Google: A Megathread of Alphabet News

[Husky_Khan]

To start us off with the Google/Alphabet news that may not be worth its own thread itself...

Details of court filings that are part of an ongoing anti-trust case against Google in the Texas Courts were apparently incompletely redacted before release and subsequently acquired by the Wall Street Journal.

The company operates simultaneously as the operator of a major ad exchange, a representative of both buyers and sellers on the exchange — and a buyer in its own right, according to the suit.

By using Project Bernanke’s inside information on what other ad buyers were willing to pay for space, Google could tailor its operations to beat out rivals and bid the bare minimum to secure ad inventory, the state reportedly alleges.

Apparently the allegation is that Google was engaged in a variation of 'insider trading' within its own platforms/ad business that allowed it to beat out its competitors... who pay Google for advertising on Google and its platforms and racking in potentially hundreds of millions of dollars annually as a result of this unfair market advantage.

Google’s ‘Project Bernanke’ gave titan unfair ad-buying edge, lawsuit claims

Google has utilized a secret program to track bids on its ad-buying platform — and has been accused of using the information to gain an unfair market advantage that raked in hundreds of milli…

nypost.com

Also detailed in the lawsuit are allegations of a secret deal with Facebook where that company was guaranteed to win a fixed percentage of advertising deals that would be bid on via auction in exchange for a guaranteed price of a half billion dollars.

This Texas Antitrust suit is only one of three antitrust suits Google is currently facing in court.

 

[Husky_Khan]

Google is apparently attempting to strong arm Roku into accepting its anticompetitve suggestions.

Roku says it may lose YouTube TV app after Google made anti-competitive demands

Roku claims that Google is demanding preferential treatment for YouTube and YouTube TV.

www.axios.com

I got the email as well being a Roku User.

Before we get started, some of the demands seem reasonable to some degree such as adopting a new chipset (which is more expensive hardware wise) to adapt a new codec, AV1, which most content providers are aleeady adopting because its saving on bandwidth for them and consumers allegedly.

But even if thats taken at face value, there's still issues in regards to Google which seem pretty overtly anti-competitive.

• It says Google has asked Roku to do things that it does not see replicated on other streaming competitors' platforms, like creating a dedicated search results row for YouTube within the Roku smart TV interface and giving YouTube search results more prominent placement.
• Roku says Google has also required it to block search results from other streaming content providers while users are using the YouTube app on Roku's system.
• Roku alleges Google has asked it to favor YouTube music results from voice commands made on the Roku remote while the YouTube app is open, even if the user's music preference is set to default to another music app, like Pandora.

Give YouTube it's own dedicated search menu bar when no one else has one, block other results when using the Youtube app, give YouTube search results a more prominent placement in results and favor YouTube music results on search results regardless of user preferences if they prefer other apps like Pandora etc.

In response Roku sent an email to its customers stating it might not be carrying YouTube TV in the future due to contesting these demands.

YouTube meanwhile offered a bolilerplate response that didn't address any of thr allegations Roku put forward.

 

[Robovski]

Yeah, we use a Roku and YouTubeTV for our "TV services" and honestly I'll switch to Hulu TV before I stop using the Roku on my TV set. Fuck Google, they burned all the goodwill I had for them a long time ago.

 

[Husky_Khan]

Roku apparently fulfilled its warning.

YouTube TV pulled from Roku amid spat with Google

Roku said Friday it has removed Google-owned YouTube TV from its video-streaming platform after its contract to carry it expired.

nypost.com

The YouTube TV app is no longer available in the Roku channel store for new subscribers though existing subscribers using a Roku TV or device can still access the YouTube TV app as before (though Roku warns users not to delete it). Also you can still cast YouTube TV onto a Roku streaming device via the app on a phone or computer or the like.

 

[Robovski]

Roku apparently fulfilled its warning.

YouTube TV pulled from Roku amid spat with Google

Roku said Friday it has removed Google-owned YouTube TV from its video-streaming platform after its contract to carry it expired.

nypost.com

The YouTube TV app is no longer available in the Roku channel store for new subscribers though existing subscribers using a Roku TV or device can still access the YouTube TV app as before (though Roku warns users not to delete it). Also you can still cast YouTube TV onto a Roku streaming device via the app on a phone or computer or the like.

Yep, can confirm. As I have it installed currently I can still use my services normally (and have been doing so) but it's not on the store anymore.

 

[Husky_Khan]

Queer and Black AI groups are refusing funding from Google over ongoing issues of diversity and protections for whistleblowers.

Black and Queer AI Groups Say They'll Spurn Google Funding

The move is the latest fallout following the departures of the heads of the company's ethical AI research team and a recruiter.

www.wired.com

Three groups focused on increasing diversity in artificial intelligence say they will no longer take funding from Google. In a joint statement released Monday, Black in AI, Queer in AI, and Widening NLP said they acted to protest Google’s treatment of its former ethical AI team leaders Timnit Gebru and Margaret Mitchell, as well as former recruiter April Christina Curley, a Black queer woman.

In March, organizers of the Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAccT) conference turned down Google funding, and researcher Luke Stark turned down $60,000 in Google funding. Queer in AI organizer Luca Soldaini told WIRED the organization received $20,000 from Google in the past year; Widening NLP received $15,000 from Google.

 

[Husky_Khan]

Google reached a $270 million dollar settlement in a French Antitrust case over Google's alleged abuse as the market leader in digital advertising. They also extracted some commitments from Google though they are only binding in France:

Google France’s legal director said that the commitments made will make it easier for ad publishers to use the platform’s data and tools. An independent observer will be assigned to monitor Google’s compliance.

And while the changes are only binding in France, Maria Gomri said Google will be testing its tweaks “over the coming months before rolling them out more broadly, including some globally.”

The settlement announced Monday is one of the first by a tech giant in an antitrust case. It’s also the first time Google has agreed to make changes to its advertising business.

The competition watchdog determined that Google’s ad management platform for larger publishers favored the company’s own online ad marketplace.

Google reaches $270 million settlement in French antitrust case

Google agreed to pay a fine of $270 million and make changes to its online ad tools in a settlement with French regulators announced Monday.France’s competition watchdog investigation had focused o…

thehill.com

 

[Husky_Khan]

The Google Play Store removed several apps, some with millions of downloads, for stealing users Facebook passwords and related information. Unlike many apps of this nature, these apps worked as advertised, ranging from offering services such as cleaning junk files from your Android, to horoscopes and photo editing software.

Apps with 5.8 million Google Play downloads stole users’ Facebook passwords

Researchers uncovered 9 apps that used a sneaking method to pilfer credentials.

arstechnica.com

 

[Husky_Khan]

France's antitrust watchdog has now slapped Google with a 500 million Euro fine over its failure to comply with regulators in regards to their conduct when negotiating with the countries news publishers in a row over copyrights. Google has been given two months to come up with proposals on how to compensate news publishers or else they'll be facing daily additional fines of 900,000 Euros a day.

Google stated it was disappointed by the decision but will comply.

France fines Google 500 mln euros over copyright row

France's antitrust watchdog slapped a 500 million euro ($593 million) fine on Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O) on Tuesday for failing to comply with the regulator's orders on how to conduct talks with the country's news publishers in a row over copyright.

www.reuters.com

 

[Cherico]

France's antitrust watchdog has now slapped Google with a 500 million Euro fine over its failure to comply with regulators in regards to their conduct when negotiating with the countries news publishers in a row over copyrights. Google has been given two months to come up with proposals on how to compensate news publishers or else they'll be facing daily additional fines of 900,000 Euros a day.

Google stated it was disappointed by the decision but will comply.

France fines Google 500 mln euros over copyright row

France's antitrust watchdog slapped a 500 million euro ($593 million) fine on Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O) on Tuesday for failing to comply with the regulator's orders on how to conduct talks with the country's news publishers in a row over copyright.

www.reuters.com

google has deep pockets but not fight the entire world deep.

 

[Husky_Khan]

Google is paying Apple billions of dollars to protect the consumers from using... Bing?

We have noted in prior research that GOOG is likely paying to ensure Microsoft doesn’t outbid it. That said, with payments likely to approach $18 – $20B in FY 22, it not implausible that Google could revisit its strategy.

Bernstein says Google's FY21 payments to Apple might reach nearly $15B | Philip Elmer‑DeWitt

"We have noted in prior research that GOOG is likely paying to ensure Microsoft doesn’t outbid it." -- Analyst Toni Sacconaghi

www.ped30.com

 

[Husky_Khan]

Google cancels yet another service after about a year of operations. This time it's Plex, their intended financial service and mobile banking app.

Google ends high-profile experiment in embedded banking

The tech company has abandoned plans to offer checking accounts in partnership with banks and will instead focus on being a technology provider for them. Citigroup says it will press ahead with aspects of the digital banking project on its own.

www.americanbanker.com

 

[Cherico]

Google cancels yet another service after about a year of operations. This time it's Plex, their intended financial service and mobile banking app.

Google ends high-profile experiment in embedded banking

The tech company has abandoned plans to offer checking accounts in partnership with banks and will instead focus on being a technology provider for them. Citigroup says it will press ahead with aspects of the digital banking project on its own.

www.americanbanker.com

with all of googles abuses that they already do having them in banking on top of it is not a good thing.

 

[Husky_Khan]

Roku still has not been able to reach a distribution agreement with Google and their YouTubeTV app.

Our concerns with Google are not about money. We have not asked for a single change in the financial terms of our existing agreement. In fact, Roku does not earn a single dollar from YouTube’s ad supported video sharing service today, whereas Google makes hundreds of millions of dollars from the YouTube app on Roku.

There are two primary concerns we are working to address: First, Google continues to interfere with Roku’s independent search results, requiring that we preference YouTube over other content providers. This is a concern shared by many companies who believe that customers deserve neutral and relevant results to their search queries. Second, Google discriminates against Roku by demanding search, voice, and data features that they do not insist on from other streaming platforms.

https://www.roku.com/blog/update-on-youtube-tv

 

[Husky_Khan]

Alphabet is forming a new company that will use AI to design new drugs.

Hassabis highlights how for over a decade DeepMind has been at the forefront of advancing the state-of-the-art in AI, mostly through the use of games such as AlphaGo, the program that beat the world champion at the game of Go. Now, Hassabis feels these "techniques and methods have become powerful and sophisticated enough to be applied to real-world problems including scientific discovery itself." Should his hopes prove fruitful, we could be witnessing a new unparalleled era in drug development.

Alphabet Just Launched a Company That's Using AI to Design New Drugs - Interesting Engineering

A lot of them.

interestingengineering.com

 

[Husky_Khan]

About twenty three hundred, or supposedly about 90% of the 'cafeteria' workers that serve Google Employees their meals, including at their Headquarters, have quietly unionized in part due to complaints of being overworked and underpaid.

These workers’ salaries begin at around $35,000, and they do not receive the same benefits as full-time Google employees, a source told Recode, which could further intensify economic inequality in Silicon Valley.

“We’re fed up and want change because at one of the richest companies in the world, we’re being overworked and underpaid,” the source involved told Recode. “The disrespect from management is just adding insult to injury.”

The local chapter of Unite Here, which represents 300,000 workers in the service industry, helped the workers organize, Recode reported.

Google contracts the workers through the company Compass Group, which the source said is in contract negotiations with the union.

Google contracts their food service minions through another company, 'The Compass Group.'

More than 2,000 Google cafeteria workers have unionized: report

Approximately 2,300 Google cafeteria workers who serve meals to employees in the San Francisco Bay area have unionized, claiming they are overworked and underpaid, Vox Recode reporte…

thehill.com

 

[Husky_Khan]

Alphabet, the parent company of Google has announced over 5% of Alphabet's Workforce is facing layoffs, around 12,000 employees globally.

Google parent Alphabet cuts 6% of its workforce, impacting 12,000 people | TechCrunch

Google parent company Alphabet has announced that it's cutting around 6% of its global workforce, impacting some 12,000 people.

techcrunch.com

This includes a large portion of its Area 120 Experimental Technology Development Group that was set up in 2016 to develop ideas for new apps and services within their Google Labs division.

Area 120, Google's in-house incubator, severely impacted by Alphabet mass layoffs | TechCrunch

Area 120, Google's division for experimental projects that sometimes graduate to become core Google services, has largely been shuttered.

techcrunch.com

Other companies like Microsoft and Amazon are also facing large layoffs (10,000 and 18,000 respectively) as well.

Tech Layoffs Mount as Microsoft, Amazon Shed Staff

US tech firms are at center of global retrenching in technology sector, but experts believe large firms are well-positioned to manage changes

www.voanews.com

 

[Cherico]

Alphabet, the parent company of Google has announced over 5% of Alphabet's Workforce is facing layoffs, around 12,000 employees globally.

Google parent Alphabet cuts 6% of its workforce, impacting 12,000 people | TechCrunch

Google parent company Alphabet has announced that it's cutting around 6% of its global workforce, impacting some 12,000 people.

techcrunch.com

This includes a large portion of its Area 120 Experimental Technology Development Group that was set up in 2016 to develop ideas for new apps and services within their Google Labs division.

Area 120, Google's in-house incubator, severely impacted by Alphabet mass layoffs | TechCrunch

Area 120, Google's division for experimental projects that sometimes graduate to become core Google services, has largely been shuttered.

techcrunch.com

Other companies like Microsoft and Amazon are also facing large layoffs (10,000 and 18,000 respectively) as well.

Tech Layoffs Mount as Microsoft, Amazon Shed Staff

US tech firms are at center of global retrenching in technology sector, but experts believe large firms are well-positioned to manage changes

www.voanews.com

so the people who hate us and treat us like shit and look down on us are losing their jobs?

I feel no sympathy.

 

[ParadiseLost]

About twenty three hundred, or supposedly about 90% of the 'cafeteria' workers that serve Google Employees their meals, including at their Headquarters, have quietly unionized in part due to complaints of being overworked and underpaid.



Google contracts their food service minions through another company, 'The Compass Group.'

More than 2,000 Google cafeteria workers have unionized: report

Approximately 2,300 Google cafeteria workers who serve meals to employees in the San Francisco Bay area have unionized, claiming they are overworked and underpaid, Vox Recode reporte…

thehill.com

Contract food service is hell.

I at one point interviewed with Compass Group to be part of their accounting support staff. Glad I didn't get the job tbh.

 

[Cherico]

Contract food service is hell.

I at one point interviewed with Compass Group to be part of their accounting support staff. Glad I didn't get the job tbh.

Their more likely to keep their jobs then diversity managers and if they lose their jobs far more likely to be hired somewhere else