Fitbit shares halted on reports of Google takeover bid October 28, 2019 Trading of shares in wearable device maker Fitbit was suspended today following a report that Google owner Alphabet has tabled a takeover bid. The Silicon Valley tech giant has held discussions with Fitbit, although there is no guarantee a deal will be secured, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter. It is unclear how [...]
Google unveils new Pixel 4 phone as it looks to take on Apple October 15, 2019 Google has unveiled its new series of Pixel phones with a host of upgraded features as the tech giant looks to challenge the dominance of rival Apple in the smartphone market. Read more: Google Safari lawsuit: iPhone users win appeal to seek £3bn in damages The new Pixel 4 phones, which come in two sizes, [...]
OECD targets tech giants as it shakes up global tax rules October 9, 2019 Multinational tech giants will face a crackdown on their corporate tax bills under new rules outlined by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Tech titans such as Google, Facebook and Amazon have been accused of dodging taxes by booking their profit in low-tax countries such as Ireland, despite serving customers across the world. [...]
Google Safari lawsuit: iPhone users win appeal to seek £3bn in damages October 2, 2019 Google faces a potential £3bn bill after judges ruled that a Google Safari tracking lawsuit on behalf of 4m iPhone users can proceed. The Court of Appeal today overruled the High Court’s dismissal of a case alleging that Google secretly tracked the web activity of more than 4m iPhone users. Read more: Google turns 21: [...]
Google turns 21: US tech giant is now old enough to drink September 27, 2019 As Google turns 21 today, there can be no better time to review the last 21 years of the all-powerful search engine. On 27 September 1998, Sergey Brin and Larry Page launched an early prototype of what they called a ‘large scale search engine’ while studying for their PhDs at Stanford University. Read more: Google [...]
Google refuses to pay European publishers for news story previews September 25, 2019 Google will not pay European news publishers to show previews of their content in its search results, the tech giant has revealed. In a blog post published today, Google said its news search service in France will only display previews of articles when the publisher has given permission for it to be used for free. [...]
Google advertising overtakes rival Facebook in app downloads market September 24, 2019 Adverts on Google now drive more app downloads than adverts on Facebook, marking the first time the search giant has overtaken its Silicon Valley rival. Google has increased its share of the app installation sector eightfold in the last five years and is now the largest player in the app marketing space, according to marketing [...]
EU Court hands Google victory in right to be forgotten case September 24, 2019 Google combed home a win today as it battled a French demand that it extend European right to be forgotten laws across the world. Europe’s top court said that the search giant is not obliged to remove sensitive personal data worldwide. Read more: Google should be allowed to limit ‘right to be forgotten’, says EU [...]
Google’s ‘quantum supremacy’ claim does not compute, rivals say September 23, 2019 Google’s rivals have cast aspersions on claims that the tech giant has achieved a major milestone in quantum computing. Researchers at Google last week claimed to have built a quantum computer capable of performing calculations far beyond the abilities of current supercomputers, an achievement known as quantum supremacy. Read more: Google plugs €3bn into European [...]
Digital battlegrounds: The war between big tech and regulators September 17, 2019 We now live in the age of the internet of things, where voice-sniffing devices abound, and consumers have the convenience of tailored search suggestions. Perhaps it is Amazon’s Alexa – revealed earlier this year to be forever listening to its users’ conversations – that provides the emblem of the age. However, while such devices can [...]