Stories by Grant Gross

Apple defends offshore decisions that result in low taxes

Apple pays a fair share of the taxes it owes the U.S. and other nations, its CEO said Tuesday, despite criticism from U.S. senators that the company is ducking taxes by shifting profits to subsidiaries that the company does not consider tax residents of any nation.

Senate report: Apple claims subsidiaries with no taxing jurisdiction

Apple has set up three foreign subsidiaries that the company claims are not resident in any nation for taxing purposes, in an effort to avoid paying tens of billions of dollars in taxes to the U.S. and other countries, according to a new report from a U.S. Senate subcommittee.

T-Mobile drops challenge to FCC's net neutrality rules

T-Mobile USA has dropped a pending challenge to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules.

Alleged tech support scammers settle FTC charges

Operators of two alleged tech support scams that charged consumers hundreds of dollars to supposedly fix their computers have settled charges from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Advocates call for legal protections for copyright consumers

The U.S. Congress should consider a "safe harbor" from legal action for consumers using works protected by copyright as it launches a long-term effort to revamp copyright law, some advocates said Thursday.

NetChoice: California privacy bills are bad for Internet

E-commerce trade group NetChoice takes aim at state legislation -- and at open access and privacy advocates -- in the newest list of bills it deems would be awful for the Internet.

Syrian Internet service comes back online

Internet traffic in and out of war-torn Syria has been restored after a disruption of nearly eight and a half hours, according to Internet traffic charts.

US agencies can't track savings from data center closings

The U.S. government's effort to close 1,253 of its data centers is falling short of its goal, and agencies haven't been able to track projected cost savings for the initiative, a government auditor told lawmakers.

TechAmerica: US tech employment grows slightly in 2012

The U.S. tech industry added 67,400 jobs in 2012, a 1.1 percent increase from a year earlier, according to a new report from the TechAmerica Foundation.

Survey: US residents oppose Internet sales tax

The U.S. Senate has, by a wide margin, supported a bill allowing an Internet sales tax, but the legislation appears to be a tougher sell to the public.

Appeals court ruling could be 'death' of software patents

A U.S. appeals court has ruled that an abstract idea is not patentable simply because it is tied to a computer system, signaling what one judge described as the "death" of software and business method patents.

US lawmakers introduce apps privacy bill

New legislation introduced by a group of U.S. lawmakers would require mobile application developers to obtain consent from consumers before collecting their personal data and to secure the data they collect.

FCC moves toward new airplane broadband service

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has taken a major step toward helping more airlines offer in-cabin wireless broadband, with the agency voting Thursday to explore using new spectrum for air-to-ground broadband service.

Obama administration expands open data access

U.S. President Barack Obama has signed an executive order requiring that government data be made available in open, machine-readable formats, expanding open-access requirements from earlier in his administration.

Study: US military too reliant on foreign-made equipment

The U.S. military's reliance on foreign-made products, including telecommunications equipment and semiconductors, is putting the nation's security at risk by exposing agencies to faulty parts and to the possibility that producing nations will stop selling vital items, according to a new report from the Alliance for American Manufacturing.