After an investigation by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) into allegations made by Indian startups regarding Google’s in-app billing system, Google has announced that it will take measures to ensure the fair application of its Google Play payments policy in India. The company stated that it is fully compliant with the CCI’s October 2022 order and will expand its user choice billing to all developers in the country.

Google India Notifies Developers to Choose from 3 In-App User Choice Billing Options

In response to the allegations, Google emphasized that its payments policy adheres to the CCI’s order. The company also defended the fees it charges developers, stating in a blog post that the rates are 15% or lower, which are the lowest rates among major app stores. Furthermore, Google highlighted that the fee is reduced by an additional 4% if users opt for alternative billing systems, acknowledging that Google Play’s billing system was not utilized.

Developers in India now have three billing options available: using Google Play’s billing system, offering an alternative billing system alongside Google Play’s, or providing access to paid content through external means without any service fee.

Google noted that the majority of developers worldwide have already chosen one of these options. In India, the company will take steps to ensure that developers who have not implemented one of these choices comply with the policy, as the deadline for implementation has passed.

Previously, the CCI had fined Google Rs. 1337.76 crores for abusing its dominant position in the Android ecosystem. The order also required Google to enable users to uninstall first-party apps from their Android devices and cease imposing exclusivity clauses on device manufacturers.

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Despite 5G networking being an advancement in mobile networking, which would be beneficial to all, there has been an onset of paranoia regarding the newer and faster bandwidth. Earlier this year, violent incidents and vandalism regarding 5G towers erupted in countries like China and the UK. Now, the FBI is also investigating whether 5G paranoia played a part in the RV bombing in Nashville, US.

According to a PhoneArena report, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is currently looking into whether 5G spying leads a man to create an explosion on Christmas Day in Nashville. The agency is considering a wide range of possibilities, with 5G also being a part of it. It is investigating whether the person of interest, Anthony Quinn Warner, who was said to be a local tech expert in the city, became paranoid about 5G networking.

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The 63 year old Warner was apparently fearful of 5G, as per new reports. This news also arrives as the US government has blocked 5G equipment from Chinese companies over concerns of espionage and spying through their systems. Both Huawei and ZTE had denied the allegations and no evidence to support these accusations have ever been found so far.

At the moment, the FBI is still working on discerning a cause for the events and have even considered the bombing, which led to 3 injured, as a suicide attempt. Unfortunately, media reports are only based on speculations and rumors and we still have no concrete evidence behind the violent event. This is all we have to go on, for now, so stay tuned for more updates.

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A new report from the Korean Herald has revealed that various startups from South Korea are banding together to call for an investigation against Apple and Google. The probe would be for both tech giants’ in app purchase systems.

The group between the various developers and small scale companies have submitted a petition to the Korea Communications Commission earlier this week. In the petition, the group sought an investigation against both Apple and Google, which may be violating South Korean laws regarding in-app purchases and anti-competitive behavior. They said that Apple has been forcing developers to use their proprietary in app purchase structure since 2011.

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This payment structure has Apple take a 30 percent cut off the total expenditure as commission. Similarly, Google demands the same from gaming application, requiring them to use its own in app purchase system for games on its platform. According to Choi Sung-jin, President of the Korea Startup Forum, “While the 30 percent commission rate is too high in itself, it is more problematic that they force a specific payment system for the app markets.”

Sung-jin further added that unlike larger developers, the small scale or newer startups have fewer opportunities to negotiate the terms with either Apple or Google. Furthermore, they fear that an attempted negotiation might lead to a hike in commissions for the in app purchases done by the customer. In 2019, both known brands account for 87.8 percent of the total South Korean app market. Notably, this arrives just after Epic sued both companies for anti competitive practices regarding their respective app stores for very similar reasons.

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Charles Lieber, the head of Harvard’s Chemistry Department, has been arrested after the was found to have lied to the authorities regarding his involvement with China’s program to recruit foreign researchers.

The investigation against Lieber has uncovered an affidavit that contained his contract with the program, Thousand Talents, which offered him a monthly salary of $50,000 and annual living expenses of more than $150,000 over the course of three years. Furthermore, he had also been offered upwards of $1.5 million by the Chinese GOvernment and the Wuhan University of Technology (WUT) to conduct research at the university and setting up a lab.

Charles Leiber is a prominent figure in the scientific community and is one of the biggest names that the US authorities have ever arrested for stealing research for foreign nations. Till date, most cases of arrests have generally been in cases against scientist that are collaborating with China. Now, China’s Thousand Talents program which aims to acquire leading scientists that “can enhance China’s high-tech industries and emerging disciplines” has recently come under US authorities attention.

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Leiber is also a renowned professor at Harvard and a leader in nanoscience and nanotechnology related research. Allegedly, he signed an agreement with WUT to conduct research and development of nano-wired lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. This agreement was taken on Harvard University’s behalf which is out of Lieber’s authority. In other words, he undertook a deal in Harvard’s name and worked for a Chinese organization.

The affidavit also claims that Lieber misrepresented his work to Harvard and had lied to the Department of Defense and National Institutes of Health, which also fund Lieber’s research group at Harvard. This funding requires full disclosure regarding foreign collaborations that Lieber did not follow through on. Currently, Lieber is under paid administrative leave but is not allowed on campus grounds, for now.

“The charges brought by the U.S. government against Professor Lieber are extremely serious. Harvard is cooperating with federal authorities, including the National Institutes of Health, and is conducting its own review of the alleged misconduct,” according to a statement by Harvard. The implications of Lieber’s actions are severe as the tensions between the US and China are at an all-time high. The investigation is still underway to root out more violations and acts of misconduct.

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(Source)

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Prosecutors in South Korea have broadened an investigation into alleged fraud at Samsung BioLogics, which the company has disputed. As a part of this investigation, a Samsung executive was arrested overnight on allegations of ordering the destruction of evidence related to suspecting accounting fraud at a Samsung affiliate.

The executive is accused of ordering the destruction and manipulation of accounting data and other internal documents of Samsung BioLogics and Samsung Bioepis in 2018. The development was first reported by South Korea-based news agency Yonhap.

As a part of this investigation, around eight employees of Samsung and its affiliates have now been arrested. This comes at a time when South Korean prosecutors broaden an investigation into whether top executives covered up evidence linked to alleged accounting fraud in 2015 at the company’s biopharmaceutical unit.

Last month, prosecutors raided a Samsung BioLogics factory and recovered a cache of hidden electronic devices. The prosecutors believe that the newly found electronic devices are linked to the case.

As per the regulators, Samsung BioLogics inflated the value of affiliate Samsung Bioepis by $3.9 billion. Critics have said the move artificially increased the value of parent Cheil Industries to enable an $8 billion merger with Samsung C&T, which held a key stake in Samsung Electronics.

At that time, Lee Jae-Yong, heir to the Samsung group, was a large shareholder in Cheil with a 23 percent stake but he did not own C&T shares and his direct stockholding of Samsung Electronics was less than 1 percent.

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Prosecutors said that Ahn and Lee convened the May 5 meeting after the Financial Supervisory Service notified Samsung BioLogics and Samsung Bioepis of their suspected window dressing. They claim that since then, they masterminded the entire process of evidence destruction and manipulation at the two biotech companies.

(Source)

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