Page 70 - Google

AI used to alter political ads will require prominent disclosure on Google

Google will soon require that political ads using artificial intelligence be accompanied by a prominent disclosure if imagery or sounds have being synthetically altered. Starting in November, just under a year before Election Day, Google said in an update to its political content policy that disclosure of AI to alter images most be clear and conspicuous and be located somewhere that users are likely to notice it. Though fake images, videos or audio clips are not new to political advertising, generative AI tools are making it easier to do, and more realistic. Some presidential campaigns in the 2024 race including that of Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis already are using the technology. The Republican National Committee in April released an entirely AI-generated ad meant to show the future of the United States if President Joe Biden is reelected. It employed fake but realistic photos showing boarded-up storefronts, armoured military patrols in the streets, and waves of immigrants ...

'Dear Mr Pichai': Google CEO recalls first email his father had sent him

Sundar Pichai recalled the time when he sent his father an email message when he was a student in the US

Google Play to allow real money games certified by SRBs as per IT rules

As per a console page of Google Play, it currently allows only valid licensed or authorised gambling apps in categories like online casino games, sports betting, horse racing

Google reaches tentative settlement with 36 states, DC in antitrust suit

Thirty-six states and the District of Colombia have reached an agreement in principle with Google to settle a lawsuit filed in 2021 over the tech giant's alleged monopolistic control of app distribution for the software that runs most of the world's cellphones. The agreement, cited in a court filing late Tuesday by both sides, is subject to approval by the state attorneys general and the board of directors of Google's parent company, the execution of an agreement and court approval. Terms were not disclosed. The Utah attorney general's office, the lead plaintiff, did not offer immediate comment, nor did Google. "We don't have a comment at this time, Google spokesperson Peter Shottenfels said via email. A trial date had been set for Nov 6. The complaint filed in a Northern California federal court echoed similar allegations that mobile game maker Epic Games made against Google that is scheduled to go to trial in November. Apple prevailed in a separate suit Epic filed against it ov

Google schedules Pixel 8 smartphone series launch for Oct 4: What to expect

The Pixel 8 smartphone series is expected to bring imaging improvements on top of season upgrades with regard to design, features, and performance

Microsoft, Apple want Bing, iMessage off the EU's gatekeepers list: Details

Both Microsoft and Apple argue that their services are not large enough to justify the subjection to the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA)

Canada tries to address news law concerns, Facebook not convinced

Both Google and Facebook have said the law is unworkable for their businesses, and Meta ended news sharing on its platforms in Canada last month

66th Malaysia National Day 2023: Google Doodle celebrates Hari Merdeka

Google Doodle celebrates Malaysia's 66th National Day denoting the country's independence from British rule in 1957. Netizens are wishing 'Selamat Hari Merdeka' (Happy Independence Day, Malaysia)

Google unveils enterprise artificial-intelligence tech, new AI chip

The flurry of announcements is part of Google's recent effort to showcase its AI plans, after Microsoft caught the company off guard with an ambitious AI strategy it has been rolling out since last yr

US Judge cancels class-action lawsuit won by users against Google

The ruling, which is yet to be finalized, would dramatically reduce potential damages facing Alphabet Inc. over claims that Google Play abuses its control over Android mobile applications

Vivek Ramaswamy's popularity surges with impressive fundraising post-debate

Indian-American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy's popularity rating and online fundraising surged on Thursday, a day after the maiden Republican presidential debate. According to the Ramaswamy campaign, the 38-year-old presidential aspirant raised more than USD450,000, with an average donation of USD38, in the first hour after the debate. The entrepreneur-turned-politician was being hit hard by three of his top rivals former New Jersey Governor Chris Christies, former Vice President Mike Pence and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. "In Trump's absence, Ramaswamy drives the GOP debate," popular Axis reported. The first poll that came out after the debate said that 28 per cent of the 504 respondents said that Ramaswamy performed the best. He was followed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis with 27 per cent, and Pence (13%). Haley received the vote of seven per cent. According to Fox News, Ramaswamy was the most Google-searched GOP candidate for the first Republican presidential debate.

Google chucks away bad reviews of tracker exposing Uyghur forced labor

The Human Rights Foundation's Uyghur Forced Labor Checker had been experiencing a spate of unusual activity in recent months

Tech giants powering deepfake AI algorithms used in porn industry: Report

During the recent AI boom, the creation of nonconsensual pornographic deepfakes has surged, with the number of videos increasing ninefold since 2019

Delhi HC dismisses 2 PILs against operations of Google Pay over violations

The Delhi High Court has rejected two public interest litigations seeking directions to cease the operations of Google Pay for alleged violation of regulatory and privacy norms in the country. Petitioner Abhijit Mishra alleged that the operations of Google Pay in India as a payment system provider were unauthorised as it did not have the necessary permission. Dismissing the petitions, a bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma said Google Pay is mere third-party app provider which requires no authorisation from RBI under the Payments and Settlement Systems Act (PSS Act) and there was no merit in the pleas. The petitioner claimed that Google Pay did not find a mention under the list of entities authorised under the PSS Act and other statutory regulations for setting up and operating a payment system in India. Concerns were also raised in relation to Google Pay's unfettered access to its customers' personal information such as Aadhaar, PAN and other transaction details. I

Madras HC temporarily restrains Google from delisting apps of startups

Order will apply if firms pay 4% of gross revenue of downloads from Play Store and share data for it with Google

Russia fines Google $32,000 for videos about the conflict in Ukraine

A Russian court on Thursday imposed a 3-million-ruble ($32,000) fine on Google for failing to delete allegedly false information about the conflict in Ukraine. The move by a magistrate's court follows similar actions in early August against Apple and the Wikimedia Foundation that hosts Wikipedia. According to Russian news reports, the court found that the YouTube video service, which is owned by Google, was guilty of not deleting videos with incorrect information about the conflict which Russia characterises as a special military operation. Google was also found guilty of not removing videos that suggested ways of gaining entry to facilities which are not open to minors, news agencies said, without specifying what kind of facilities were involved. In Russia, a magistrate's court typically handles administrative violations and low-level criminal cases. Since sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has enacted an array of measures to punish any criticism or questioning

Alphabet's rapidly expanding $118 billion cash pile poses a new problem

Apple in the last five fiscal years has returned almost $5 billion more than the record $454 billion in cash it generated

Google can't claim safe harbour if uses trademarks as keywords in Ads: HC

Use of trademarks as keywords by Google in its Ads Programme does amount to "use" under the intellectual property law and, in case of infringement, it cannot claim benefit of "safe harbour" from liability under the law, the Delhi High Court has said. The court's observations came on an appeal by Google against the order of a single judge bench on a lawsuit by Agarwal Packers and Movers Ltd alleging that the use of its trademark and its variations as keywords on Ads Programme resulted in the diversion of traffic from the website of the plaintiff to that of the advertiser. A bench headed by Justice Vibhu Bakhru said prima facie, Google is an "active participant" in use of the trademarks of proprietors and it was difficult to accept that the search engine would be exempted under Section 79 of the Information Technology (IT) Act from the liability of infringement of trademarks by its use of the trademarks as keywords in the Ads Programme. "Google is not a passive intermediary but runs a

YouTube to show video recommendations only if watch history feature is on

YouTube has the watch history toggle available in a dedicated section on the My Google Activity settings page

Gmail app for Android, iOS to get native translation feature soon: Details

Gmail app for Android will get the translation feature in two weeks, and it will be available for iOS devices on August 21