Google says it will appeal online search antitrust decision
Alphabet
's
Google
on Saturday said it will appeal an antitrust decision under which a federal judge proposed less aggressive ways to restore
online search competition
than the 10-year regime suggested by antitrust enforcers
"We will wait for the Court's opinion. And we still strongly believe the Court's original decision was wrong, and look forward to our eventual appeal," Google said in a post on X.
US District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington heard closing arguments on Friday at a trial on proposals to address Google's illegal monopoly in online search and related advertising.
In April, a federal judge said that Google illegally dominated two markets for online advertising technology, with the
US Department of Justice
saying that Google should sell off at least its
Google Ad Manager
, which includes the company's publisher ad server and its ad exchange.
The DOJ and a coalition of states want Google to share search data and cease multibillion-dollar payments to Apple and other smartphone makers to be the default search engine on new devices.
Antitrust enforcers are concerned about how Google's search monopoly gives it an advantage in artificial intelligence products like
Gemini
and vice versa.
John Schmidtlein, an attorney for Google, said at the hearing that while generative AI is influencing how search looks, Google has addressed any concerns about competition in AI by no longer entering exclusive agreements with wireless carriers and smartphone makers including Samsung Electronics, leaving them free to load rival search and AI apps on new devices.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
11 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Hackers abuse modified Salesforce app to steal data, extort companies, Google says
Hackers are tricking employees at companies in Europe and the Americas into installing a modified version of a Salesforce-related app, allowing the hackers to steal reams of data, gain access to other corporate cloud services and extort those companies, Google said on Wednesday. The hackers - tracked by the Google Threat Intelligence Group as UNC6040 - have "proven particularly effective at tricking employees" into installing a modified version of Salesforce's Data Loader, a proprietary tool used to bulk import data into Salesforce environments, the researchers said. The hackers use voice calls to trick employees into visiting a purported Salesforce connected app setup page to approve the unauthorized, modified version of the app, created by the hackers to emulate Data Loader. If the employee installs the app, the hackers gain "significant capabilities to access, query, and exfiltrate sensitive information directly from the compromised Salesforce customer environments," the researchers said. The access also frequently gives the hackers the ability to move throughout a customer's network, enabling attacks on other cloud services and internal corporate networks. Technical infrastructure tied to the campaign shares characteristics with suspected ties to the broader and loosely organized ecosystem known as "The Com," known for small, disparate groups engaging in cybercriminal and sometimes violent activity, the researchers said. A Google spokesperson told Reuters that roughly 20 organizations have been affected by the UNC6040 campaign, which has been observed over the past several months. A subset of those organizations had data successfully exfiltrated, the spokesperson said. A Salesforce spokesperson told Reuters in an email that "there's no indication the issue described stems from any vulnerability inherent in our platform." The spokesperson said the voice calls used to trick employees "are targeted social engineering scams designed to exploit gaps in individual users' cybersecurity awareness and best practices." The spokesperson declined to share the specific number of affected customers, but said that Salesforce was "aware of only a small subset of affected customers," and said it was "not a widespread issue." Salesforce warned customers of voice phishing, or "vishing," attacks and of hackers abusing malicious, modified versions of Data Loader in a March 2025 blog post.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
27 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Google-backed Glance AI to be part of Samsung mobile phones in the US
Google-backed Glance, a consumer tech company, announced on Wednesday that Glance AI—an AI commerce platform—will be available on Samsung phones in the US. Glance AI, which is powered by Google's Imagen 4 AI generator, brings personalised shopping to the lock screen. Glance AI allows users to instantly visualise themselves in outfits and destinations they would never imagine and purchase their favourites with just a tap. Naveen Tewari, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Glance, said: 'Glance AI helps consumers discover and visualise what's possible—starting with an outfit that makes them look and feel great—and own it with just a tap on the platform. Samsung's commitment to enable Glance AI across its US devices will enable consumers to enjoy a fully user-opted-in experience where inspirational commerce and content converge.' Glance, a subsidiary of mobile advertising firm InMobi, is a five-year-old company. It has over 300 million global users, with 235 million in India. Glance as a software platform is available on over 450 million smartphones globally. Some of the OEMs that Glance works with include Samsung, MI, Vivo, Oppo, realme, Jio and others. Jason Shim, Senior Director and Head of Samsung Galaxy Store USA, said in a statement: 'Glance AI is a perfect example of the kind of high-quality and unique content we strive to deliver. By using AI to personalise content and shopping directly on the lock screen, it brings a smarter, more dynamic experience that reflects the forward-thinking spirit of the Galaxy Store.' In India, while Samsung phones may not have this feature on their lock screen, users can download the app from the Google Play Store and Apple's App Store. In an earlier announcement, the company had said that users can now explore looks and products tailored to their preferences and complete purchases seamlessly from over 400 global brands. Glance AI is a fully opt-in platform, with privacy and user control built into its core design. Users can explore looks, save or share them, set them as wallpapers, and visualise themselves in unique looks and collections driven by global trends and occasions. In an earlier interaction with Business Standard, Tewari had said that the firm has set a timeframe of 12 months to reach profitability. This is on the back of its foray into the US market and also because of some of its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered offerings. Glance revenue for FY24, according to a report filed by Entrackr, stood at Rs 614 crore, up 89 per cent on a year-on-year basis. The firm's loss was Rs 929 crore in FY24, down from Rs 1,094 crore in FY23.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Google pauses 'Ask Photos' AI Feature to address performance issues
In a move that has raised eyebrows in the tech community, Google has decided to pause the rollout of its highly anticipated AI-powered "Ask Photos" feature within Google Photos. Initially launched as an experimental feature last fall, "Ask Photos" leverages Google's Gemini AI models to offer users an innovative way to search through their photo libraries by asking natural language questions, The Verge reported. The feature, which had been slowly rolling out to a select group of users, aims to allow individuals to query their photo collection for specific themes, events, or text-based elements. However, product manager Jamie Aspinall revealed that the feature has been temporarily pulled back after feedback citing issues with latency, quality, and overall user experience. "Ask Photos isn't where it needs to be," wrote Aspinall on his X handle, following an influx of criticism from users. The product manager confirmed that the feature's rollout would be paused for "very small numbers" of users while the team addresses the concerns. Aspinall emphasised that in about two weeks, a more refined version of the feature would be made available, one that would restore the speed and accuracy that the initial rollout had promised. The pause follows growing scrutiny of AI-powered features, with Google's "Ask Photos" being no exception. Powered by the latest version of Gemini AI, a specialised model designed specifically for this feature, "Ask Photos" is expected to understand and interpret the contents of photos, including text within images, to generate contextually relevant results. But, as Aspinall noted, performance improvements are necessary to ensure a seamless user experience. Alongside the pause of "Ask Photos," Google also made an announcement aimed at improving the overall search functionality within Google Photos. From now on, users can perform more accurate searches by using quotes to locate exact text matches within filenames, camera models, captions, and even text embedded in photos. Additionally, search results will now also include visual matches when quotes are not used. This update, which expands on features announced earlier this year at Google I/O 2024, represents an evolution in the way Google Photos interacts with its users. By incorporating multimodal AI capabilities, Google aims to make photo searches more intuitive and user-friendly, providing results that include both textual and visual context. Google's decision to pause "Ask Photos" comes amid a rapidly intensifying competition in the AI space, where tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and startups alike are racing to develop groundbreaking new features. Google's move to pause its AI-powered features is not unprecedented, as the company has previously taken similar actions when it identified flaws in its new technology. For instance, after launching the "AI Overview" feature in Google Search last May, Google was forced to halt its rollout following multiple instances of nonsensical and inaccurate answers being shared on social media. Earlier this year, Google's Gemini-powered image-generation tool also faced a setback. According to The Verge, this happened after a series of reports highlighting historical inaccuracies in the generated images, such as portraying US Founding Fathers as people of colour, the feature was similarly paused to address these issues. Despite the pause, the core vision behind "Ask Photos" remains intact: to leverage AI's growing capabilities to enhance the way users interact with their photos and videos. By enabling users to ask natural language questions, the feature sought to transform the way photo libraries are organised and searched, offering a more human-like interaction than traditional keyword searches. Google has yet to announce a precise timeline for the return of "Ask Photos" or additional details about how the updated version will improve upon its current shortcomings. However, the company remains committed to refining the feature based on user feedback and further advancements in AI technology. First Published Date: 04 Jun, 20:14 IST
