Germany said it will phase out the use of components from Chinese telecom giants Huawei and ZTE in its 5G networks in the coming years due to national security concerns.

It was the latest move by Berlin to reduce economic reliance on Beijing, that some fear have left it vulnerable, and follows warnings from the European Union.

German officials said their telecom networks must be protected from cyberattacks, calling it an “existential threat”. Officials added that they have reached agreements with 5G network operators in the country.
Huawei responded saying there was “no specific evidence” that the technology has “cyber security risks”. Beijing’s embassy in Berlin also said the move was driven by “groundless accusations”.

Apple settles EU case by opening payment service to rivals

Apple will for the first time allow banks, payment services and app developers to use the underlying technology behind Apple Pay to make rival tap-and-go payment services, settling a long-running European Union antitrust investigation.

The settlement stems from an investigation started in 2020 to determine if Apple was abusing its dominant position in the smartphone market to box out rival payment service providers. However, the agreement doesn’t apply to Apple Watch, which also has tap-and-go.

US FTC punishes anonymous messaging app

The Federal Trade Commission has barred NGL, an anonymous messaging app, from serving users younger than 18, saying the app violated child privacy and consumer protection laws.

NGL was aggressively marketed as a “safe space for teens” with robust moderation practices, but instead, it exposed users to cyberbullying and other harms, the agency said. It also agreed to a $4.5-million settlement to pay consumers affected by the company’s practices. The settlement was jointly reached with the Los Angeles district attorney, who imposed an additional $500,000 civil penalty on NGL.

In NGL’s case, the agency said it found a host of deceptive practices, including sending fake messages that appeared to have come from real people to lure users to the site. It then tricked users into paying for a $9.99 fee to reveal the identities of the senders.