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DOJ poised to sue Google over digital ad market dominance

According to Bloomberg News, the US Justice Department is preparing to file a lawsuit against Alphabet Inc’s Google as shortly as Tuesday above its dominant position in the market for digital advertising referencing individuals with knowledge of the situation.

The dispute would be Google’s second federal antitrust complaint, accusing antitrust infringements in the way the technology giant obtains or retains its dominant position. The Justice Department’s 2020 civil suit against Google emphasizes its browse monopolization and is set to proceed to a sentencing hearing in September.

The Justice Department didn’t respond instantly to a request for information from Reuters, and Google turned down to address the report.

“The lawsuit we have filed today seeks to hold Google to account for what we allege is its longstanding monopolies in digital advertising technologies that content creators use to sell ads and advertisers use to buy ads on the open Internet,” said the Justice Department’s antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter in a news conference Tuesday announcing the suit.
Source: bloomberglaw.com

Also Read: Netflix founder Reed Hastings stepping down as co-CEO

The lawsuit is predicted to target Google’s ad business, which accounts for roughly 80 percent of its earnings. Google generates revenue from its interrelated ad technology firms, which link up advertisers to publications, websites, as well as other businesses looking to broadcast them, furthermore adding its well-known free search.

Advertising agencies as well as website publishers have voiced concerns that Google has not been forthcoming about where advertising dollars are spent, particularly how much ends up going to publishing companies and what is the amount that goes to Google.

Also Read: Google Parent Alphabet cuts 12000 Jobs

The tech behemoth made several takeovers, such as DoubleClick in 2008 as well as AdMob in 2009, to help position itself as a dominant player in online ads.

The search engine giant previously claimed that the advertising tech ecosystem battled with Facebook Inc, Comcast, AT&T, and others.

When Google stays by far the industry leader, its proportion of digital ad revenue in the United States has already been diminishing, dropping from 36.7 percent in 2016 to 28.8 percent last year, as per Insider Intelligence.

Google said in a blog post that the lawsuit “attempts to pick winners and losers in the highly competitive advertising technology sector. The case largely duplicates an unfounded lawsuit by the Texas Attorney General, much of which was recently dismissed by a federal court. DOJ is doubling down on a flawed argument that would slow innovation, raise advertising fees, and make it harder for thousands of small businesses and publishers to grow.”
Source: bloomberglaw.com

Suhani Jain

I am a student pursuing my bachelor’s in information technology. I have a interest in writing so, I am working a freelance content writer because I enjoy writing. I also write poetries. I believe in the quote by anne frank “paper has more patience than person

Google Parent Alphabet cuts 12000 Jobs

The parent company of google announced a 6 percent reduction in staff in its biggest round of job cuts, prolonging a recession among tech firms following record pandemic recruitment.

Alphabet Inc. stated that the job cuts would affect approximately 12,000 jobs all over various units and areas, though some areas, such as recruiting and projects beyond the firm’s core businesses, will have a greater impact.

According to individuals with knowledge of the situation, the job cuts attained the vice president level and impacted divisions such as cloud computing as well as Area 120, a company’s internal incubator that had previously faced cuts last year.

As per the report by Layoffs.fyi, which monitors media reports and company updates, the Google layoffs make January probably the worst month yet in a flood of technical layoffs that started last year. Microsoft Corp. announced this week that it would lay off 10,000 employees, the most in over eight years.

Wayfair Inc., a leading online furniture retailer, announced the layoff of about 10 percent of its working population, and Unity Software Inc., a provider of tools for developing videogames as well as other applications, also reduced its workforce.

Amazon.com Inc. announced layoffs of over 18,000 employees this past month, and Salesforce Inc. announced layoffs of 10 percent of its workforce. Meta Platforms Inc. announced a 13 percent staff reduction last year.

During the global epidemic, tech firms such as Google grew greatly as online life gained in popularity. Recent cuts are part of a broader shift toward profit protection and the end of a growth-at-all-costs period in tech.

Officials have recently stated that the company will be strengthening its belt, signaling the start of a new era of much more structured and cost-effective spending. However, the firm had not revealed as big cuts as its Silicon Valley peers.

Also Read: Netflix founder Reed Hastings stepping down as co-CEO

Google recruited vigorously as consumption for its services increased during the epidemic, resulting in a more than 50 percent increase in total Alphabet employee strength since the end of the year 2019.

The layoffs announced this week seemed to fall short of the nearly 12,800 employees Alphabet hired in the third quarter of last year.

“Over the past two years, we’ve seen periods of dramatic growth. To match and fuel that growth, we hired for a different economic reality than the one we face today,” Alphabet Chief Executive Sundar Pichai wrote in a message to employees sent out Friday and posted on the company’s website.

“I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here,” Mr. Pichai wrote.
Source: wsj.com

Overhiring has emerged as a repeating message at technology firms in recent months, as executives realized that some of the hirings they did early in the disease outbreak to keep up with increasing demands for all things digital left them overstaffed as the business climate got ruined.

Salesforce Co-CEO Marc Benioff, Twitter Inc. co-founder Jack Dorsey and Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg are among the officials who have apologised.

Suhani Jain

Netflix founder Reed Hastings stepping down as co-CEO

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By Suhani Jain

Founder of the famous Streaming Platform, Netflix, Reed Hastings is stepping down as CEO but will remain as the chairman, the corporation revealed on Thursday along with its earnings report.

Ted Sarandos who is the co-CEO will continue to stay in his position. Greg Peters who is most recently chief operating officer will take Hastings’ place as co-CEO. Peters will also enter the firm’s board of directors.

“I want to thank Reed for his visionary leadership, mentorship, and friendship over the last 20 years. We’ve all learned so much from his intellectual rigor, honesty, and willingness to take big bets — and we look forward to working with him for many more years to come,” said Sarandos in a written statement.
Source: cnbc.com

In 1997, Reed Hastings co-founded Netflix. Sarandos was named co-CEO along with Hastings in July 2020, during the same time Peters was named COO. The firm did not say if it would fill the position of COO.

Reed Hastings declared on Thursday that he will remain as executive chairman for several more years to come. He steps down as the streaming behemoth tries several moves to increase subscribers as well as recover from a slump in recent quarters.

Hastings wrote in a blog post on Thursday that period of the past two and a half years “was a baptism by fire, given COVID and recent challenges within our business.”
Source: cnbc.com

Reed Hastings steps down as CEO on the day the firm reports 223 million paid users worldwide. The firm is now a major player in content creation as well as distribution, and it lately bargained a limited theatrical release for Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion film.

It’s also rising its gaming business, beginning with mobile titles and hinting at bigger plans in the works.

The leadership transition occurs as Netflix introduces ad-supported streaming and tightens password and account sharing limitations. Both actions were publicly opposed by Hastings till last season’s drop in users, the first in a decade going back to the Qwikster debacle, compelled the company to reconsider its stances.

Bela Bajaria, the firm’s global head of television, will also take over as chief content officer as part of the executive shuffle. Scott Stuber, the former head of global film, will take over as chairman of Netflix Film.

The leadership declaration coincides with the release of the firm’s fourth-quarter earnings report. Netflix met Wall Street’s revenue expectations while adding millions more subscribers than expected.

Suhani Jain

Instagram rolls out ‘quiet mode’ for when users want to focus

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By Sandhya Gupta

The “quiet mode” feature, which Instagram launched on Thursday, aims to assist users focus and establishing limits with followers and friends.

The profile’s activity status changes to “In quiet mode” when the choice is selected, pausing all alerts. During this time, if a direct message is sent, Instagram will instantly reply to the sender to let them know that “quiet mode” is active.

Although all users can utilize the feature, Instagram seems to be concentrating on teenagers. Instagram encourages kids to enable the feature after they spend a particular “amount of time on Instagram late at night” and promotes it as a tool to aid in studying.

The upgrade is only one of several updates that are being released recently, along with new tools for managing suggestions and enhanced parental control options. The debuts coincide with Instagram’s efforts to lessen the likelihood that authorities and lawmakers will target the app because of possible risks associated with social media, especially for teenage users.

Up to this point, Instagram has added a number of teen safety features, such as those to safeguard teens’ privacy and lessen unwanted adult contact, restrict ad targeting, bar teens from accessing mature content, and other features to assist parents in keeping an eye on and managing their teens’ use of Instagram through parental controls.

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The tool will be made available to users in the US, UK, Canada, Ireland New Zealand, and Australia, with intentions to expand to additional nations in the future.

After years of attention over how much time individuals – and especially teens – engage on different social media sites and the risks it might bring to their mental health, the tool is the most recent example of Instagram giving users more methods to regulate their usage.

The company stated in a blog post, “These updates are part of our ongoing work to ensure people have experiences that work for them, and that they have more control over the time they spend online and the types of content they see.”

Instagram users can opt to take a break with Quiet Mode to work, rest, or indulge in other activities. The app will provide a rundown of what users missed when they were in Quiet Mode to help them catch up.

The introduction of Quiet Mode coincides with Instagram coming under increasing fire for its impact on young people’s mental health, particularly teenage girls. Internal data published by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen in 2021 showed that the company had discovered that kids who were “addicted” to the app and that 1 in 3 girls who use Instagram have worsened body image concerns.

As part of its effort to placate parents, Meta is introducing a number of additional methods for managing Instagram recommendations. Instagram is developing its “not interested button,” which allows users to mark particular categories of content that users don’t want to see.

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

Discord acquires Gas, the popular teen app to compliment each other

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By Suhani Jain

Discord, a renowned messaging platform, declared the acquisition of Gas which is a famous app among teenagers for its positive take on social media.

Users enroll with their school, add their friends, and participate in polls regarding their fellow students on Gas. The poll questions, on the other hand, are intended to boost instead of weaken users’ confidence.

Teens might be asked to choose one of four friends who is either the best DJ or possesses the best smile. The selected person will then receive an anonymous note having their remark from an unknown “fella in 10th grade” or “girl in 11th grade.”

Nikita Bier established Gas after selling an identical application known as ‘tbh’ to Facebook in 2017. However, ‘tbh’ has been shut down since then.

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Gas has received 7.4 million downloads and nearly $7 million in consumer expenditure ever since its release in the summer of 2022, as per Sensor Tower data. Users can pay for a feature called “God Mode,” which provides users with clues as to who their secret compliments are from.

“At this time, Gas will continue as its own standalone app and the Gas team will be joining Discord to help our efforts to continue to grow across new and core audiences,” Discord wrote in an announcement.
Source: techcrunch.com

Bier stated that Gas would have four team members as of October.

Gas has had a difficult exit even though it became popular rapidly. The app was the topic of a widely spread sex-trafficking rumour, which was untrue but had an impact on downloads.

Bier told the Washington Post that as a consequence of the hoax, he and his team got a lot of graphic death threats. Other renowned social media apps, such as IRL &WalkSafe, have also been blamed for human trafficking.

Gas is one of the numerous anonymous applications that have recently gone viral, some centered on compliments and others not. However, TechCrunch discovered that apps such as NGL & Sendit were using bots to replicate engagement.

These apps, like Gas, allow people to pay to find out who asked questions. After it was disclosed that the questions just weren’t posed by their mates, some users were justifiably upset. In the meantime, 9count, the company behind Spark and Summer, is developing nocapp, an app similar to Gas.

Even though Discord will continue to offer Gas as a standalone product, the company recently stated that it would incorporate several apps into its servers. As a result, we may see these wonderful community polls on the messenger service platform in the future. The terms of the Gas acquisition by Discord are unknown.

“We’re always working to create an inclusive world where no one feels like an outsider and we’re excited to welcome Gas to the Discord community as our next step to fulfilling that vision,” Discord wrote in its announcement.
Source: techcrunch.com

Suhani Jain

Apple announces MacBook Pro with M2 Pro and M2 Max chips

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By Suhani Jain

As per Apple, the latest M2 Pro chip possesses a 10-core or 12-core CPU and provides up to 20 percent powerful speed performance in comparison with the M1 Pro chip.

The chip also includes a 16-core or 19-core GPU that provides up to 30 percent faster graphics performance than the M1 Pro, as well as a 16-core Neural Engine which is 40 percent faster than the previous generation.

According to Apple, the M2 Max chip possesses a 12-core CPU which is approximately 20 percent faster in comparison with the M1 Max chip, and it comes with a 38-core GPU. The latest MacBook Pro has now become up to 6 times more efficient as compared to the speediest MacBook Pro which is intel-based for some functions thanks to the M2 Max chip.

When equipped with the highest-end M2 Max chip, both newly released MacBook Pro models can now be customized with up to 96GB of unified memory. In contrast, older versions with the M1 Max chip were usable with approximately 64GB of memory. Memory bandwidth remains unchanged, with the M2 Pro chip supporting up to 200GB/s as well as the M2 Max chip supporting up to 400GB/s.

The notebooks, like the prior generation, can be customized with about 8TB of SSD storage.

The new MacBook Pro models include Wi-Fi 6E support, which enables faster wireless access as well as reduced latency on the 6GHz band. Preceding 14-inch & 16-inch MacBook Pro systems only supported Wi-Fi 6, which works on the 2.4GHz & 5GHz bands.

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On both newly released MacBook Pro models, an updated HDMI 2.1 port features one external screen with about 8K resolution at 60Hz or 4K resolution at 240Hz.

Apple claims that the brand-new 16-inch MacBook Pro has the great battery life ever offered by a Mac, with approximately 22 hours of use per charge. The latest 14-inch model is said to have a battery life of up to 18 hours. According to Apple’s technical specifications, each model gains one hour of battery life over the prior generation.

The newest MacBook Pro models come with a Liquid Retina XDR screen having a notch, a completely black keyboard housing, MagSafe 3 for charging, 3 Thunderbolt 4 port facilities, an SD card slot, an HDMI port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, as well as a six-speaker audio system as the past generation.

Customers can purchase the latest 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros now via Apple’s online store, having availability commencing Tuesday, January 24. The 14-inch MacBook Pro price begins at $1,999, while the 16-inch MacBook Pro begins at $2,499.

Suhani Jain

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