Category: Google

Google Struck $360-Million Activision Deal to Block Rival App Store, Lawsuit Says

OAKLAND, Calif.—Alphabet Inc’s Google has struck at least 24 deals with big app developers to stop them from competing with its Play Store, including an agreement to pay Activision Blizzard Inc. about $360 million over three years, according to a court filing on Thursday. Google also agreed in 2020 to pay Tencent Holdings Ltd’s Riot…


NTD Business (Nov. 18): Rep. Davidson: Why Isn’t FTX Founder in Custody?; Twitter Staff Leaving

A wave of Twitter employees are leaving because they’re unwilling to become “extremely hardcore.” Some users wonder if this could be the death of Twitter. We talk to lawmaker and crypto expert Rep. Warren Davidson on the FTX crypto scandal. He wants to know why the founder is still walking free. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health allegedly worked…


NTD Business (Nov. 18): Twitter Staff Leaving After Musk Ultimatum; State Installed Spyware on 1M Phones: Lawsuit

A wave of Twitter employees are leaving because they’re unwilling to become “extremely hardcore.” Some users wonder if this could be the death of Twitter. We talk to lawmaker and crypto expert Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) about the FTX crypto scandal. He wants to know why the founder is still walking free. The Massachusetts Department of Public…


Lawsuit Claims Massachusetts and Google Installed COVID-19 ‘Spyware’ on 1 Million Devices

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) is facing a class action lawsuit for allegedly working with Google to install “spyware” onto the Android devices of a million state residents without their knowledge during the COVID-19 pandemic. Plaintiffs Robert Wright and Johnny Kula were among 1 million Massachusetts residents who had the state’s “COVID Exposure Settings: US-MA”…


40 State AGs Win Huge Settlement Against Google but Is It Enough?

Commentary After the midterms, it’s hard to believe that miracles happen, but maybe they do. Maybe we’re not completely communist China yet (read: everybody is tracked all of the time everywhere they go on the internet as well as who knows where else by the government and Big Tech.). Forty state attorneys general (AG) have…


How Google Stopped the Red Wave

Commentary What happened to the gigantic Red Wave that was supposed to crush the Democrats in the midterm elections? Every Republican in the country is blaming everyone else for this disaster, but almost no one is looking in the right place—and that’s exactly how the Big Tech companies like it. Based on my team’s research,…


Google Pays $391 Million to Settle Privacy Lawsuit for Tricking Users into Sharing Location Data

Google has agreed to pay over $391 million to settle a bipartisan, multistate action that accuses the search giant of deceiving users about how their location data are handled. The settlement came about 10 months after state attorneys general from 40 states filed suits separately in each jurisdiction, alleging that Google has, since at least…


Google Reaches Agreement With DOJ Over Compliance With Subpoenas, Search Warrants

Tech giant Google has reached a stipulated agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) promising to reform and upgrade its legal process compliance program after it allegedly lost federal data that was being sought by investigators in 2016. In a press release, the DOJ said that under the “first-of-its-kind resolution,” Alphabet Inc.’s Google will improve its legal process compliance program,…


India Fines Google $113 Million Over Abuse of Dominance for Second Time in a Week

India’s antitrust watchdog on Tuesday fined tech-giant Google 9.36 billion rupees ($113 million) for abusing its dominant position to promote its in-app payment system, the second penalty imposed by India in a week. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) said that Google’s Play Store policies require app developers to use Google’s billing system for apps…


Google Sets Up High-Tech School at Israeli University

JERUSALEM—Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Israel’s Reichman University have set up a school to train high-tech professionals, offering courses in computer programming, sales and data analysis among other subjects, the university said on Monday. Israel has a vibrant high-tech sector but a severe shortage of skilled tech workers has led to tens of thousands of unfilled…