Google News

OAKLAND, Calif. — Google infringed on five audio technology patents held by the speaker manufacturer Sonos and is not allowed to import products that violate Sonos’s intellectual property into the United States, a trade court ruled on Thursday. The final ruling by the United States International Trade Commission, a quasi-judicial body that decides trade cases and can block the import of goods that violate patents, closes a two-year investigation into the intellectual-property dispute.

A French regulator fined Alphabet Inc.’s Google $169 million and Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook $67 million, saying the companies made it too difficult for users to reject cookies, the identifiers used to track their data. Facebook and Google required several steps to reject cookies used to track their data on YouTube, Facebook and Google, leading users to accept the technology because doing so required just one click, said… Source link

LONDON — French regulators on Thursday fined Google and Facebook a total of more than 200 million euros ($226 million) for not making it as easy for people to opt out of online tracking as it is for them to accept it. The CNIL data privacy watchdog said its investigations found that while the U.S. online giants gave French users a single button to immediately accept cookies, there wasn’t an equally simple way for them to decline because “several clicks are required to refuse all… Source link

Text size Google said it would change its practices following the French ruling. Ore Huiying/Bloomberg Google… Source link

A few days after the Capitol insurrection last January, the FBI got two tips identifying an Ohio man named Walter Messer as a participant, and both cited his social media posts about being there. To verify those tips, the FBI turned to three companies that held a large amount of damning evidence against Messer, simply as a result of his normal use of their services: AT&T, Facebook, and Google. AT&T gave the FBI Messer’s telephone number and a list of cell sites he used, including one… Source link

A 3D printed Facebook’s new rebrand logo Meta is seen in front of displayed Google logo in this illustration taken on November 2, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register PARIS, Jan 6 (Reuters) – France’s data privacy watchdog CNIL said on Thursday it had fined Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL.O) a record 150 million euros ($169 million) for making it difficult for internet users to refuse online trackers known as cookies. Meta Platforms’… Source link

After a two-year investigation, Gioacchino Gammino, 61, was tracked down in Galapagar, Spain, where he lived under a fake name. The town is close to the capital Madrid. A Google Maps street view picture portraying a man who looked like him in front of a fruit shop was key in triggering a deeper investigation. “The photogram helped us to confirm the investigation we were developing in traditional ways,” Nicola Altiero, deputy director of the Italian anti-mafia police unit (DIA), said. Gammino, a… Source link

Alphabet-owned Google is planning to give hefty raises and stock awards to four of its top executives — just weeks after the tech giant informed employees they should not expect to receive inflation-based pay raises. The four executives — Google CFO Ruth Porat, senior vice president Prabhakar Raghavan, chief business officer Philipp Schindler and chief legal officer Kent Walker — will receive base salaries of $1 million in 2022, up from $650,000, according… Source link

Google unveiled at CES on Wednesday a range of new ways to keep its Android devices connected, and that includes cars. As more vehicles go electric and automakers evolve into software developers, we can only expect to see more plays directed at turning cars into connected devices. One exemplar of this phenomenon is Volvo Cars, which will launch a direct integration with the Google Home ecosystem in the coming months, both Volvo and Google announced on Wednesday…. Source link

Google has announced that cars with its services built-in will be getting the ability to play YouTube videos while parked later this year, starting with Volvo. For those with a V90, XC40 Recharge, or other supported cars, this should make waiting in a parking lot more bearable since you’ll be able to see videos on your car’s built-in screen, which is probably going to be slightly larger and more ergonomic than a phone. Google also seems to leave the door open for other video apps as… Source link