Business

Big Tech gears up for a regulatory mud fight

A dissolved truce between Microsoft and Google, alongside federal antitrust concerns around Amazon, Apple and Facebook, signals that tech firms are gearing up to fend off monopoly allegations. Read More

Tech

Google and Microsoft agree to start suing each other again

Enlarge (credit: Halil Sagirkaya / Anadolu Agency) After years of relative calm, Google and Microsoft are tossing out their ceasefire, a move that—perhaps ironically—could bring each company additional antitrust scrutiny. The non-aggression pact, signed five years ago, let the two companies set aside their numerous lawsuits. It also created a process by which they could […]

Tech

Google launches a new medical app—outside the United States

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) Billions of times each year, people turn to Google’s web search box for help figuring out what’s wrong with their skin. Now, Google is preparing to launch an app that uses image recognition algorithms to provide more expert and personalized help. A brief demo at the company’s developer conference last month […]

Tech

Competition watchdog to probe Google and Amazon over fake reviews

Enlarge (credit: iStock | Getty Images) The UK competition regulator has opened an investigation into Amazon and Google over fake reviews on their sites that may be duping consumers. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the two companies may not have done enough to detect and remove fake reviews or to take action against […]

Tech

House committee approves bill that could break up Amazon, Apple, and Google

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | MichaelJay) The House Judiciary Committee approved antitrust legislation that could prohibit platform operators like Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook from favoring their own products and services, and the legislation could even break up industry giants by forcing them to eliminate or sell certain divisions. Companies could also face fines of […]

Tech

EU antitrust regulators launch probe into Google’s FLoC plan

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | NurPhoto ) The European Commission today said it has begun investigating Google for “possible anticompetitive conduct” in the market for online advertising technology. The EC announcement said the formal antitrust investigation will “assess whether Google has violated EU competition rules by favoring its own online display advertising technology services in […]

Tech

Apple and Google’s AI wizardry promises privacy—at a cost

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) Since the dawn of the iPhone, many of the smarts in smartphones have come from elsewhere: the corporate computers known as the cloud. Mobile apps sent user data cloudward for useful tasks like transcribing speech or suggesting message replies. Now Apple and Google say smartphones are smart enough to do some […]