Tag Archives: Google

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is being sued by the family of a North Carolina man who drowned after he drove off a collapsed bridge while following outdated directions from the Maps app.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 …

Axios reports: In a reversal of its election integrity policy, YouTube will leave up content that says fraud, errors or glitches occurred in the 2020 presidential election and other U.S. elections, the company confirmed to Axios Friday. YouTube established the policy in December 2020. Now, the company said in a statement, leaving the policy in place may have the effect …

Engadget reports: Google is rolling out a Gmail feature that aims to help you figure out whether a sender is genuine or if they may be a scammer. When you receive an email from a company that has verified its identity, you’ll see a blue check next to their name in your inbox. When you hover over the blue check …

Bloomberg Law reports: The US Justice Department and eight states sued Alphabet Inc.’s Google, calling for the break up of the search giant’s ad-technology business over alleged illegal monopolization of the digital advertising market. “Google abuses its monopoly power to disadvantage website publishers and advertisers who dare to use competing ad tech products in a search for higher quality, or …

The Verge reports: The Federal Elections Commission dismissed a Republican-led complaint that Google’s filters in Gmail unfairly send GOP fundraising emails to spam folders at a higher rate than those from Democrats. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the FEC’s dismissal on Tuesday, citing a commission letter to Google earlier this month saying that it “found no …

Axios reports: The Republican National Committee (RNC) has filed a lawsuit against Google in a U.S. district court in California for allegedly putting its campaign emails in the spam folders of its millions of users. Why it matters: Google last month launched a pilot program to keep campaign emails out of spam. But the RNC has been criticizing the program, …

Gizmodo reports: What kinds of promises does it take for Truth Social, a platform renowned for spreading misinformation and falsehoods by its most prolific and influential users, to get approved on Google Play Store? Apparently, all it takes is a vague promise to actually adhere to its existing terms of service. Late on Wednesday Trump Media & Technology Group, the …

Axios reports: Google hasn’t yet approved Truth Social’s Android app for distribution via its Play Store because of insufficient content moderation, a Google spokesperson tells Axios. What Google is saying: “On Aug. 19, we notified Truth Social of several violations of standard policies in their current app submission and reiterated that having effective systems for moderating user-generated content is a …

The Guardian reports: Elon Musk has denied a Wall Street Journal report claiming he had an affair with Nicole Shanahan, the wife of the Google co-founder Sergey Brin, accusing the outlet of running “hit pieces” on him and Tesla. The chief executive of the electric carmaker tweeted on Monday rejecting the claim that he had an affair with Shanahan as …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Elon Musk engaged in a brief affair last fall with the wife of Sergey Brin, prompting the Google co-founder to file for divorce earlier this year and ending the tech billionaires’ long friendship, according to people familiar with the matter. Their falling out is one of a string of personal issues Mr. Musk has faced …

The Verge reports: Google says it’ll start automatically deleting visits to abortion clinics, domestic violence shelters, weight loss clinics, and other potentially sensitive locations from users’ location histories in the coming weeks. In a blog post on Friday, the company says that the deletion will happen “soon after” the visit, once its systems have identified that a trip was made …

Axios reports: An escalating dispute between national Republicans and technology giant Google threatens to bring political heat on the company and could spur significant changes in political email practices. The Republican National Committee fired the latest shot on Wednesday, when chairwoman Ronna McDaniel claimed in a statement to Axios that Google has “systematically attacked” its digital program. The RNC claims …

Ars Technica reports: Four Democratic US senators today asked the Federal Trade Commission to “investigate Apple and Google for engaging in unfair and deceptive practices by enabling the collection and sale of hundreds of millions of mobile phone users’ personal data.” The letter cited the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, saying that women “seeking abortions and other reproductive …