The European Commission’s Tuesday ruling that devices must have a common charging method by 2024 -- by 2026 for laptop computers -- will have minimal impact on device makers, including Apple, Futuresource analyst Simon Forrest emailed us Thursday. Most products affected by the ruling have at least one more design cycle ahead that can be accommodated before the fall 2024 deadline, the analyst said.

The FCC’s newly reconstituted Technology Advisory Council met for the second time Thursday, dedicated to exploring 6G, as directed by FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. She and TAC members said 5G is still in early stages, but it’s not too early to focus on the next generation of wireless. TAC heard updates from its working groups on the work they have done so far during a virtual meeting.

For ATSC 3.0 to become a commercial success, broadcasters “have to promote the heck out of it,” CTA CEO Gary Shapiro told the NextGen Broadcast Conference Thursday in Detroit. Shapiro spoke in person on a panel with NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt, who participated via Zoom because, he said, his wife tested positive for COVID-19 Wednesday. Shapiro said he tested positive a few weeks ago.

Snap One is “one of the few software companies in the world that don’t charge an ongoing fee: We need to change that,” said Chief Financial Officer Mike Carlet at a Tuesday investor event. The company is working on monetizing its software offerings to reflect the maintenance required for a smart home, he said.

California greenlit a much-awaited privacy rulemaking when the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) agreed at a meeting livestreamed Wednesday to consider California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) draft rules. Proposed regulations tilt heavily toward consumers and could raise business compliance costs, said privacy lawyers.

A recent increase in U.S. sanctions against ransomware actors helped to slow the effectiveness of cyberattackers and limit their profits, witnesses told the Senate Homeland Security Committee Tuesday. But the U.S. can do more to counter ransomware activity, they said, including working closer with allies to track ransomware payments and collecting better information from industry.

Target warned Tuesday that rising inventory will squeeze profits in its July quarter, and it slashed operating margin rate guidance to “around 2%.” That’s down from the “wide range” around 5.3% guided to by Chief Financial Officer Michael Fiddelke last month on the company’s fiscal Q1 earnings call for the quarter ended April 30 (see 2205180037).

Personalization, personal safety, digital wallet and enhanced health features stood out in Apple’s product, iOS 16 and watchOS 9 announcements from its virtual Worldwide Developers Conference Monday from Cupertino, California. The company also launched the latest round of MacBooks, powered by the next-gen M2 chip, with laptops starting at $1,099 for the education market.

At least one prominent right-to-repair advocate thinks it’s a virtual certainty that tech companies will sue to block the Digital Fair Repair Act that cleared the New York Assembly Friday by a 145-1 vote (see 2206030034). The bill, which would take effect a year after Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signs it into law, requires OEMs to provide parts, tools and repair documentation to consumers and independent repair shops.

Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss.; House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J.; and panel ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., floated a discussion draft Friday of the American Data Privacy and Protection Act in a bid to advance compromise tech-focused privacy legislation before the end of this Congress. The proposal’s chances of advancing before the end of the year could be hampered by a rapidly closing legislative window and a lack of buy-in from Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., lobbyists and officials told us.