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A24 TECHNOLOGY
Saturday 24 auguSt 2019

Appeals court insulates Qualcomm U.S. fossil

from FTC’s antitrust win fuel official
says tech
can help
By MICHAEL LIEDTKE immediately imposed.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Qualcomm argued Koh’s coal industry
A federal appeals court provisions would have un-
is temporarily protecting fairly eroded its revenue By MEAD GRUVER
Qualcomm from an an- and potentially given CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP)
titrust ruling that would away its technological se- — Touring Wyoming at
have forced the mobile crets. The stay will prevent a crucial time for the
chipmaker to drastically that from happening while top coal-mining state,
change how it licenses key Qualcomm pursues its ap- the U.S. official who
technology for connecting peal. Oral arguments are oversees government
smartphones to the inter- scheduled for January. research into fossil fu-
net. Until then, the stay will allow els said Thursday it’s
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Qualcomm “to continue to not too late for new
Appeal granted a stay Fri- invest in inventing the fun- technology to help the
day in a high-stakes case damental technologies at coal industry.
that has pitted U.S. gov- the heart of mobile com- Technology to put car-
ernment agencies against munications at this critical bon dioxide from coal-
each other while magnify- This Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018 file photo shows the logo for time of transition to 5G,” fired power plants to
ing Qualcomm’s pivotal Qualcomm on a screen at the Nasdaq MarketSite, in New York. said Don Rosenberg, the widespread, economi-
role in an upcoming shift to Associated Press company’s general coun- cal use is on track to hit
ultrafast wireless connec- national security. They ar- suspected ties to its home sel. the market within 10 to
tions, known as 5G. gued the ruling would hob- country’s government. The FTC expressed disap- 25 years, Winberg said.
The latest twist will prevent ble Qualcomm so severely The shift to 5G during the pointment with the stay, but The clock is ticking.
the Federal Trade Com- that the San Diego com- next decade is expected promised to monitor Qual- Winberg’s visit to Wyo-
mission from enforcing key pany would have to curtail to enable advances in ro- comm’s business practices ming coincides with
provisions of a lower court much-needed investments botics, wearable devices during the appeal. more uncertainty
ruling that said Qualcomm in the evolution to 5G, such as smartwatches and Qualcomm’s stock shed about coal’s future
abused its portfolio of opening the door for China smart glasses, self-driving $2.39, or 3%, to $74.76 in than ever before.
about 140,000 patents to to gain an advantage in a cars and communications. Friday’s afternoon trading, Financial troubles
stifle competition. critical area of technology. The appeals court cited primarily driven down by a have shut down two
The Justice Department, Qualcomm is a leader in concerns from the Justice, widespread sell off in ma- huge open-pit mines
joined by the Defense and the 5G, along with Euro- Defense and Energy de- jor technology companies in the Powder River Ba-
Energy departments, had pean-based Ericsson and partments and said Qual- as investors worried about sin. About 700 people
taken the unusual step of Nokia and China’s Huawei, comm had “demonstrated how Trump’s escalating at the Eagle Butte and
urging the appeals court to a company that has been the probability of irrepa- trade war with China will Belle Ayr mines were
stay, or put on hold, parts of blacklisted by the Trump rable harm” if U.S. District affect the industry’s future furloughed when the
that ruling in the interests of administration because of Judge Lucy Koh’s ruling is profits.q mines’ owner, Milton,
West Virginia-based
Trump asks appeals Blackjewel LLC, filed
for bankruptcy July 1.
court to reconsider Blackjewel’s bank-
ruptcy is one of two in
Twitter-blocking case the basin this year and
six since 2015 as coal-
fired power plummets
By LARRY NEUMEISTER that account will be state from about half of all
Associated Press action subject to constitu- U.S. electricity genera-
NEW YORK (AP) — President tional scrutiny,” the lawyers tion a decade ago to
Donald Trump hasn’t given wrote. less than 30 percent
up his fight to block critics It is rare for the 2nd Circuit now.
from his Twitter feed. to grant a request for the Winberg’s trip focused
Justice Department law- 11 appeals judges who on fossil fuel technolo-
yers Friday asked the full have not reached senior gies, including tech-
2nd U.S. Circuit Court of status to collectively con- This July 8, 2019, file photo shows President Donald Trump niques to keep the
Appeals in Manhattan to sider a case. The appeals speaking during an event about the environment in the East greenhouse gas car-
decide whether a three- court generally grants such Room of the White House, in Washington. bon dioxide from en-
judge appeals panel erred a request less often than Associated Press tering the atmosphere
in ruling he could not. once a year. cluded Trump’s daily pro- count he created in 2009, from coal-fired power
They said the case has im- If the request for what is nouncements and obser- long before he became plants. He oversees
portant implications for called an “en banc” hear- vations were overwhelm- president. They said it the Energy Depart-
public officials who increas- ing is denied, the case ingly official in nature. It should be treated like any ment’s coal, oil and
ingly use social media, par- could still be appealed to said he thus violated the personal property belong- natural gas research
ticularly on personal social the U.S. Supreme Court. First Amendment whenever ing to Trump. and development pro-
media accounts. The lawyers from the Justice he blocked a critic to si- “His ability to exclude oth- gram and the Office
“If the panel is correct, Department’s civil division lence a viewpoint. ers from this personal prop- of Petroleum Reserves,
public officials who address say the July ruling conflicts The Justice Department erty is likewise independent which runs oil and gas-
matters relating to their with prior court precedents lawyers insisted in their of his office. That authority oline reserves the U.S.
public office on personal and presents a question of latest filing that the presi- was conferred on him by can use during severe
accounts will run the risk “exceptional importance.” dent’s @realDonaldTrump Twitter, not by the govern- supply interruptions.q
that every action taken on The 2nd Circuit panel con- account is a personal ac- ment,” they wrote.q