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After deflecting the US Justice Department's attack on its illegal monopoly in online search, Google is facing another attempt to dismantle its internet empire in a trial focused on its abusive tactics in digital advertising. The trial scheduled to begin Monday in an Alexandria, Virginia, federal court will revolve around the harmful conduct that resulted in US District Judge Leonie Brinkema declaring parts of Google's digital advertising technology to be an illegal monopoly. The judge found that Google has been engaging in behaviour that stifles competition to the detriment of online publishers that depend on the system for revenue. Google and the Justice Department will spend the next two weeks in court presenting evidence in a remedy trial that will culminate in Brinkema issuing a ruling on how to restore fair market conditions. Although the judge hasn't set a timetable for making that decision, it's unlikely to come down before the end of this year because additional legal brief
A federal jury has ordered Google to pay $425.7 million for improperly snooping on people's smartphones during a nearly decade-long period of intrusions. The verdict reached Wednesday in San Francisco federal court followed a more than two-week trial in a class-action case covering about 98 million smartphones operating in the United States between July 1, 2016, through Sept 23, 2024. That means the total damages awarded in the five-year-old case works out to about $4 per device. Google had denied that it was improperly tracking the online activity of people who thought they had shielded themselves with privacy controls. The company maintained its stance even though the eight-person jury concluded Google had been spying in violation of California privacy laws. This decision misunderstands how our products work, and we will appeal it, Google spokesman Jose Castaneda said Thursday. Our privacy tools give people control over their data, and when they turn off personalisation, we honour
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered a major makeover of Google's search engine in a crackdown aimed at curbing the corrosive power of an illegal monopoly, but rebuffed the US government's request to break up the company. The 226-page decision made by US District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, DC, will likely ripple across the technological landscape at a time when the industry is being reshaped by artificial intelligence breakthroughs including conversational answer engines as companies like ChatGPT and Perplexity try to upend Google's long-held position as the internet's main gateway. Mehta is trying to rein in Google by placing new restraints on some of the tactics the company deployed to drive traffic to its search engine and other services. But the judge stopped short of banning the multi-billion dollar deals that Google has been making for years to lock in its search engine as the default on smartphones, personal computers and other devices. Those deals, involving payments of .
Google signed an agreement with Chile on Wednesday to deploy an undersea fiber optic cable connecting South America with Asia and Oceania, a first-of-its-kind project that aims to cement the South American country's status as a major digital hub. The Humboldt Cable, envisioned for deployment in 2027, is a 14,800-kilometer (9,200-mile) submarine data cable that will connect Chile's coastal city of Valparaso with Sydney, Australia through French Polynesia. The initiative is being launched almost a decade after it was first proposed in 2016, and six years after the initial studies to determine its feasibility. This is the first submarine cable in the South Pacific, so it's an important commitment", Chilean Transport Minister Juan Carlos Muoz told journalists. Chile, home to one of Google's largest data centers in Latin America, is currently connected to the United States and the rest of the region via an undersea cable. This cable also provides Chile with a longer route to other ...
Google will return to federal court Friday to fend off the US Justice Department's attempt to topple its internet empire at the same time it's navigating a pivotal shift to artificial intelligence that could undercut its power. The legal and technological threats facing Google are among the key issues that will be dissected during the closing arguments of a legal proceeding that will determine the changes imposed upon the company in the wake of its dominant search engine being declared as an illegal monopoly by US District Judge Amit Mehta last year. Brandishing evidence presented during a recent three-week stretch of hearings, Justice Department lawyers will attempt to persuade Mehta to order a radical shake-up that includes a ban on Google paying to lock its search engine in as the default on smart devices and an order requiring the company to sell its Chrome browser. Google lawyers are expected to assert only minor concessions are needed, especially as the upheaval triggered by .
Google's profits soared 28 per cent in this year's opening quarter, overcoming the competitive and legal threats that its internet empire is facing amid an economy roiled by a global trade war. The numbers released Thursday by Google parent Alphabet Inc. indicated the company is rising to the challenge so far, but investors are likely to remain concerned about the turbulent times ahead. The Mountain View, California, company earned USD 26.5 billion, or USD 2.15 per share, during the January-March period, up from USD 20.7 billion, or USD 1.64 per share, at the same time last year. Revenue rose 12 per cent from last year to USD 96.5 billion. The results easily exceeded analysts' projections, according to FactSet Research. Alphabet's stock gained more than 3 per cent in extended trading after the numbers came out. The shares had fallen by 16 per cent since the end of last year. Google's first-quarter performance illustrated the continuing power of its long-dominant search engine in a