Tag Archives: Google

The New York Times reports: Google acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in some online advertising technology, a federal judge ruled on Thursday, adding to legal troubles that could reshape the $1.88 trillion company and alter its power over the internet. Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia said in a ruling that …

CNN reports: Mexico will take Google to court if maps shown to US-based users continue to label the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America across the entire body of water, President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday, arguing that US President Donald Trump’s order to rename it only applies to the part of the continental shelf under US control. “What …

Ars Technica reports: Google’s Chrome browser might soon get a useful security upgrade: detecting passwords used in data breaches and then generating and storing a better replacement. Google’s preliminary copy suggests it’s an “AI innovation,” though exactly how is unclear. Chrome already has a feature that warns users if the passwords they enter have been identified in a breach and …

CNBC reports: Google’s popular online and mobile calendars no longer include reference to the first day of Black History Month or Women’s History month, among other holidays and events. The company’s calendar previously had those days marked at the start of February and March, respectively, but they don’t appear for 2025. On Google Calendar, the company has removed other events …

CNBC reports: Google said Monday it will change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” in Google Maps after the Trump administration updates its “official government sources.” The company also said it will start using the name “Mount McKinley” for the mountain in Alaska currently called Denali. Last week, President Donald Trump signed executive actions that …

Politico reports: Google CEO Sundar Pichai will join the growing list of tech executives sitting on the dais as President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office on Monday, according to a person familiar with the company’s plans who was not authorized to speak publicly. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a close confidant of the incoming president, is expected to attend the …

CBNC reports: Google donated $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration fund, becoming the latest major tech company to try and curry some goodwill with the incoming administration. “Google is pleased to support the 2025 inauguration, with a livestream on YouTube and a direct link on our homepage. We’re also donating to the inaugural committee,” Karan Bhatia, Google’s global head …

CNBC reports: The Department of Justice is calling for Google to divest its Chrome browser, following a ruling in August that the company holds a monopoly in the search market. Chrome, which Google launched in 2008, provides the search giant with data it then uses for targeting ads. The DOJ said in a filing on Wednesday that forcing the company …

CNN Business reports: Russia is seeking an unfathomable sum of money from one of the world’s biggest tech companies. Google reportedly owes the Kremlin more than 2 undecillion rubles — a 2 followed by 36 zeroes — after refusing to pay fines that are now accruing for blocking pro-Russian channels on YouTube. The virtually unpronounceable penalty amounts to $20 decillion …

Reuters reports: Alphabet’s Google broke the law with its monopoly over online searches and related ads, a federal judge ruled on Monday, in the U.S. Justice Department’s first victory against a monopoly in more than 20 years. The decision is a significant win for the Justice Department, which had sued the search engine giant over its control of about 90% …

Courthouse News reports: A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a case filed by the Republican National Committee over improperly routed emails, ruling that Google violated no legislative policy or harmed its users. U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Calabretta found Republicans made no proper accusation under California’s unfair competition law, or that Google intentionally interfered with economic relations. Additionally, the party …

Mashable reports: The explosion of nonconsensual deepfake imagery online in the past year, particularly of female celebrities, has presented a difficult challenge for search engines. Even if someone isn’t looking for that material, searching for certain names can yield a shocking number of links to fake explicit photos and videos of that individual. Google is trying to tackle that problem …

The Associated Press reports: Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin loved pulling pranks, so much so they began rolling outlandish ideas every April Fool’s Day not long after starting their company more than a quarter century ago. The jokes were so consistently over-the-top that people learned to laugh them off as another example of Google mischief. And that’s why …

Gizmodo reports: Have you seen a claim on social media that Google is “sunsetting” Gmail this coming August? What appears to be a screenshot from an official Google announcement has gone viral on X, but it’s completely fake. “We are reaching out to share an important update about Gmail. After years of connecting millions worldwide, enabling seamless communication, and fostering …

Ars Technica reports: Hot on the heels of Google’s “One” subscription plan obtaining 100 million users, YouTube is also hitting that big milestone, with 100 million people paying for Premium and YouTube Music. YouTube’s subscription data didn’t make it into the earnings call three days ago. Ad-free videos have been getting the most aggressive promotion lately, with Google cracking down …

Business Insider reports: On Thursday, Google agreed to settle a $5 billion class-action privacy lawsuit alleging that it spied on people who used the “incognito” mode in its Chrome browser to track their internet use. The lawsuit filed in 2020 claimed Google misled users into believing that it wouldn’t track their internet activities while using incognito mode. The suit argued …

The Associated Press reports: On Monday, the California-based tech giant released its “Year in Search,” a roundup of 2023’s top global queries, ranging from unforgettable pop culture moments (hello, Barbenheimer ), to the loss of beloved figures and tragic news carrying worldwide repercussions. The ongoing Israel-Hamas war topped news trends in 2023, per Google’s global data, followed by queries related …

The New York Daily News reports: Google is being sued by the family of a North Carolina man who drowned after he drove off a collapsed bridge while following outdated directions from the Maps app. Philip Paxson was driving home from his daughter’s birthday party on Sept. 30, 2022 when his car plunged into Snow Creek in Hickory — about …

Politico reports: Starting in November, Google will mandate all political advertisements label the use of artificial intelligence tools and synthetic content in their videos, images and audio. As campaigns and digital strategists explore using generative AI-tools heading into the 2024 election cycle, Google is the first tech company to announce an AI-related disclosure requirement for political advertisers. Already, a PAC …

Ars Technica reports: Google Wallet on Android is finally getting ready for your digital driver’s license and other US state IDs. Google says the feature is rolling out this month, and it will slowly start bringing states online this year. Of course, your state has to be one of the few that actually supports digital IDs. Google says Maryland residents …