BERLIN, Jan 5 (Reuters) – Germany’s cartel office said it was examining Google’s use of personal data and its Google News Showcase product under its new powers to regulate internet companies, and was also considering cases involving Amazon, Apple and Facebook owner Meta. The regulator said on Wednesday it had determined that Google’s owner Alphabet met the scale threshold required for a company to be subject to new extended supervisory powers to regulate large internet companies that it… Source link

Fossil fuel companies and firms that work closely with them are among the biggest spenders on ads designed to look like Google search results, in what campaigners say is an example of “endemic greenwashing”. The Guardian analysed ads served on Google search results for 78 climate-related terms, in collaboration with InfluenceMap, a thinktank that tracks the lobbying efforts of polluting industries. The results show that over one in five ads seen in the study – more than 1,600 in total… Source link

Ben Roethlisberger continues to send signs that his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers is coming to an end. Roethlisberger released a statement Tuesday thanking fans for sending him “love and support” during Monday’s game. The statement was released on Roethlisberger’s website, BigBen7.com, and the website’s Twitter account. Roethlisberger does not have a personal Twitter account.  Roethlisberger led the Steelers to a win in what was expected to be his final home game with the team…. Source link

KFC (YUM) is going above and Beyond…Meat, that is, as plant-based items continue to encroach on fast food’s turf. Late Tuesday, KFC announced the nationwide debut of Beyond Fried Chicken, after a two-year testing period. The anticipated menu item will be available to purchase at participating KFC locations in the U.S. beginning January 10. Customers can order the item as KFC’s first ever plant-based combo meal or à la carte in six or 12-piece orders. Created in partnership with Beyond… Source link

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA – JULY 31: ESPN reporter Rachel Nichols stands on the court before a game between the Houston Rockets and the Dallas Mavericks at The Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on July 31, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) Rachel Nichols’… Source link

U.S. stock futures kicked off the overnight session near the flat line Tuesday evening, following a drop in technology shares during the regular trading day.  Contracts on the S&P 500 were little changed. Nasdaq futures also drifted after the index dropped more than 1% during the regular trading day. Apple (AAPL) shares steadied following a decline earlier, which pulled the stock back after reaching a $3 trillion market capitalization for the first time ever at the start of the week.  In the… Source link

To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important stories delivered to your inbox every day at 3 p.m. PST, subscribe here. Hello and welcome to Daily Crunch for January 4, 2022! Yesterday we noted that startup news was kicking off the year a little light, but that that would change quickly. And change it has. In the following we have IPO news, robot news, canned-water startup news, acquisitions and more. Let’s go! —Alex The TechCrunch Top 3

Google is giving four of its top execs a significant pay bump, raising their salaries from $650,000 to $1 million, just weeks after the company told staffers it wouldn’t automatically adjust salaries to account for inflation. The new executive salaries were disclosed in an SEC filing. The executives receiving the $1 million base salaries are chief financial officer Ruth Porat, senior vice president Prabhakar Raghavan (who is in charge of Google search); senior vice president and chief… Source link

A reader going by “Greg B” wrote in recently to protest the “topline” spending number for the Democrats’ now-moribund Build Back Better legislation. Democrats claim the bill would cost $1.7 trillion over a decade, assuming some provisions—such as an expanded child tax credit—expire after just one year. But the real goal is to keep those programs going with new legislation in the future, which means $1.7 trillion might be more like a down payment, with the real cost being a lot… Source link

Google is bringing an update to older Pixel devices to fix a dangerous bug that prevents users from calling 911, as noted by a post on a Google support page. The bug stems from an unintended interaction between the Android OS and Microsoft Teams — it only affects devices with Android 10 or later and could occur if you have Teams installed but aren’t signed in. The update resolves the “issue preventing emergency calls in certain conditions” On the support page, Google notes that… Source link