Tag: google

Google HR chief stepping aside as worker activism rises

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Google on Monday confirmed that head of human resources Eileen Naughton was stepping away from her job as “vice president of people operations” at the internet company. “We’re grateful to Eileen for all she’s done and look forward to her next chapter at Google,” Sundar Pichai, the head of Google and its parent company Alphabet, said in a statement. Google added more than 70,000 employees during Naughton’s time as […]

Google says glitch sent people’s videos to strangers

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Google on Tuesday said that a software glitch resulted in some Photo app smartphone videos being given to the wrong people. Google was notifying those who may have been affected. “We are very sorry this happened,” Google said in reply to an AFP inquiry. “We fixed the underlying issue and have conducted an in-depth analysis to help prevent this from ever happening again.” It was estimated that a small […]

Disappointing growth hits Google parent Alphabet shares

by Glenn CHAPMAN Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Google parent Alphabet missed revenue expectations in the fourth quarter despite stellar growth at YouTube and in the cloud, earnings figures released Monday showed. Detailing its cloud computing and YouTube revenues for the first time, Alphabet reported that profits rose 19 percent from a year ago in the quarter to nearly $10.7 billion as revenues increased 17 percent to $46 billion. Alphabet and Google chief […]

French media take copyright fight to Google

by Frédéric POUCHOT Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — French media firms said Thursday that they would drag Google before the country’s competition regulator over its refusal to compensate them for displaying their content in defiance of a strict new EU copyright law. The APIG press alliance, which groups dozens of national and regional newspapers, said it would also press the French government to take action against the US internet giant. “We are outraged,” […]

Huawei in public test as it unveils latest high-end smartphone with no Google apps

  by Daphne ROUSSEAU Agence France Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Chinese tech giant Huawei launches its latest high-end smartphone in Munich on Thursday, the first that could be void of popular Google apps because of US sanctions. Observers are asking whether a phone without the Silicon Valley software that users have come to depend on can succeed, or whether Huawei will have found a way for buyers to install popular apps despite the constraints. The […]

New Huawei handset to launch without Google apps

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Huawei’s upcoming flagship Mate 30 smartphone will launch next month without key Google apps, creating a disadvantage for the Chinese tech giant hit by US sanctions. A Google spokesperson confirmed Thursday that the California firm won’t be able to deliver licensed applications such as Gmail, Maps and YouTube for the new device because of sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump. As a result, Huawei will be able to pre-load […]

Google: YouTube campaign targeted Hong Kong protests

by Glenn CHAPMAN SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Google on Thursday said it disabled a series of YouTube channels that appeared to be part of a coordinated influence campaign against pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. The announcement by YouTube’s parent company came after Twitter and Facebook accused the Chinese government of backing a social media campaign to discredit Hong Kong’s protest movement and sow political discord in the city. Google disabled 210 YouTube channels […]

French consumer group launches class action against Google for violating EU’s data privacy laws

  PARIS, France (AFP) — A French consumer rights group said Wednesday that it has launched a class action lawsuit against US tech giant Google for violating the EU’s strict data privacy laws. The UFC-Que Choisir group said in a statement that the goal of its class action is to “end the insidious exploitation of users’ personal data, particularly those using Android devices with a Google account, and compensate them for up to 1,000 euros […]

Sanofi turns to Google in search for better treatments

PARIS, France (AFP) — French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi said Tuesday it is partnering with Google to use artificial intelligence and deep analytics tools to sift through its data to find better treatments. The titan in online search “will apply technology and analytics on Sanofi’s large real world database to better understand what treatments work for patients,” the pharmaceutical firm said in a statement. The use of Google’s tools for deep analytics — organizing large amounts […]

Amazon dethrones Google as top global brand: survey

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — US retail giant Amazon has moved past hi-tech titans Apple and Google to become the world’s most valuable brand, a key survey showed Tuesday. The brand value of Amazon surged by 52 percent to $315 billion, global market research agency Kantar said in its 2019 100 Top BrandZ report. Amazon jumped from third to first place to eclipse Google — which slid from first to third place with Apple holding […]

Media group study finds Google makes billions from news

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Google took in some $4.7 billion in revenue in 2018 from “crawling and scraping” news websites without paying publishers, according to an industry-sponsored study released Monday which was disputed by the tech giant and media analysts. The study by the News Media Alliance underscores industry arguments about Google and other online giants harming traditional news organizations by dominating the internet news ecosystem and ad revenues generated through it. According […]

Google signs deal with Cuba to boost internet services

https://youtu.be/jeNsMmVAvOk Agence France Presse HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) – US tech giant Google on Thursday signed a deal with Cuban operator ETECSA to explore ways of boosting internet service on the communist-run island, despite diplomatic tensions between Washington and Havana. The companies signed a memorandum of understanding in Havana aimed at speeding up connectivity to help bring communications on the island into the 21st century, a key policy of President Miguel Diaz-Canel. Cuba’s internet provider is […]