Twenty advocacy groups from around the world warn that Google’s acquisition of Fitbit risks damaging privacy and competition
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Google Buys North Smart Glasses, Closes Down Product
Canadian smart glasses maker North acquired by Google, which then immediately kills the next version of its wearable device
Coronavirus: Google Delays Re-opening US Offices
Google offices in the United States are to remain shut until September, as Coronavirus infections surge in certain parts of America
Google To Pay Publishers For ‘High Quality’ News In Three Countries
Regulatory pressure payout? Search engine confirms it will pay some news publishers in certain countries to license news content
Google To Delete User Searches, Location Data After 18 Months
Privacy win? Google will automatically delete user’s website searches and visits, as well as some location data, after 18 months
Google To Spend $2 Billion On Polish Data Centre
Cloud services push in Europe reportedly sees Google investing as much as $2 billion for a data centre location in Poland
Researchers Find Weaknesses In Apple-Google Trace Tech
Apple and Google’s coronavirus contact-tracing framework fails to accurately log exposures on a commuter bus, Dublin academic study finds
France Upholds Record Google Data Protection Fine
French court upholds earlier £45m penalty on Google for failing to obtain Android users’ consent to use their personal data for personalised ads
NHS Says Apple-Google Contact Tracing Tech ‘Inaccurate’
Technology developed by Apple and Google for use by contact-tracing apps is unable to accurately determine how far away other devices are, NHS says
US Government To Reject Pacific Undersea Cable – Report
Undersea cable funded by Google and Facebook, connecting Los Angeles to Hong Kong, is to be blocked by US over national security concerns
Spyware Impacts Chrome Extensions, Downloaded Millions Of Times
Awake Security discover ‘massive, criminal surveillance campaign’ via 32 million downloads of extensions for Google’s Chrome web browser
Former Google Boss Eric Schmidt Calls Out Huawei’s ‘Unacceptable Practices’
Eric Schmidt says Huawei does pose national security risk and has engaged in ‘unacceptable acts’, but the Chinese firm denies his accusations
Robot Dog Spot From Boston Dynamics On Sale For $74,500
Fancy being an owner of a robot dog? Well, if you happen to have £59,000 in cash spare, then you can purchase Spot from Boston Dynamics
Tech Firms Pledge Child Abuse Disclosures To Blunt Anti-Encryption Drive
Strategic move? Google, Facebook, Microsoft pledge to improve and standardise annual disclosures around online child exploitation
Google Adds Covid-19 Travel Alerts To Maps
Users will now receive data on how crowded trains and stations are likely to be and alerts on restrictions affecting public transport or border crossings
US Investigators ‘Lean Toward’ Breaking Up Google’s Ad Tech Business
US state attorneys general probing Google over antitrust issues are reportedly leaning toward pushing for the company’s advertising tech business to be broken up
DoJ Investigates Google Search Domination, Approaches DuckDuckGo
US competition authorities have approached Google search rival DuckDuckGo, in a sign its antitrust investigation is advancing
Android Phones Bricked By Picturesque Wallpaper Of A Lake
Idyllic photo of a mountain lake surrounded by trees actually bricks Android phones, and in some cases only a factory reset will restore the device
Google Hit With Lawsuit For Tracking Internet Use
Class action lawsuit seeks $5 billion from Google, for allegedly tracking people’s internet usage via browser’s ‘private mode’
Italy Releases Controversial Covid-19 Contact-Tracing App
Italy’s Immuni app makes use of Apple and Google’s decentralised exposure notification API, but concerns remain over privacy and security protections
Google Postpones Android 11 Launch Event
The virtual launch event for Android’s next version, originally set for this week, has been pushed back amidst civil unrest across the US and beyond
Coronavirus: Google To Reopen Some Offices In July
Sundar Pichai tells staff that Google intends to open some offices starting from 6 July, as other tech firms give staff option to work from home forever
Coronavirus: France Approves Contact Tracing App
French minister defends centralised approach of its Covid-19 contact-tracing app, citing the French and UK’s nuclear deterrent
Latvia Set To Release Covid-19 App Based On Tech Companies’ Framework
Latvia is aiming to be one of the first countries to release a Covid-19 contact-tracing app based on Apple and Google’s API, released only last week
Google Chrome Follows Firefox Lead With DoH Option
Three months after Firefox turned on privacy feature called DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH), Google’s Chrome browser gets same feature, but only if ISPs support it
Coronavirus: Apple, Google Release Contact Tracing API
Both firms say 22 countries and a number of US states have requested to use the contact-tracing API for their own systems
Apple And Google Set To Release Coronavirus API Amidst Privacy Furore
Native coronavirus contact-tracing tech set to make official debut in the next few days as UK and Germany differ on triggering ‘positive’ alerts
Coronavirus: One In Four YouTube Covid-19 Videos Are Misleading
More than a quarter of Coronavirus videos on YouTube contain “misleading or inaccurate information”, a new study has warned
France Requires Social Media Firms To Remove Content Within One Hour
That could difficult. French parliament passes a law that requires social media companies to delete certain content within an hour
Alphabet To Deploy Google Project Loon In Mozambique
Loon signs deal with South African operator Vodacom to deliver balloon-powered high speed 4G and internet connectivity to rural provinces in Mozambique