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Daily Maverick
20-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Delta can sue CrowdStrike over computer outage that caused 7,000 canceled flights
Judge allows gross negligence, fraud claims Software update went 'horribly wrong' CrowdStrike eyes eventual dismissal or limited damages By Jonathan Stempel In a decision on Friday, Judge Kelly Lee Ellerbe of the Fulton County Superior Court said Delta can try to prove CrowdStrike was grossly negligent in pushing a defective update of its Falcon software to customers, crashing more than 8 million Microsoft MSFT.O Windows-based computers worldwide. 'Delta has specifically pled that if CrowdStrike had tested the July update on one computer before its deployment, the programming error would have been detected,' the judge wrote. 'As CrowdStrike has acknowledged, its own president publicly stated CrowdStrike did something 'horribly wrong.'' The Atlanta-based judge also let Delta pursue a computer trespass claim, and a narrowed claim that CrowdStrike fraudulently promised not to introduce an 'unauthorized back door' into the carrier's computers. In a statement on Monday, CrowdStrike's lawyer Michael Carlinsky said he was confident the judge will find Delta's case has no merit, or will limit damages to the 'single-digit millions of dollars' under Georgia law. Delta, based in Atlanta, said it was pleased with the decision and remained confident in the merits of its case. The carrier sued Austin, Texas-based CrowdStrike three months after the July 19, 2024 outage disrupted travel for 1.4 million Delta passengers. Delta has said the outage cost $550 million in lost revenue and added expenses, offset by $50 million of fuel savings. On May 6, a federal judge in Atlanta said Delta must face a proposed class action by passengers whose said it unlawfully refused full refunds after the outage upended their travel. The outage also disrupted other airlines, but those disruptions eased faster. The case is Delta Air Lines Inc v CrowdStrike Inc, Georgia Superior Court, Fulton County, No. 24CV013621.
USA Today
22-04-2025
- Business
- USA Today
OpenAI willing to acquire Google Chrome if antitrust ruling forces sale, executive says
OpenAI willing to acquire Google Chrome if antitrust ruling forces sale, executive says Show Caption Hide Caption Is OpenAI developing a social media platform? OpenAI is reportedly developing a social media platform similar to X, featuring an internal prototype that integrates ChatGPT's image generation capabilities. Cheddar OpenAI would be interested in buying Google's Chrome if antitrust enforcers are successful in forcing the Alphabet GOOGL.O unit to sell the popular web browser as part of a bid to restore competition in search, an OpenAI executive testified on Tuesday at Google's antitrust trial in Washington. ChatGPT head of product Nick Turley made the statement while testifying at trial in Washington where U.S. Department of Justice seeks to require Google to undertake far-reaching measures restore competition in online search. The judge overseeing the trial found last year that Google has a monopoly in online search and related advertising. Google has not offered Chrome for sale. The company plans to appeal the ruling that it holds a monopoly. The beginning of the high-stakes trial provided a glimpse into the generative AI race, where Big Tech companies and startups are vying to build up their apps and gain users. In case you missed it: US judge finds Google holds illegal online ad tech monopolies Prosecutors raised concerns in opening statements on Monday that Google's search monopoly could give it advantages in AI, and that its AI products are another way to lead users to its search engine. Google has pointed to competition among companies offering generative AI products, such as Meta Platforms META.O and Microsoft MSFT.O. Turley wrote last year that ChatGPT was leading in the consumer chatbot market and did not see Google as its biggest competitor, according to an internal OpenAI document Google's lawyer showed at trial. He testified that the document was meant to inspire OpenAI employees and that the company would still benefit from distribution partnerships. 'Better product' Turley, a witness for the government, testified earlier in the day that Google shot down a bid by OpenAI to use its search technology within ChatGPT. OpenAI had reached out to Google after experiencing issues with its own search provider, Turley said, without naming the provider. ChatGPT uses technology from Microsoft's search engine, Bing. "We believe having multiple partners, and in particular Google's API, would enable us to provide a better product to users," OpenAI told Google, according to an email shown at trial. OpenAI first reached out in July, and Google declined the request in August, saying it would involve too many competitors, according to the email. "We have no partnership with Google today," Turley said. The DOJ's proposal to make Google share search data with competitors as one means of restoring competition would help accelerate efforts to improve ChatGPT, Turley said. Search is a critical part of ChatGPT to provide answers to user queries that are up to date and factual, Turley said. ChatGPT is years away from its goal of being able to use its own search technology to answer 80% of queries, he added. Ending exclusive deals In August, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta found that Google protected its search monopoly through exclusive agreements with Samsung Electronics and others to have its search engine installed as the default on new devices. Google had contemplated deals with Android phone makers such as Samsung that would provide exclusivity for not only its search app, but also for its Gemini AI app and Chrome browser, according to a document shown at trial. Instead of entering more exclusive agreements, however, Google loosened its most recent deals with device makers Samsung and Motorola and wireless carriers AT&T and Verizon, allowing them to load rival search offerings, other documents showed. The non-exclusive agreements mirror what Google has said should be the remedy to address Mehta's ruling. The DOJ wants the judge to go farther, banning Google from making lucrative payments in exchange for installation of its search app. Google sent letters as recently as last week reiterating that its agreements did not prohibit the companies from installing other AI products on new devices, Google executive Peter Fitzgerald testified on Tuesday. Reporting by Jody Godoy in Washington, Editing by Nick Zieminski and Deepa Babington
USA Today
31-01-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Apple shares rise as rosy forecast lifts hopes for iPhone rebound
Joel Jose and Siddarth S Reuters Apple shares rose 2% on Friday after a rosy forecast fuelled hopes of an iPhone sales rebound, even as tough competition and a lack of AI features weigh on demand in key market China. Already the world's most valuable company, Apple AAPL.O is set to add more than $81 billion to its market value of $3.573 trillion, if the gains hold. Apple, which has been grappling with investor worries over iPhone demand due to a slow rollout of its AI-powered Apple Intelligence features, expects revenue to rise in the low- to mid-single digit percentage range in the current quarter. The forecast suggested demand was picking up for the iPhone 16 series that was launched in September without most of the Apple Intelligence features but updates in recent months added services including ChatGPT integration. "Fears had mounted (heading into Apple's first-quarter earnings report). But the company flipped them to the mat," said Rosenblatt analyst Barton Crockett. Invest wisely: Best online brokers While Microsoft MSFT.O and Alphabet GOOGL.O have poured billions into AI-related investments, Apple has taken a more cautious approach, avoiding hefty capital spending and focusing on leveraging the technology for device sales. "With investors highly tuned into how AI spend will represent real revenue for big tech, Apple's results have provided ... reassurance," said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown. Still, China — Apple's third-largest market — remains a concern. Read more:Apple agrees to pay $95M to settle Siri privacy lawsuit The company is yet to secure a local partner in China to roll out its AI features, while domestic rivals including a resurgent Huawei have been chipping away at its market share there with more splashy devices. Apple's sales declined 11% in China in the last three months of 2024, after a marginal decline in the previous quarter. But government stimulus measures rolled out earlier this month, would help Apple stem the sales decline, J.P. Morgan analysts noted. At least 12 analysts lifted their price targets on the stock. Apple shares gained about 30% last year. That compares with a more than 65% jump in Meta META.O, the best performer in the Big Tech group, and a 12% rise in laggard Microsoft MSFT.O. Apple's 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio is 31.12, compared with Microsoft's 29.2 and Meta's 26.7. Reporting by Joel Jose and Siddarth S in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Samuel Indyk in London; Editing by Amanda Cooper and Shinjini Ganguli
