Apple announced Monday it plans to boost its investment plans in the United States to $430 billion over the next five years, saying this would add some 20,000 jobs.

The updated plan includes more than $1 billion for a new campus and engineering hub in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina.

Apple also plans to invest "tens of billions of dollars for next-generation silicon development and 5G innovation across nine US states," a statement said.

The California tech giant said it was increasing its 2018 goal of $350 billion in US investments after Congress passed a measure lowering taxes on repatriated profits for American firms.

"At this moment of recovery and rebuilding, Apple is doubling down on our commitment to US innovation and manufacturing with a generational investment reaching communities across all 50 states," said Apple chief executive Tim Cook.

"We're creating jobs in cutting-edge fields -- from 5G to silicon engineering to artificial intelligence -- investing in the next generation of innovative new businesses, and in all our work, building toward a greener and more equitable future."

The news comes with Apple and other tech giants facing heightened antitrust scrutiny for their growing dominance of key economic sectors, which has increased during the pandemic.

Big Tech firms are also being targeted for tax reform both in the United States and globally.

Apple said it is "the largest taxpayer in the US" and has paid almost $45 billion in domestic corporate income taxes over the past five years.

The company said it was on track to meet its 2018 goal of creating 20,000 new jobs in the US by 2023 and that with the latest commitment, expects to create another 20,000 over the next five years.

The latest effort calls for expansion or new facilities in parts of California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Texas, Washington state, and Iowa.

China food delivery giant Meituan faces anti-trust probe
Beijing (AFP) April 26, 2021 - Regulators have launched an anti-trust probe into Meituan, one of China's biggest food delivery firms, they said Monday, as Beijing clips the wings of its soaring tech companies.

The probe was prompted by reports that Meituan allegedly engaged in forced exclusivity agreements with vendors, the State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement.

Those were among its "suspected monopolistic behaviours", the regulator said.

E-commerce titan Alibaba was hit by a record 18.2 billion yuan ($2.78 billion) fine this month after facing a similar charge.

The woes of Meituan, which counts gaming giant Tencent as a shareholder, is the latest sign that China's assault on big tech is far from over.

Beijing has taken the country's tech firms to task in order to curtail the reach of private companies into the public's daily finances and -- analysts believe -- to rein in their runaway expansion as well as the status of their super-rich founders.

Two weeks ago the regulator warned 34 technology giants -- including Baidu, Tencent and Meituan -- to "rectify" any anti-competitive measures, prompting a series of public pledges to abide by anti-monopoly guidelines.

Regulators told internet companies to "heed the warning of Alibaba's case".

Alibaba too had come under fire for forcing the practice of "choosing one of two" on retailers -- where merchants are compelled to work only with one platform and not its rivals.

Companies such as e-commerce platform JD.com have since pledged to avoid such behaviour.

Alibaba and JD.com, along with messaging and gaming giant Tencent, have become hugely profitable on the back of growing Chinese digital lifestyles and government restrictions on major US competitors in the domestic market.

But as the platforms amassed hundreds of millions of regular users, concern has risen over their influence in China, where they are used for a huge array of daily tasks.

Fintech firm Ant Group, an Alibaba affiliate whose planned record-shattering $35 billion Hong Kong-Shanghai IPO was shelved late last year, also announced this month it would comply with an overhaul outlined by regulators and become a financial holding company -- meaning it will be supervised more like a bank in the future.

Facebook, Spotify team up to allow in-app music listening
New York (AFP) April 26, 2021 - Facebook is expanding its partnership with Spotify to create a mechanism for listening to full songs within the social network, which recently has been turning its attention to audio offerings.

Starting Monday in 27 markets including the United States, paying Spotify subscribers will be able to listen to audio content -- including full music tracks and podcasts -- on Facebook, using a miniplayer to allow continued scrolling within the networking app.

Facebook called the move a "natural next step" in its relationship with Spotify. In 2019 the companies made a deal to allow short music clips from Spotify to be posted on Facebook Stories.

The announcement comes a week after Facebook said it was adding podcasts and "live audio rooms" as it faces competition from the fast-growing audio-based app Clubhouse.

More than 170 million people are connected to Facebook pages centered on podcasts, and some 35 million users are members of podcast fan groups, but before now listening to one required leaving the social network.

Facebook also planned to begin testing Live Audio Rooms and expects the feature to be available to all users by the middle of this year.

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Apple moving forward on app privacy, despite pushback
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