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Google: Open Web Is in 'Rapid Decline'

Court filing ties web's struggles to changes in digital advertising

(Newser) - In a notable shift from its recent public statements, Google has now acknowledged in a court filing that "the open web is already in rapid decline." The admission, flagged by industry observers and first reported by Search Engine Roundtable , comes as Google faces a legal battle over...

EU Hits Google With $3.5B Fine
EU Slaps Google With $3.5B Fine
Sep 5, 2025 10:58 AM CDT

EU Slaps Google With $3.5B Fine

Ruling ad-tech antitrust case is stiff, but a retreat from previous threats to break Google up

(Newser) - It's another blow against Google. European Union regulators on Friday hit the company with a $3.5 billion fine for breaching the bloc's competition rules by favoring its own digital advertising services. This marks the fourth such antitrust penalty for the company as well as a retreat from...

Google Ordered to Pay $426M for Snooping on Smartphones

Verdict covers 98M phones over 8 years

(Newser) - 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...

Google Escaped the Worst Scenario. Critics Have Concerns

As judge follows precedent, onlookers fear illegal conduct will continue

(Newser) - Alphabet shares jumped 9% on Wednesday after a judge spared Google from a forced breakup in a landmark antitrust case , easing investor concerns and fueling optimism about the tech giant's future, per CNBC . The Department of Justice had pushed for sweeping remedies , including forcing Google to sell off...

Google Avoids Breakup in Monopoly Case

But judge orders major makeover of search engine

(Newser) - 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
...

Hardly Anyone Buys the 'Smartest' Phone

Google looks to change that as it unveils the Pixel 10

(Newser) - Details have been leaking out ahead of Wednesday's announcement of Google's new Pixel 10 smartphone, with talk of the first foldable phone with an IP68 rating, a triple camera setup with a 5x telephoto lens, and Qi2 magnetic wireless charging, per the Verge . At Android Police , longtime Samsung...

YouTube's New AI System to Shake Out Young Users

Age-verification protocols to find underage viewers will be based on the videos they watch

(Newser) - YouTube on Wednesday will begin testing a new age-verification system in the US that relies on artificial intelligence to differentiate between adults and minors, based on the kinds of videos they've been watching. The tests initially will only affect a sliver of YouTube's US audience, but will likely...

Perplexity Throws Down $34.5B Gauntlet for Google Chrome

Startup's bid arrives as a judge weighs antitrust remedies for Google

(Newser) - AI upstart Perplexity is making waves with a bold $34.5 billion bid for Google's Chrome browser, aiming to elbow into the search market currently dominated by the tech titan. The San Francisco-based company, valued at $18 billion, claims it has full investor backing for the offer, per...

Bidding Wars for AI's Top Talent Would Make an NBA Star Blush

Tech giants battle for top minds with record-breaking deals

(Newser) - The bidding war for artificial intelligence talent is looking less like a job market and more like NBA free agency, minus the salary cap. Take 24-year-old Matt Deitke, per the New York Times : Meta dangled an initial offer of $125 million in cash and stock to recruit him from...

'Freak Accident' Kills Google Engineer on Yosemite Trail

Falling branch struck Angela Lin, raising questions about trail safety

(Newser) - A peaceful hike among Yosemite's towering sequoias turned tragic when a Google engineer was fatally struck by a falling tree branch. Angela Lin, 29, was killed while hiking with her boyfriend and two friends in Yosemite's famed Tuolumne Grove on July 19, per SFGate . She was nearly...

During 7.8-Magnitude Quake, Google Sent Out Just 469 Alerts

Alert system underestimated quake strength, failed to wake users

(Newser) - Google has acknowledged that its Android-based earthquake warning system failed to deliver timely alerts to millions during the deadly 2023 earthquakes in Turkey. Just 469 "Take Action" alerts—the system's highest-level warning designed to override a Do Not Disturb setting and wake users—were sent out ahead...

In Silicon Valley, 9 Households Own Staggering Piece of the Pie

About 15% of the wealth as the disparity of wealth in Silicon Valley is getting much, much worse

(Newser) - In Silicon Valley, the ultra-rich get richer while many residents struggle just to survive. The Guardian reports that economic inequality in the California region that's home to the likes of Apple, Google, and Meta has reached staggering new levels. According to San Jose State University's 2025 "Silicon...

Mexico Sues Google Over Gulf Name Dispute

Sheinbaum says company has ignored her government's requests

(Newser) - The day after the US House of Representatives endorsed a name change, Mexico said it has sued over Google Maps' use of "Gulf of America" for US users instead of "Gulf of Mexico." President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday that the lawsuit has been filed, though she didn'...

Fake Firm Staffed With Bots Was a 'Total Disaster'

Carnegie Mellon researchers discovered that their AI 'workers' weren't particularly good at their jobs

(Newser) - What would happen if a fake company was created from scratch, staffed completely by bots? Researchers at Carnegie Mellon wanted to know the answer, so they launched The Agent Company , a virtual simulation of a software company that put artificial intelligence "agents" from such companies as OpenAI, Google, Meta,...

Even Google Is Warning Parents About Its AI App for Kids

Company says it will soon launch its Gemini App for children under the age of 13, worrying critics

(Newser) - Artificial intelligence is still going through some growing pains , which is why parents may want to pay special attention to the latest development. "Gemini Apps will soon be available for your child," read an email from Google about its AI chatbot to guardians of kids with supervised accounts,...

Biggest Inauguration Donor Was a Poultry Company

Pilgrim's Pride gave $5M of Trump's record $239M haul

(Newser) - President Trump not only won the 2024 election, the campaign to raise cash for his inauguration also hit the jackpot. As NBC News reports, Trump's inaugural committee raised a staggering $239 million, smashing the previous record—also held by Trump from his first inauguration—of about $107 million. Bloomberg...

Federal Judge Delivers a Major Blow to Google

Declares company has an illegal monopoly on digital advertising

(Newser) - Google suffered a major legal defeat in federal court on Thursday when a federal judge found that the company had an illegal monopoly on digital advertising, reports the Wall Street Journal . Judge Leonie Brinkema of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia said the next step will...

In a First, Japan Tells Google to Cease and Desist

Commission says tech giant broke the law with deals to put its apps on Android home screens

(Newser) - Japan's government has taken an unprecedented step, accusing Google of violating its anti-monopoly law. The Japan Fair Trade Commission issued a cease-and-desist order against Google on Tuesday, saying it had violated the law by forcing manufacturers to preinstall its apps, including the Chrome browser and Play store app, on...

We Could Soon Be Speaking Dolphin, Thanks to AI

LLM from Google, Wild Dolphin Project is trained on dolphin vocalizations

(Newser) - Advances in artificial intelligence have led hackers to invent voices to mock billionaires on street corners and ushered in new uses for existing drugs . And soon, they could have us speaking dolphin. That's the hope of Google and the Wild Dolphin Project, anyway. As part of its work on...

Google Is Making the Biggest Buy in Its History

Tech behemoth will purchase cybersecurity firm Wiz for $32B

(Newser) - Google will buy cybersecurity firm Wiz for $32 billion to boost the tech giant's in-house cloud computing amid burgeoning artificial-intelligence growth. The all-cash acquisition announced Tuesday would be Google's biggest in its 26-year history, reports the AP , and it's the biggest deal of 2025. Wiz will join...

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