Friday, runs from June 30, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2025, Samsung said in …

We’re a step closer to getting our hands on the hotly anticipated PlayStation 5. Sony has created a PS5 signup page, where it’s taking preorder reservations on a first-come, first-served basis from existing customers, CNET sister site GameSpot reported Wednesday. The selection is “based on previous interests and PlayStation activities,” and you’ll know if you’re selected if you’re contacted via …

Apple won’t be required to restore Fortnite to its App Store, but a judge’s temporary restraining order against the company late Monday prevents it from revoking access to Epic’s Unreal Engine developer tools. The legal battle between the two companies stems from a dispute over collecting revenue from in-app purchases, resulting in Apple — and Google — removing the game …

Epic Games escalated its Fortnite legal battle with Apple over the weekend, accusing the iPhone maker of posing an unfair threat to game developers community. The charge, appearing in a filing submitted Sunday in a Northern California federal court, centers on Apple’s threat to ban the Unreal Engine code it offers to outside game developers to help them make apps …