Sidewalk Labs, a part of Google’s Alphabet company, has suddenly cancelled an ambitious (or, as many critics had it, “overweening”) plan to transform a largely derelict section of Toronto’s waterfront some 1.5 kilometres east of the Downtown district into a “super-smart city”. They have now used the ‘unpredictability of COVID-19’ excuse, they have now abandoned […]
By ROB GILLIES Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Google abandoned its smart-city development in Toronto on Thursday after more than two years of controversy over privacy concerns and amid economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic. A unit of Google’s parent company Alphabet had been proposing to turn a rundown part of Toronto’s waterfront into a […]
By MICHAEL LIEDTKE and BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology Writers Demand for digital-ad is shriveling after a decade of explosive growth amid the pandemic-fueled downturn. That could complicate things for Google and Facebook, who for the first time may have to contend with revenues that are actually shrinking. With consumers mostly at home and unemployment soaring, […]
By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Global digital platforms Google and Facebook will be forced to pay for news content in Australia, the government said Monday, as the coronavirus pandemic causes a collapse in advertising revenue. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission would release in late July draft […]
By FRANK BAJAK and MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writers Apple and Google fueled hopes for digital technology’s promise against a fast-moving, invisible killer, announcing a joint effort to help public health agencies worldwide leverage smartphones to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. New software the companies plan to add to phones would make it easier to use […]
By RACHEL LERMAN AP Technology Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google sister company Verily has launched a website to screen people who think they might have COVID-19 and point them to testing sites. But you probably can’t use it to get tested quite yet. Verily, a health tech company owned by Google parent Alphabet, launched […]
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google’s former autonomous vehicle project is becoming a more autonomous business by bringing it in its first investors besides its corporate parent. Waymo has secured $2.25 billion from a group of investors led by Silver Lake and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board to help the company continue to develop its […]
By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s attorney general sued Google Thursday over allegations the tech company is illegally collecting personal data generated by children in violation of federal and state laws. The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque claims Google is using its education services package that […]
By BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google’s revenue grew, but Wall Street wanted more. Parent company Alphabet‘s stock fell more than 4% after financial results came out Monday, even as profits rose 19% and beat expectations for the last three months of the year. Helped by lower taxes, Alphabet said Monday […]
By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization is working with Google to ensure that people get facts from WHO first when they search for information about the new virus that recently emerged in China. Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the opening of WHO’s executive board meeting on Monday that social […]