Apple is reportedly testing DRAM chips from a US-blocked Chinese company, the US wants to restrict corporate use of Chinese AI, and DuckDuckGo’s Browser can now block video ads

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Apple is reportedly testing RAM chips from a US blocked Chinese company.
The US government wants to restrict corporate use of Chinese AI.
And DuckDuckGo's browser can now block video ads, including YouTubes. It's Wednesday, July 8th, and here's a quick look at some of the news happening in and around tech this morning from Engadget.
Apple has reportedly started testing DRAM chips made by Shengshen Memory Technologies, which was recently blacklisted by the Defense Department for devices meant to be sold within China. According to the Financial Times, Apple has already progressed to testing the company's memory chips with its devices, while it is still lobbying the US government to give it permission to use CXMT's products. The Times first reported that Apple was looking to buy DRAM from the Chinese chip maker in late June. Earlier in the month, the Pentagon added CXMT to its 1260H blacklist made up of companies it believes are linked to the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Reuters reported in mid-June that the Trump administration held off on adding CXMT, along with other Chinese companies like DeepSeek, to the blacklist, in order to avoid escalating tensions with Beijing. However, the latest copy of 1260H from the Defense Department's website clearly includes Shengshen Memory Technologies. In its report, the Times explains that CXMT was pretty unknown globally and was bleeding billions before the industry's memory shortage problem had thrust it into the spotlight. It's now the fourth largest producer of DRAM in the world, after Samsung, SK Hynex, and Micron. The company has 15 state-owned shareholders at the moment, at least, and most of its privately owned funds are backed by state-owned partners. It reportedly plans to raise $4.3 billion in an upcoming IPO. Now, technically, Apple is not prohibited from doing business with companies on the 1260H list, CXMT included, but it could face repercussions if it does not get the Trump administration's blessing. Apple reportedly approached the US government about using CXMT's products in late May or early June, and has been using its connections in Washington in hopes of getting the White House to agree.
Buying chips from CXMT could help Apple weather current memory shortages. It's already getting DRAM for Micron, Samsung and SK Hynix, but it still had to raise prices across its iPad and Mac lineups. Apple is expected to face objections from Congress if the president agrees to its plan, however, with US Representative John Mullenar already calling the potential partnership a grave mistake.
The US is gearing up to at least try and stifle American companies' use of Chinese-made AI models in their operations. CNBC quoted an unnamed State Department spokesperson who said the use of Chinese models by US companies raises serious concerns. The unnamed individual added that Chinese AI is designed to advance Beijing's narratives, censor dissent, and reflect CCP ideology and values. The report claims US companies are opting for Chinese AI models due to their lower cost and comparable quality. It cited Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who posted about the company's use of two Chinese-made AIs, GLM 5.2 made by ZAI and Kimi 2.7, which is a product of Moonshot. An additional CNBC report from June quoted the CEO of startup Lindy, which switched to DeepSeek to help curb surging costs. Another driver could be the instability of the status quo with the US government and its domestic AI champions. A few days ago, Nikkei Asia reported on a surge of American companies, including Airbnb and Uber, racing to adopt Chinese AI models. It said the surge correlates with Anthropix's suspension of the use of two models, Mythos 5 and Claude Fabel 5, at the behest of the government. Now, it's not clear if the US could directly impose a sweeping ban on the market's choice of AI models beyond altering its own procurement rules. And it is likely the US would not be eager to restrict the use of open-source models given the potential First Amendment issues that would create. Not to mention it would be difficult to demand companies change their operations in overseas territories. Apple, for instance, uses Alibaba's generative AI platform for iPhones sold in China. What is clear is that there is no love lost between the US and China on the subject of the use of each other's AI models. Reuters reported Chinese authorities have engaged in similar talks with domestic companies to prevent the use of homegrown AI overseas. In addition, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has announced Anthropics Clawed Code includes a backdoor, which it claims poses a serious threat. Now, we can only expect to hear plenty more about this in the coming weeks, months, possibly years.