Apple has been referred for possible criminal contempt by a US judge who found it wilfully defied a court order to open its App Store to greater competition, escalating its long-running legal battle with Epic Games and raising the stakes for one of the world’s most powerful tech firms.

Dramatic

The ruling marks a dramatic twist in the long-running legal saga between Apple and Fortnite developer Epic Games and could actually lead to some serious legal consequences for one of the world’s most valuable companies.

Deliberate Defiance?

The latest judgement, delivered last week by US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, accuses Apple of “insubordination” and “egregious misconduct” in its handling of a 2021 injunction that required it to allow app developers to direct users to external payment systems.

That original injunction followed a partial victory by Epic Games, which sued Apple over its tight control of in-app purchases and up-to-30 per cent commission fees. While the judge rejected broader monopoly claims at the time, she ruled that Apple could no longer prevent developers from linking users to alternative ways to pay, a move that would cut into Apple’s multi-billion dollar revenue stream from the App Store.

However, according to last week’s court filing, it seems that Apple effectively ignored that order. For example, not only did it introduce new barriers, including a controversial 27 per cent commission on off-app purchases, but it also implemented what the judge called “scare screens” designed to discourage users from straying outside Apple’s walled garden.

Internal Pushback and False Testimony Allegation

In perhaps the most damning section of her ruling, Judge Gonzalez Rogers said Apple’s internal documents showed senior leaders knowingly avoided compliance.

She noted that Apple CEO Tim Cook had rejected advice from App Store architect Phil Schiller to follow the injunction, instead siding with CFO Luca Maestri, who advocated keeping revenue protections in place. The judge wrote bluntly: “Cook chose poorly.”

The ruling also accused Apple’s vice-president of finance, Alex Roman, of lying under oath during the proceedings. “He outright lied,” she wrote, further reinforcing the seriousness of the contempt findings.

Decision Time

The matter has now been referred to the US Attorney for the Northern District of California, who will decide whether to pursue criminal contempt proceedings, a rare and serious step that could lead to fines for the company and potentially even jail time for individuals if charges are brought and proven.

Epic Offers a Truce

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney welcomed the decision as a major milestone in the fight against what he calls Apple’s “junk fees”. He announced that Fortnite would return to the US iOS App Store this week, three years after being pulled amid the legal fallout.

Sweeney also made a surprising peace offer via social media, suggesting Epic would end all related litigation if Apple agreed to apply the new, frictionless payment rules globally. “Game over for the Apple Tax,” he wrote, referencing similar regulatory moves already under way in Europe under the Digital Markets Act.

Apple Pushes Back and Plans Appeal

In a brief statement, Apple said it “strongly disagrees” with the ruling and will appeal to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals. The company is expected to seek a pause on the order while the appeal plays out, although analysts say the appeal may be difficult to win given the weight of evidence already compiled.

Apple also maintains that its updated policies are in line with the injunction. However, the judge ruled that the company’s so-called compliance measures were designed not to enable competition, but to preserve its existing revenue model through subtle deterrents.

What This Could Mean for Apple (and Developers)

The implications of all this could be wide-reaching and, if federal prosecutors do pursue a criminal contempt case, it would mark a highly unusual escalation in a corporate antitrust battle. It could also embolden regulators in other countries, including the UK and EU, where scrutiny of Big Tech practices is intensifying.

For developers, the ruling could finally force Apple to relax some of the strict controls it has long imposed over in-app payments, which is a development that many have lobbied for in recent years. For example, Apple’s 15-30 per cent cut has been criticised as excessive, particularly by smaller app makers who say it squeezes margins and limits innovation.

Meanwhile, investors will be watching closely. While Apple’s stock has remained resilient so far, any criminal findings or further disruption to its lucrative App Store ecosystem could cast a longer-term shadow over one of its most profitable divisions.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

The decision to refer Apple for possible criminal contempt doesn’t mean charges are guaranteed, but it’s a real escalation that could have serious ripple effects. The US Department of Justice will now decide whether to pursue a prosecution, weighing the judge’s findings against internal documents and court testimony that paint a picture of calculated resistance. Even if no charges follow, the ruling sets the precedent that major tech firms can no longer really expect leniency if they appear to sidestep the spirit of antitrust decisions.

For Apple, the stakes are not only legal. The reputational damage from being publicly rebuked by a federal judge, and having a senior executive accused of lying under oath, may affect how regulators, developers, and consumers perceive the company. In an era of heightened scrutiny, where Europe’s Digital Markets Act and the UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill aim to rein in tech monopolies, this case may offer lawmakers fresh justification for tougher rules.

Developers worldwide are also, no doubt, watching closely, particularly those who have long criticised Apple’s App Store fees and restrictions. If the outcome leads to genuine, enforceable change, e.g. lower commissions or real freedom to use alternative payment systems, it could shift the balance of power. For UK businesses building or operating apps, any move towards greater flexibility would be welcome, especially in sectors where margins are tight and growth depends on reaching users without excessive overheads.

Broadly speaking, this saga reinforces how global platforms are being forced to justify longstanding business models under legal pressure. The Epic v. Apple dispute may have started in the US, but its consequences are global, and for regulators, developers and digital firms in the UK and beyond, it’s another sign that the era of unchecked platform dominance may finally be nearing its end.

Meta has changed the default settings on its Ray-Ban smart glasses, meaning voice recordings and photos may now be stored and used to train its AI, unless users take action to stop it.

The update, which came into effect in late April, enables AI features by default. When triggered by a wake word like “Hey Meta”, the glasses can now record and store voice interactions for up to a year. These recordings may be reviewed by humans and used to improve Meta’s AI models, with no option to opt out, and only a manual delete option in the app.

Meta has also confirmed that photos and videos taken with AI features active may be analysed too, potentially putting bystanders’ faces into AI training data without their knowledge. The company says this helps its systems understand different accents and commands more accurately.

The policy seems to follow Amazon’s recent shift with Echo devices, where cloud processing now replaces local handling, thereby raising fresh concerns about always-on surveillance in consumer tech.

Businesses using AI wearables should review settings immediately, disable voice storage if possible, and ensure staff are trained to avoid capturing sensitive information.

Google says the future of AI depends on a new generation of electricians and that’s why it’s investing massively to train them.

A Different Kind of Skills Shortage

As artificial intelligence (AI) systems grow ever more powerful, so too does their appetite for energy. From data centres to new-generation processors, it seems that the infrastructure needed to support AI’s rapid expansion is demanding more electricity than the current US grid can reliably provide. That’s the reason Google has given (in a new white paper) for its plan to help plug the gap, not just with money and technology, but with people.

Funding The Training of Electricians

Through its philanthropic arm Google.org, the tech giant says it will fund the training of 100,000 electricians and 30,000 apprentices across the United States. The move appears to be part of a broader push to secure America’s power supply in a way that supports the clean energy transition, accelerates grid modernisation, and enables sustainable AI development.

The commitment was detailed in a new white paper, Powering A New Era of American Innovation, and marks one of Google’s most significant public interventions yet into the country’s energy workforce crisis.

Why Electricians, and Why Now?

In short, the US doesn’t have enough electrical workers to build the energy systems of tomorrow. For example, according to Google’s analysis, around 130,000 more electricians will be needed by 2030 just to meet the rising demand from AI-driven data centres, advanced manufacturing, and renewable infrastructure.

However, the country is currently only seeing around 7,000 new entrants into the trade each year, while 10,000 leave due to retirement or career changes. That gap, Google warns, could create a bottleneck that undermines efforts to modernise the grid and shift towards clean energy, both of which are essential if AI is to scale sustainably.

“In particular, a shortage of electrical workers may constrain America’s ability to build the infrastructure needed to support AI, advanced manufacturing and a shift to clean energy,” Google said in an official blog post accompanying the announcement.

Google is essentially saying that this isn’t just about wires and transformers, but it’s a case of trying to enable a smarter, greener, more resilient energy system, and have enough skilled workers to build it.

How Will Google’s Programme Work?

Google says the training drive will be delivered in partnership with the electrical training ALLIANCE (etA), an educational organisation created by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA). Google’s annual funding, reported by Reuters to be in the region of $10 million, will help expand etA’s existing apprenticeship and training efforts nationwide.

Under the plan:

– 100,000 existing and new electrical workers will be trained or upskilled over five years.

– 30,000 new apprentices will be added to the pipeline.

– Google’s AI Essentials course will be offered to help workers gain tech skills alongside trade qualifications.

– The etA will incorporate AI tools into its training curriculum to modernise how electricians are taught.

The aim, according to Google, is to boost the number of qualified electrical workers by 70 per cent within five years, with a particular focus on supporting data centre construction and clean energy deployment.

For example, new AI data centres often require custom electrical designs, cooling systems, and backup power setups that go well beyond standard building projects. Electrifying transport and industry, meanwhile, demands everything from high-capacity cabling to grid-tied battery storage, which are all areas where skilled electricians are indispensable.

AI, Data Centres, and the Power Crunch

The urgency behind Google’s plan is rooted in some stark energy projections. For example, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) last year tripled its five-year energy demand forecast, citing the surging power needs of AI and cloud infrastructure.

Also, some studies now estimate that data centre electricity use could triple in the US by 2028, reaching around 12 per cent of America’s national consumption. This surge comes after nearly two decades of flat electricity demand across the country, a trend now reversed by the parallel rise of AI and electrification.

US President Donald Trump recently declared a national energy emergency, which could help speed up approval for new energy generation and grid projects. At the same time, companies like Microsoft and Google are also making direct investments in nuclear, geothermal, and solar technologies to meet their own needs. For example, Google has struck corporate power agreements to source energy from small modular nuclear reactors and advanced geothermal plants, and recently announced a partnership with the PJM Interconnection, the US’s largest regional grid operator, to use AI to speed up grid connections.

However, it should be noted here that infrastructure alone won’t solve the problem without enough people to build and maintain it, hence the renewed focus on workforce development and Google’s latest announcement.

Sustainability

Google has long positioned itself as a leader in sustainability. The company has operated on 100 per cent renewable energy since 2017, and is now aiming for 24/7 carbon-free energy across all operations by 2030. That means matching its energy use with carbon-free sources in every location, every hour of the day.

However, clean power is only part of the puzzle. The company acknowledges that its growing AI workloads, while becoming more energy-efficient per task (improving by around 20 per cent per year, it says), still require a massive buildout of new capacity.

In its white paper, Google outlines 15 policy recommendations to accelerate this shift in a sustainable way. These include:

– Fast-tracking permits for clean energy and grid projects.

– Supporting carbon capture and storage (CCS) development.

– Expanding domestic nuclear fuel supply chains.

– Providing cost-overrun protections for next-gen reactors via the Department of Energy.

– Upgrading and optimising the existing power grid to increase efficiency.

– Promoting collaboration between public agencies, utilities, and private firms to fund innovation and build infrastructure at scale.

The message is that without strategic investment in both clean energy and skilled labour, the AI boom could risk being held back by very human limitations.

Criticism

While Google’s initiative has been broadly welcomed, some observers have questioned whether tech companies should be the ones shaping America’s energy and workforce policies. There are concerns about the influence of Big Tech in public infrastructure planning, particularly when it involves nuclear energy or private-sector-led training models.

Others have pointed out that while $10 million a year is significant, it’s still only a fraction of what’s needed to resolve systemic shortages in skilled trades. Workforce experts have noted that the industry also needs better retention, inclusive recruitment, and safer working conditions to make the trades attractive long term.

That said, organisations like the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), a major US-based trade union, see the Google partnership as a vital step forward. For example, Kenneth Cooper, the union’s international president, has been quoted as saying that the initiative would “bring more than 100,000 sorely needed electricians into the trade to meet the demands of an AI-driven surge in data centres and power generation.”

There’s also the question of whether sustainability goals will remain aligned with AI’s growth. If data centres continue to expand at the projected pace, some environmental groups have warned that even low-carbon sources may struggle to keep up, especially without tighter efficiency standards and demand-side management.

What Does This Mean For Your Organisation?

Google’s plan to fund the training of thousands of electricians may seem like a niche workforce initiative, but it could point to something much bigger, i.e. changing how we think about powering digital innovation sustainably. As AI pushes the boundaries of what’s possible, it is also pushing the limits of ageing infrastructure. In recognising that a cleaner, smarter grid is only achievable with enough people to build it, Google’s strategy ties together environmental goals with practical action.

For the US, this could help ease a looming pressure point, thereby giving the energy sector time to evolve without being overwhelmed. For other countries grappling with similar challenges, it may offer a blueprint. In the UK, for example, data centre expansion, electric vehicle infrastructure and clean energy targets are already converging to create demand for electrical expertise. While the scale may differ, the underlying issues are strikingly familiar. UK businesses watching this development may want to consider how workforce readiness and energy resilience will shape their own digital sustainability strategies.

It’s worth noting also that there are still some valid concerns and the long-term impact of private sector influence in shaping national infrastructure policy remains a live debate. Also, while Google’s investment is notable, closing the electrician gap will actually require far broader coordination, both financially and politically. The success of the programme will likely depend not just on funding and training, but on creating a pipeline that is inclusive, safe, and valued.

Even so, this announcement by Google appears to have highlighted an often overlooked and important point, i.e. that if the world wants to make AI sustainable, then investments in clean energy must go hand-in-hand with investments in people. Electricians may not often be the headline in conversations about AI, but in Google’s latest vision of the future, they appear to be every bit as essential.

You can be working on one document (e.g. a MS Word document or a spreadsheet or Powerpoint presentation) and get CoPilot to intelligently source material from another location (such as another document or online source) and embed it in your working document. Not only that, it can also auto-format it for you so that it looks native to your working document … clever stuff!

[Note – To Watch This Video without glitches/interruptions, It may be best to download it first]

Your Facebook public profile info can be scraped for scams, impersonation or phishing, but with a few quick settings, you can lock things down and stay in control. Here’s how:

Limit Who Can See Your Posts:

– Go to ‘Settings & Privacy > Settings > Privacy’.

– Under ‘Your Activity’, set ‘Who can see your future posts?’ to ‘Friends’.

Review All Your Posts and Things You’re Tagged In:

– In Privacy Settings, click on ‘Limit Past Posts’ to change past public posts to friends only.

– Enable ‘Timeline Review’ and ‘Tag Review’ under ‘Profile and Tagging Settings’ to review posts you’re tagged in before they appear on your timeline.

Control Who Can Send You Friend Requests:

– Under ‘How People Find and Contact You’, set ‘Who can send you friend requests?’ to ‘Friends of friends’.

– Restrict Who Can Look You Up Using Your Email or Phone Number:

– Set ‘Who can look you up using the email address/phone number you provided?’ to ‘Friends’ or ‘Only me’.

Prevent Search Engines from Linking to Your Profile:

– Turn off ‘Do you want search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile?’

Pro-Tip: Regularly review your privacy settings to ensure they reflect your current preferences. Facebook occasionally updates its settings, so it’s good practice to check them periodically.

OpenAI has declared its interest in buying Google Chrome (if Alphabet is forced to sell it following an antitrust ruling against the tech giant), raising major questions about the future of internet browsing, AI, and search.

OpenAI’s Interest Made Clear During Antitrust Testimony

Speaking during a landmark antitrust trial in Washington DC, OpenAI’s Head of Product for ChatGPT, Nick Turley, confirmed that the AI company would “absolutely” consider buying Chrome should it become available.

“Yes, we would, as would many other parties,” Turley testified. He added that integrating ChatGPT directly into Chrome could create “a really incredible experience,” giving users a glimpse into an “AI-first experience” for web browsing.

Turley’s comments came during a three-week remedies phase of the US Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit against Google, where the focus has shifted from proving wrongdoing to deciding what structural changes might be needed to restore competition.

The Google Antitrust Trial

Google’s troubles with US regulators are nothing new, but the current trial represents one of the most serious challenges to the company’s dominance. In 2023, a federal judge ruled that Google maintained an illegal monopoly over online search. For example, proposed remedies include:

– Forcing Google to divest its Chrome browser.

– Preventing Google from paying companies (e.g. Apple, Samsung) to make Google their default search.

– Forcing Google to share its search index with rivals.

Chrome has become a central focus because of its overwhelming influence on how users access the internet. For example, according to Similarweb, Chrome commands around 64 per cent of the global browser market. Microsoft’s Edge trails far behind at 13.35 per cent, while Apple’s Safari holds 21 per cent of the market.

Therefore, if the court orders Google to spin off Chrome, it would clearly be one of the most significant regulatory interventions in tech history, and it now seems as though OpenAI is positioning itself as a major contender to scoop it up.

Why OpenAI Wants Chrome

At its core, OpenAI’s interest in Chrome is likely to be about reach. Despite the soaring popularity of ChatGPT, distributing AI services directly to users has been a major hurdle. As Brian Jackson, Principal Research Director at Info-Tech Research Group (quoted in Fortune) puts it: “Control of a browser is control of the primary access point to the web,” and that “Owning Chrome would instantly give OpenAI a massive footprint and new opportunities to harvest browser interaction data.”

Currently, ChatGPT Search exists as a Chrome extension, with around three million users according to the Chrome Web Store. However, deeper integration could significantly enhance both the functionality and the adoption rate of OpenAI’s tools.

Turley also highlighted that access to web browsing is crucial to OpenAI’s ambitions to build a “super assistant” , i.e. an AI capable of helping users with real-time, accurate information across daily tasks.

However, it seems that OpenAI has faced stiff barriers to wider distribution. Although it successfully partnered with Apple to integrate ChatGPT into iPhones, it has struggled on Android, where Google’s influence is stronger. For example, since January, Google has paid Samsung to make its own Gemini AI model the default on Samsung devices, leaving little room for rivals.

“Our powerful competitors control the access points,” Turley said, warning that without new avenues, OpenAI’s growth could be limited.

What Would It Mean If OpenAI Bought Chrome?

For OpenAI, the benefits of getting Chrome are clear, i.e. it’s an instant gateway to billions of users, deeper integration of AI into everyday browsing, and access to a treasure trove of real-time user interaction data.

For users, however, the picture may be more complicated. For example, OpenAI already holds vast amounts of data through ChatGPT interactions. If it owned a browser, it could potentially access even more detailed information about user behaviour, searches, and preferences. This raises new privacy concerns. As Professor Anjana Susarla, an expert in Information Systems at Michigan State University, says: “The idea of an AI company having access to your browsing history should make everyone think carefully about data protection.”

There would also be a significant shift in the competitive landscape. Today, Google dominates not just search but also browser-based advertising. OpenAI’s takeover of Chrome could fragment the market, creating new opportunities for Microsoft (with Bing and Edge), Apple (with Safari), and rising AI-powered search engines like Perplexity AI.

What Does Google Say?

Unsurprisingly, Google is not keen on the idea! In a statement, Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s Head of Regulatory Affairs, said that the government’s proposals would “hurt America’s consumers, economy, and technological leadership.”

Google has also made clear that it has no intention of selling Chrome voluntarily. The company plans to appeal the earlier rulings that declared it a search and advertising monopolist.

Challenges and Criticisms of an OpenAI Chrome Acquisition

While the prospect is tantalising for OpenAI, it would not be without major challenges. For example:

– Antitrust regulators would almost certainly scrutinise any deal that allowed OpenAI (itself heavily backed by Microsoft) to control a major internet gateway. Microsoft’s existing links to OpenAI through its Azure cloud deals and investments could raise concerns about a new type of market consolidation.

– The backlash over data privacy could be fierce. Businesses, particularly those reliant on sensitive web applications, would likely be cautious about trusting a browser tied to an AI company whose models constantly learn from user interactions.

– Maintaining a browser the size and complexity of Chrome is no small feat. Ensuring security updates, standards compliance, and feature innovation at the scale Chrome users expect would stretch OpenAI’s capabilities far beyond its current experience.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

The possibility of OpenAI acquiring Chrome, while still hypothetical, marks a pivotal moment for the future of internet browsing, AI development, and competitive dynamics across the tech sector. Should Alphabet be forced to part with its prized browser, it could fundamentally alter how billions of users experience the web, and who holds influence over that journey.

For OpenAI, the opportunity to directly control such a vast user base would accelerate its ambitions to integrate AI into everyday life. Yet the potential for wider concerns around privacy, regulatory scrutiny, and concentration of power would be equally profound. An AI company, especially one with OpenAI’s scale and reach, controlling both a major browser and a large language model platform would invite fresh questions over how personal data is used, secured, and monetised.

From a business perspective (especially for UK firms) any shift in browser ownership could have far-reaching implications. Chrome remains the default environment for a significant proportion of business applications, marketing strategies, and customer engagement channels. A transition to an OpenAI-owned Chrome could introduce new integrations, potentially making AI-powered tools more accessible, but it could also mean greater complexity around data governance and compliance requirements, particularly under UK GDPR standards. Firms may need to review their digital strategies more closely if browser platforms start embedding AI deeper into the browsing experience.

Meanwhile, for Google, the threat of losing Chrome would weaken its dominance not only in search but also in digital advertising and browser-driven innovation. Rivals like Microsoft, Apple, and emerging AI-first players could find new openings to grow their own ecosystems, leading to a more fragmented, but potentially more dynamic marketplace. Other stakeholders, from consumers to regulators, would need to weigh up the benefits of greater competition against the risks of concentrating browsing and AI capabilities in fewer hands.

Whether OpenAI’s interest in Chrome becomes reality or not, the mere fact it is seriously being discussed shows how the battle lines in tech are rapidly redrawing. Search, browsing, and AI are no longer separate arenas but are becoming a single, contested frontier. How that frontier is shaped (and who wins control over it) will have lasting consequences for users, businesses, and the broader digital economy alike.