We need the North Carolina General Assembly to step up and protect their constituents as the EPA rolls out its stated plans to eliminate nationwide drinking water standards for PFAS, a known human health risk.
Pesticide manufacturers have voluntarily canceled registrations for products containing paraquat in California — kicking off a statewide phase-out of the controversial herbicide.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed a new rule making it mandatory for companies to notify the agency about new chemical ingredients they determined are safe for use in food.
Anthropic has pledged to start marking Claude-generated text and images with machine-readable data, in an effort to comply with European rules for AI transparency. "Generated text will carry embedded watermarks, and generated files will include digitally signed provenance metadata where supported," Anthropic says on a new Claude support page. The changes are invisible to human eyes, but will make it easier for people and online platforms to detect if content was generated by Claude models.
These updates are a future commitment rather than something that will go into effect immediately. New AI labeling and transparency obligations under the …
In a recent study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers examined whether American dietary guidelines designed to promote optimal nutrition during pregnancy also helped minimize exposure to toxic chemicals.
In short:
Key quote:
“Although updated recommendations can help on the individual level, given the widespread exposure to many known reproductive and developmental toxicants, efforts should ultimately focus on reducing these contaminants throughout the food supply.”
Why this matters:
Exposure to toxic chemicals has been shown to result in pregnancy complications and harm to babies’ neurodevelopment, growth, and cognitive, metabolic and reproductive health, resulting in long-term and potentially severe outcomes. While studies such as this show that lifestyle choices like diet can influence chemical exposure, the increasing use of synthetic chemicals and plastic throughout the modern food system introduces opportunities for contamination from initial processing to preparation for a wide variety of foods. Research has shown that regulatory and policy interventions are more effective, more consistent, and have a more widespread impact than strategies that put the burden on individual consumers to protect themselves.
Related EHN coverage:
More resources:
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to explore ways to deliver direct satellite connectivity to unlicensed devices using 200MHz of related spectrum to advance services requiring handoff between terrestrial and non-terrestrial links.
It stated the move could give consumers an “additional option for reliable connectivity”, as investment in direct-to-device (D2D) services continues to grow.
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) examines potential reforms to enable devices operating in certain part 15 bands communicate with FCC-authorised satellites.
Part 15 rules govern unlicensed wireless equipment widely used by businesses and consumers. The FCC stated the move is intended to expand opportunities for Wi-Fi and applications including IoT which “benefit from more robust wireless connectivity”.
It also proposed clarifying part 15-authorised equipment may be used within and between authorised spacecraft.
The FCC intends to explore further scenarios “in which part 15 devices might” safely and effectively operate in space,
Money maker
FCC chair Brendan Carr said the move builds on 18-months of regulatory steps to enable D2D services, including freeing up spectrum, providing certainty around buildout milestones, and clarifying exclusivity and legal rights to encourage investment.
He said the measures had helped generate tens of billions of dollars in D2D deal flow.
“For the first time in FCC history, we are exploring whether D2D services are technically possible in more than 200 MHz of unlicensed spectrum,” he said.
“These frequencies could yield more capacity to complement D2D services and encourage experimentation.”
He added unlicensed spectrum already underpins a wide range of household devices and innovations, and the proposal would seek to ensure the bands continue to support existing services.
The proposal targets the 902MHz to 928MHz, 2400MHz to 2483.5MHz and 5725MHz to 5850MHz bands traditionally used for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth which already permit unlicensed devices to operate at the relatively higher power levels needed for satellite communication.
Along with seeking comments, the FCC is asking whether part 15 devices communicating with satellites should require an additional part 25 earth station certification.
The post FCC eyes unlicensed spectrum for D2D appeared first on Mobile World Live.
China’s cyberspace agency launched an investigation into products sold in the country by Palo Alto Networks, as the government turns up the heat on US suppliers.
In a short statement, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) explained it had launched a cybersecurity review into the company, as part of its bid to ensure safe and stable operation of critical information infrastructure, prevent risks and vulnerabilities, and safeguard national security.
It did not disclose potential penalties for violations or which products it is looking into.
Palo Alto states on its website it has offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Macau. It sells network, cloud and other cybersecurity products in the country, but does not break out individual sales figures for the market.
China’s review comes the same week its commerce ministry barred domestic companies from doing business with seven US entities, while beefing up export controls on the US drone market.
Reuters reported Beijing has said the moves are in response to recent US restrictions impacting the Chinese technology sector, including controls put on the nation’s telecoms operators.
The post China takes aim at Palo Alto Networks as US row deepens appeared first on Mobile World Live.
Paraquat is banned in over 70 countries. Some farmers and their families in Hebron, New York believe the pesticide is causing Parkinson’s disease and are demanding that New York ban it.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has an alternative definition of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances that excludes new herbicides, insecticides and fungicides, and says they pose no threat to human health.
A new study suggests that deep brain stimulation may do more than control movement disorders: it could also help repair social behavior disrupted by pain experienced early in life. In research published in Translational Psychiatry, Wan, Du, Yang and colleagues report that stimulating the brain’s anterior cingulate cortex alleviated social deficits associated with early-life pain. The proposed mechanism is a restoration of the balance between excitatory and inhibitory neural signals, a fundamental process that determines how brain circuits respond, adapt and communicate.
Early-life pain has effects that can extend far beyond the moment of injury or medical treatment. During development, the nervous system is rapidly building connections, refining sensory pathways and establishing the networks that support emotion and social behavior. Excessive or poorly regulated pain signals during this period may alter that process. Instead of remaining confined to pain-processing circuits, these changes can influence stress responses, emotional regulation and the ability to interact with other individuals later in life.
The anterior cingulate cortex, or ACC, is particularly important in this story. Located in the frontal region of the brain, it helps integrate emotional information with attention, motivation and decision-making. It is also involved in processing the unpleasantness of pain and in evaluating social experiences. Because the ACC sits at the intersection of pain, emotion and social behavior, disturbances in its activity could provide a neural explanation for why early-life pain is linked to later difficulties with social interaction.
At the cellular level, the brain depends on a delicate equilibrium between excitation and inhibition. Excitatory neurons generally increase the likelihood that neighboring cells will fire, while inhibitory neurons suppress or constrain that activity. This excitatory/inhibitory, or E/I, balance allows neural circuits to remain flexible without becoming either silent or excessively active. If excitation dominates, networks may become unstable and hypersensitive; if inhibition dominates, communication and behavioral responses may be weakened. The study connects social deficits after early-life pain with disruption of this balance in the ACC.
Deep brain stimulation offers a way to influence such malfunctioning circuits directly. The technique uses electrical pulses delivered through precisely positioned electrodes to modify activity in targeted brain regions. Although DBS is best known clinically for treating Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor and several other neurological conditions, researchers are increasingly investigating whether it can reshape circuits involved in mood, motivation and social behavior. The new findings place the ACC among the brain regions that may be responsive to this approach.
According to the study, stimulation of the ACC improved social abnormalities linked to early-life pain while also normalizing indicators of excitatory and inhibitory signaling. This is important because it suggests that the behavioral improvement was not simply a generalized effect of activating the brain. Instead, the intervention may have acted on a specific circuit-level disturbance. By bringing opposing neural forces back toward equilibrium, DBS could make the ACC more capable of processing social information and generating appropriate responses.
The result also highlights a shift in how scientists understand the consequences of pain during development. Pain is often treated as a temporary sensory event, but developing neural systems can interpret repeated or intense pain as an organizing signal. That signal may alter synaptic strength, neuronal excitability and communication between brain regions. Over time, these changes could become embedded in circuits that regulate social engagement. The study’s emphasis on E/I balance suggests that developmental pain may produce lasting behavioral effects through measurable changes in network physiology rather than through an unexplained psychological process.
The findings are likely to attract attention because social deficits are difficult to treat and can appear across many neurological and psychiatric conditions. However, DBS is an invasive therapy involving neurosurgical implantation, and the study does not mean that the treatment is ready for routine use in people affected by early-life pain. Translating a circuit-level discovery into a safe human therapy requires extensive work, including confirmation in independent models, determination of the most effective stimulation parameters and careful assessment of possible side effects. The ACC is involved in many functions, so altering its activity could influence emotion, attention or pain perception in unwanted ways.
Even with those limitations, the research offers a potentially powerful framework for future therapies. If social difficulties can be linked to a specific imbalance between excitation and inhibition, treatments might eventually be designed to correct that imbalance with greater precision. DBS is only one possibility. Noninvasive stimulation, pharmacological treatments that selectively influence inhibitory or excitatory signaling, and therapies combining behavioral training with neuromodulation could also emerge from the same biological insight.
The study’s central message is that the developing brain may retain a capacity for repair, even after early adverse experiences have changed its circuitry. By targeting the ACC and restoring the neural balance that supports its function, deep brain stimulation improved social behavior in the reported research. The work does not erase the complexity of developmental pain, but it identifies a concrete biological pathway connecting early injury, altered brain networks and later social difficulties. That connection could help move the field closer to treatments that address not only pain itself, but also the long-term social consequences it can leave behind.
Subject of Research: Deep brain stimulation, early-life pain, social deficits, and excitatory/inhibitory balance in the anterior cingulate cortex
Article Title: Deep brain stimulation ameliorates social deficits from early-life pain by restoring excitatory/inhibitory balance in the anterior cingulate cortex
Article References: Wan, X., Du, T., Yang, D. et al. Deep brain stimulation ameliorates social deficits from early-life pain by restoring excitatory/inhibitory balance in the anterior cingulate cortex. Transl Psychiatry (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-026-04311-z
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-026-04311-z
Keywords: deep brain stimulation, early-life pain, social deficits, anterior cingulate cortex, excitatory/inhibitory balance, neuroscience, brain stimulation, developmental pain, social behavior
A common complication of early birth is being thrust into a medical debate that reaches far beyond the neonatal intensive-care unit: how low is too low when a late preterm baby’s blood glucose falls, and what—if anything—does that episode mean years later? A new article in Pediatric Research examines late preterm hypoglycemia through the lens of long-term evidence, highlighting why a seemingly brief metabolic disturbance has become one of neonatology’s most closely watched questions.
Late preterm infants are typically born between 34 weeks and 36 weeks plus six days of gestation. They often appear stronger and more mature than very preterm babies, but their brains, hormone systems and feeding abilities are still developing. After birth, glucose levels can drop as the infant transitions from a constant placental supply to intermittent feeding. Immature glycogen stores, limited fat reserves, difficulty coordinating sucking and swallowing, and illness-related stress can all increase the risk of hypoglycemia.
Glucose is the brain’s primary energy source during early life, making neonatal hypoglycemia biologically concerning. When glucose delivery falls, the brain may initially compensate by using alternative fuels, including lactate and ketone bodies. If the shortage is severe, prolonged or repeatedly missed, however, energy production can become insufficient. This may interfere with neuronal signaling and, in extreme cases, contribute to cellular injury. The challenge is that many affected newborns show no obvious symptoms, while symptomatic infants may display only subtle signs such as jitteriness, poor feeding, lethargy, temperature instability or apnea.
The article by U. Felderhoff-Müser focuses attention on a crucial gap between immediate treatment and long-term certainty. Hospitals commonly screen infants considered vulnerable to hypoglycemia, including late preterm newborns, and intervene with feeding, buccal dextrose gel or intravenous glucose when indicated. These measures are designed to restore glucose quickly and prevent neurological stress. Yet the threshold used to define hypoglycemia is not a universal biological line. It is a clinical value shaped by gestational age, postnatal age, symptoms, measurement method and the balance between avoiding harm and preventing unnecessary intervention.
That uncertainty has made long-term follow-up essential. Researchers have investigated whether neonatal hypoglycemia is associated with later problems involving cognition, executive function, attention, language, motor coordination and school performance. Some studies have reported higher risks after severe, recurrent or prolonged episodes, while others have found limited or inconsistent effects, particularly when low glucose was detected and treated promptly. The differences may reflect more than glucose itself: prematurity, fetal growth restriction, maternal diabetes, infection, respiratory illness and socioeconomic conditions can independently influence neurodevelopment.
This is one reason the evidence remains difficult to interpret. Most long-term studies are observational, meaning researchers cannot randomly assign infants to experience different glucose levels. Instead, they compare children who had hypoglycemia with those who did not, while attempting to account for other medical and social factors. Even sophisticated statistical adjustments may not eliminate hidden confounding. In addition, studies use different definitions of hypoglycemia, different monitoring schedules and different ages or tools for developmental testing, making direct comparisons challenging.
The timing and pattern of low glucose may be as important as the lowest recorded number. A single short episode may carry a different biological significance from repeated episodes or an extended period below a treatment threshold. Continuous glucose monitoring has raised further questions by revealing fluctuations that intermittent heel-stick testing can miss, although sensor accuracy in newborns and the clinical meaning of every detected dip are still being evaluated. The emerging picture is therefore more complex than a simple division between “normal” and “abnormal.”
For clinicians and families, the practical message is not to dismiss hypoglycemia or to assume that every low reading predicts disability. Instead, the long-term evidence supports careful surveillance of infants at risk, rapid confirmation of abnormal results, and treatment strategies that protect the brain without disrupting feeding or exposing babies to unnecessary interventions. Developmental follow-up may be particularly important for infants with severe or recurrent episodes, neurological symptoms, or multiple additional risk factors. Such monitoring can identify difficulties early, when speech, occupational or educational support may have the greatest effect.
The discussion also underscores the need for better research. Future studies will need standardized glucose definitions, precise records of duration and recurrence, improved measurement technologies and follow-up extending into school age and adolescence. Researchers must also distinguish the effects of hypoglycemia from the conditions that caused it and examine outcomes beyond a single global developmental score. Felderhoff-Müser’s review places late preterm hypoglycemia in that broader scientific context: a common neonatal event whose immediate management is well established, but whose long-term consequences still demand careful, nuanced investigation.
Subject of Research: Late preterm hypoglycemia and its long-term neurodevelopmental evidence
Article Title: Late preterm hypoglycemia through the lens of long-term evidence
Article References: Felderhoff-Müser, U. “Late preterm hypoglycemia through the lens of long-term evidence.” Pediatric Research (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-026-05316-6
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-026-05316-6
Keywords: late preterm infants, neonatal hypoglycemia, blood glucose, neurodevelopment, brain health, newborn care, long-term outcomes
App Store regulatory changes are beginning to affect Apple Services growth as developers gain more ways to avoid Apple’s payment system or pay lower commissions in major markets.
Apple finance chief Kevan Parekh told investors that changes to the App Store business model in some countries had affected its performance during the June quarter. Softer spending on mobile games created additional pressure.
The acknowledgement is significant because regulatory risk has appeared in Apple filings for years without producing a clearly identified effect on Services performance. Apple is now confirming that rule changes have advanced far enough to influence reported results.
The impact does not mean the App Store has stopped growing. Apple described the store as reaching another June-quarter revenue record, while Services expanded by approximately 12% from the previous year.
The emerging issue is the rate of growth. A purchase can still occur inside an iPhone app while generating less revenue for Apple when the customer pays through a developer’s website or uses terms carrying a reduced fee.
Apple did not identify one country or policy as solely responsible for the effect.
The company is adapting to a collection of court orders, competition laws and regulatory agreements that differ substantially among the United States, European Union, China, Brazil, Japan, South Korea and other markets.
Some rules concentrate on payment choice. They allow developers to place links or buttons inside apps leading customers to external checkout pages.
Other changes permit alternative app marketplaces or direct distribution outside the App Store. Several regulators are also examining whether Apple can charge developers for transactions completed through another payment provider.
The financial result depends on the model adopted in each country. Apple may receive no commission, a reduced commission or another fee connected with platform technology and distribution.
This creates a more fragmented App Store business. A subscription sold through the same application can produce different revenue for Apple according to the customer’s country, payment route and the developer terms governing that version of the app.
The most direct change in the United States came from the long-running legal dispute between Apple and Epic Games.
A federal court previously ordered Apple to stop preventing developers from directing customers toward outside purchasing options. Apple responded by allowing certain external links while seeking commissions of between 12% and 27% on purchases completed through them.
The company also introduced design restrictions, an approval process and a warning screen displayed when customers left the App Store environment.
In April 2025, the district court found Apple in civil contempt for failing to comply fully with the anti-steering injunction. The ruling prohibited the company from collecting a commission on purchases made through external links and removed several restrictions governing their appearance.
Apple updated its App Review Guidelines in May 2025. Apps distributed through the United States storefront can include buttons, external links and other calls to action leading customers toward another payment method.
The rules no longer require a special external-link entitlement for the U.S. storefront.
That change gives developers a straightforward financial reason to move some transactions to the web. A company can process a payment through another provider instead of giving Apple a percentage of the digital sale.
The customer can return to the iPhone app and use the purchased subscription or content. The app remains distributed through Apple, but the associated transaction no longer produces the same App Store commission.
Enough developers adopting that route can slow Apple Services growth even if total spending on iPhone applications continues increasing.
The European Union’s Digital Markets Act requires Apple to permit alternative app marketplaces, outside payment systems and other changes intended to reduce its control over iOS distribution.
Developers can remain under Apple’s conventional App Store terms or adopt business terms designed for the European market.
The alternative structure separates several services that were previously combined inside one commission. Developers can choose different levels of App Store support, use Apple’s payment system, provide another payment option or distribute software through a competing marketplace.
Apple introduced reduced commissions and technology-related fees to preserve compensation for the tools, security systems, distribution infrastructure and platform access it provides.
Those terms have changed several times following regulatory objections. Beginning in 2026, Apple started moving from its earlier Core Technology Fee toward a Core Technology Commission applied to eligible digital transactions under particular conditions.
The structure means outside payments do not always eliminate Apple fees in Europe. They can still reduce the amount Apple collects or shift revenue among different fee categories.
Regulators continue examining whether the terms provide meaningful choice or discourage developers from leaving the standard model.
Apple argues that alternative stores and payment systems create additional privacy, security and fraud risks. The European Commission has focused on whether Apple’s warnings, technical requirements and fees make those options unnecessarily difficult to use.
European developers must calculate more than one commission. They need to consider payment-processing costs, marketplace charges, customer acquisition, reporting obligations and the Apple terms attached to each distribution method.
The result may be lower App Store revenue without an equally large shift toward independent marketplaces. External website payments can change Apple’s economics more quickly because they do not require customers to install another store.
App Store regulatory changes are not limited to alternative stores and external payments.
Apple lowered several commission rates in the China mainland storefront beginning March 15, 2026.
Qualifying transactions under the App Store Small Business Program and Mini Apps Partner Program now carry a 12% commission. The same rate applies to eligible auto-renewing subscriptions after the subscriber’s first year.
These transactions previously qualified for a higher 15% rate.
A three-percentage-point reduction may appear small beside demands for completely independent payments. At the scale of China’s app economy, it can remove a meaningful amount of revenue while improving the share retained by developers.
The Mini Apps Partner Program is particularly important in China because large platforms can contain many smaller services inside one host application.
Reducing the commission can encourage those ecosystems to continue using Apple In-App Purchase. It also demonstrates how Apple may respond to pressure by offering more favorable terms before regulators require a more disruptive change.
Lower commissions can support transaction growth over time, but the immediate calculation is straightforward: Apple receives less from each qualifying purchase.
Apple introduced alternative app distribution and payment options in Brazil through an agreement with the country’s competition regulator, CADE.
Beginning with iOS 26.5, developers can distribute apps through alternative marketplaces, operate those marketplaces and process digital payments outside Apple In-App Purchase.
Apps can also present links leading users to an external website where the transaction is completed.
Apple continues applying notarization and other technical requirements to software distributed outside the App Store.
The company maintains that these protections reduce risks but cannot provide the complete safeguards associated with App Review.
Brazil is a major smartphone and digital-services market. Its effect on Apple Services will depend on whether large developers adopt the new options and whether customers are willing to leave the familiar App Store purchasing flow.
An external option existing in software does not guarantee that people will use it. The developer must usually offer a meaningful advantage, such as a lower price, a different subscription package or payment methods better suited to local customers.
Adoption can increase gradually as existing apps release updates. The financial impact may therefore become more visible over several quarters rather than appearing immediately after the regulatory agreement takes effect.
Apple receives a commission when an eligible digital purchase uses its in-app payment system.
The fee compensates Apple for distribution, payment processing, fraud management, developer tools, customer support and access to the iOS platform, according to the company.
The standard percentage varies. Small developers and long-running subscriptions can qualify for reduced rates, while other eligible digital transactions may carry higher commissions.
When payment moves to a developer’s website, an independent processor handles the financial transaction. The developer pays that provider, manages more of the customer relationship and retains the amount that would otherwise become an App Store fee.
Apple may still provide the operating system, APIs, development tools and App Store distribution without receiving the conventional payment commission.
This separation explains why App Store activity and App Store revenue can move differently. People may download more applications and spend more on digital services while Apple captures a smaller percentage of the commerce.
The same customer could maintain several subscriptions used exclusively on an iPhone without any of their monthly payments passing through Apple.
Apple can collect other revenue from that user through hardware, advertising, iCloud or its own subscriptions. The external transaction nevertheless removes one part of the Services model.
The size of the App Store economy should not be confused with Apple’s commissionable revenue.
Apple says the global App Store ecosystem facilitated more than $1.4 trillion in developer billings and sales during 2025. More than 90% of that commerce did not produce a commission for the company.
The largest categories involve physical goods and services such as retail purchases, travel, grocery delivery, restaurant orders and transportation.
Apple does not collect a percentage when someone uses an Amazon app to order furniture, books a hotel or pays for a meal delivered through an iPhone.
App Store commissions generally concentrate on digital goods, application features, virtual items and subscriptions sold through Apple In-App Purchase.
Regulatory changes target this smaller but financially important part of the ecosystem.
Digital transactions require no physical inventory or delivery network, allowing payment commissions to carry attractive margins. Losing part of that revenue can therefore affect profitability more than the dollar amount alone suggests.
Apple does not disclose App Store revenue or profit separately. The category remains combined with cloud services, advertising, media subscriptions, AppleCare, payments and other operations inside Services.
Regulation was not the only factor Apple identified.
Parekh said softer mobile gaming activity also affected the App Store. Games represent an important source of digital transactions because players purchase virtual currency, characters, cosmetic items, subscriptions and access to additional content.
A decline in game spending directly affects the commission Apple receives through In-App Purchase.
Gaming is also one category where developers have pushed aggressively for alternative stores and payments. Epic Games began its legal confrontation with Apple after introducing another payment method inside Fortnite and attempting to bypass App Store commissions.
The simultaneous effects are difficult to separate. A game can generate lower revenue because players are spending less, because payments moved outside Apple’s system or because both changes occurred together.
Apple does not provide enough category detail to calculate the contribution from each factor.
The distinction matters for the outlook. Gaming demand can recover with successful releases and stronger consumer spending. A permanent regulatory change does not reverse when one popular game reaches the top of the charts.
Outside payments can improve the amount a developer retains from each purchase.
A company moving from a conventional App Store commission to a lower-cost web payment processor may use the difference to reduce prices, fund development or improve profitability.
The developer also assumes responsibilities previously handled through Apple.
Independent billing requires payment processing, tax management, fraud protection, refunds, account recovery and customer support. Subscription status must synchronize correctly between the website and the iPhone app.
Customers changing devices or reinstalling an app expect their purchases to remain available. The developer needs its own account system capable of verifying ownership without relying entirely on Apple’s purchase history.
Small developers may decide that Apple In-App Purchase remains worth its fee because it removes operational complexity and gives customers a familiar checkout experience.
Large subscription businesses have stronger incentives to build their own systems. They already maintain accounts and payments across websites, televisions, Android devices and other platforms.
The regulatory effect will therefore vary by developer size and business model. One company may remove Apple billing completely, while another continues using it because external infrastructure would cost more than the commission saved.
External payments create the possibility of lower subscription prices because developers no longer need to incorporate the complete App Store fee into the amount charged.
Some services already cost more when purchased through an iPhone app than through their websites. The higher price allows the developer to preserve similar revenue after Apple receives its share.
A visible external link makes comparing those prices easier. Customers can leave the app, complete the transaction on the web and return with an active account.
Savings are not guaranteed. A developer can retain the entire difference rather than passing it to subscribers.
Independent billing can also make subscription management less consistent.
Settings > Apple Account > Subscriptions
A subscription purchased directly must be canceled through the developer’s website or account system. Customers using many external services may need to remember several billing portals and renewal policies.
Refunds and purchase disputes also move away from Apple. The developer or its payment processor becomes responsible for resolving the transaction.
Choice can reduce prices while increasing complexity. The practical outcome depends on whether developers make external checkout clearly cheaper and easy to manage.
Apple is responding to the changing environment by adding business models and marketing systems that can keep developers using its commerce platform.
Monthly subscriptions with a 12-month commitment allow participating apps to offer lower recurring payments while securing a complete year of revenue.
The Advanced Commerce API supports more complex content catalogs, optional add-ons and subscription structures that were previously difficult to manage through standard In-App Purchase products.
Apple has also expanded tools for custom product pages, promotional offers, application analytics and international distribution.
These additions increase the value attached to App Store billing. A developer may tolerate a commission when Apple provides conversion tools, subscription management and access to promotional placement that would be expensive to reproduce independently.
The company can also adjust rates for particular categories. The Small Business Program, Mini Apps Partner Program and reduced commission for longer-running subscriptions already demonstrate differentiated pricing.
A more competitive payment market may push Apple toward additional service tiers rather than one universal commission.
The United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority is consulting on rules that would allow developers to direct customers outside Apple and Google’s payment systems.
The regulator expects any fee charged for steering to be fair, reasonable and lower than current app-store commissions. It wants the resulting savings passed to customers or reinvested in developer businesses.
The UK proposal is not yet a final requirement. Its eventual structure could determine whether developers receive the broad freedom available in the United States or a fee-based model closer to some European arrangements.
Regulators are also considering app-review fairness, interoperability and access to mobile-platform capabilities.
The outcome will matter beyond British customers. Each major jurisdiction creates another model that regulators elsewhere can examine when designing their own rules.
Apple must decide whether to continue maintaining different commercial systems by country or move toward broader global terms that reduce operational complexity.
Developers face the same choice. Supporting a separate payment route, marketplace package and reporting process for every region can become expensive enough to cancel some of the benefits regulation intended to create.
The next evidence will come from behavior rather than another policy announcement: how many major apps add external payment links, whether they offer lower prices and how quickly customers move away from Apple’s checkout.
The post App Store Regulatory Changes Begin Slowing Services Growth appeared first on AppleMagazine.
The European Union (EU) outlined plans to provide €10 billion in funding to build seven AI gigafactories in addition to unlocking €20 billion in private investment for the project.
In its latest push to accelerate Europe’s technological sovereignty and close the gap to the US and China, the EU stated the initiative would expand AI compute capacity and give start-ups, SMEs, industry and others access to infrastructure for training, inference and tuning of advanced frontier AI models.
It explained the gigafactories would be used to combine advanced AI processors, software and cloud technology stacks, high-speed connectivity and energy-efficient data centres.
They will add to Europe’s network of 19 AI gigafactories with the aim of ensuring the continent can develop advanced AI on its own infrastructure in line with EU rules, following standards on data protection, security and ethics.
The first step is a call for tenders, with the EU inviting consortiums or special purpose vehicles bringing companies, public entities, investors and other partners to apply.
It explained the facilities can be established in a single member state, either on one site or across several locations.
They may also include cross-border developments in several member states through distributed AI computing facilities.
Applications will undergo a competitive valuation to select successful projects. The application process closes on 12 November, with successful bidders to be announced in 2027.
Facilities will need to become operational within 18-months of contracts being signed.
Henna Virkkunen, EVP for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy at the European Commission, said “access to the raw scale of computing power within AI gigafactories is a strategic necessity for Europe as AI development accelerates”.
The post EU pulls trigger on €30B AI gigafactory initiative appeared first on Mobile World Live.
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