Can Artificial Intelligence ever truly replace human discretion? This question has for long been a topic of debate and now, an incident involving a parent, his child, and some photographs taken for medical reasons has once more brought the matter into focus.

Google uses an automated tool to flag abusive images of children.&nbsp;While the system clearly has its advantages, it may also go wrong and have severe consequences for the individuals involved.

In one such example, which the New York Times broke first, a stay-at-home father in San Francisco is under police investigation after taking images and recordings of an infection on his son's genitalia.

Watch |&nbsp;Futuristic airports around the world | Tech It Out

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The man, who has only been identified by his first name, noticed that his toddler's penis was causing him pain and looked swollen. Mark used his phone to click pictures for online consultation with the doctor.

While the infection soon went away thanks to antibiotics prescribed based on those pictures, Mark's troubles did not.

Mark and his wife used the phone and their service provider Google to upload the images to their healthcare provider's messaging system and soon after received a notification that his Google account has been blocked because of “harmful content” that was “a severe violation of Google’s policies and might be illegal.”

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/how-does-google-make-money-479751">How does Google make money?</a>

While the particular reason was not provided, the list of possible reasons why this may have happened did have “child sexual abuse &amp; exploitation.”

Puzzled, the couple recalled the pictures in question and contacted Google to clear up the issue. However, the big tech firm refused to reinstate his account and in a statement said, “Child sexual abuse material is abhorrent and we’re committed to preventing the spread of it on our platforms.”

The San Francisco Police Department investigation was headed by Nicholas Hillard, who upon investigating concluded: "that no crime occurred".

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/brazil-elections-da-silva-calls-jair-bolsonaro-a-cheap-copy-of-donald-trump-509345">Brazil elections: Da Silva calls Jair Bolsonaro a 'cheap copy' of Donald Trump</a>

However, in spite of Mark submitting the police report to Google, the tech giant has decided to permanently delete his account. The move is costing the stay-at-home dad a lot of data and almost all of his digital presence. &nbsp;

In a similar case in Texas, another father Cassio had a similar thing happen to me.

As per the report, these two cases are only a drop in the bucket.&nbsp;Technology behemoths identify millions of images of sexually abusing or exploiting youngsters each year. Google alone reported child abuse content in excess of 600,000 times in 2021, leading to the account suspension of over 270,000 users.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Can Artificial Intelligence ever truly replace human discretion? This question has for long been a topic of debate and now, an incident involving a parent, his child, and some photographs taken for medical reasons has once more brought the matter into focus.

Can Artificial Intelligence ever truly replace human discretion? This question has for long been a topic of debate and now, an incident involving a parent, his child, and some photographs taken for medical reasons has once more brought the matter into focus. Google uses an automated tool to flag abusive images of children. While the system clearly has its advantages, it may also go wrong and have severe consequences for the individuals involved. In one such example, which the New York Times broke first, a stay-at-home father in San Francisco is under police investigation after taking images and recordings of an infection on his son's genitalia. Watch | Futuristic airports around the world | Tech It Out The man, who has only been identified by his first name, noticed that his toddler's penis was causing him pain and looked swollen. Mark used his phone to click pictures for online consultation with the doctor. While the infection soon went away thanks to antibiotics prescribed based on those pictures, Mark's troubles did not. Mark and his wife used the phone and their service provider Google to upload the images to their healthcare provider's messaging system and soon after received a notification that his Google account has been blocked because of “harmful content” that was “a severe violation of Google’s policies and might be illegal.” Also read | How does Google make money? While the particular reason was not provided, the list of possible reasons why this may have happened did have “child sexual abuse & exploitation.” Puzzled, the couple recalled the pictures in question and contacted Google to clear up the issue. However, the big tech firm refused to reinstate his account and in a statement said, “Child sexual abuse material is abhorrent and we’re committed to preventing the spread of it on our platforms.” The San Francisco Police Department investigation was headed by Nicholas Hillard, who upon investigating concluded: "that no crime occurred". Also read | Brazil elections: Da Silva calls Jair Bolsonaro a 'cheap copy' of Donald Trump However, in spite of Mark submitting the police report to Google, the tech giant has decided to permanently delete his account. The move is costing the stay-at-home dad a lot of data and almost all of his digital presence. In a similar case in Texas, another father Cassio had a similar thing happen to me. As per the report, these two cases are only a drop in the bucket. Technology behemoths identify millions of images of sexually abusing or exploiting youngsters each year. Google alone reported child abuse content in excess of 600,000 times in 2021, leading to the account suspension of over 270,000 users. (With inputs from agencies) Watch WION LIVE HERE: You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Google accuses US father of 'child sex abuse' for clicking pictures of an infection on toddler's genitals

Google Maps users have spotted a spooky image of a downed passenger plane in the middle of the Australian rainforest. As per the reports by UK-based media outlet Metro, users have spotted the downed jetliner on the Cardwell Range, which is located between Townsville and Cairns.

Google Maps users have spotted a spooky image of a downed passenger plane in the middle of the Australian rainforest. As per the reports by UK-based media outlet Metro, users have spotted the downed jetliner on the Cardwell Range, which is located between Townsville and Cairns. In the image, it appears that the jet has been nestled in a clearing in the trees. After giving a closer look at the image, it looks like the plane is either an Airbus A320 or a Boeing 737. It is quite evident and media reports also mentioned that the image doesn't show any sign of any damage to the plane or the area where it has been spotted. ALSO READ | Sony being sued for $5.91 billion, PlayStation owners may be owed up to $664 each The users are baffled as the plane is apparently from established flight routes. Reports have noted that the grey twin-engine plane is in a location west. It is a known flight path along the north Queensland coast. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau confirmed to an Australian newspaper The Cairns Post that it was unaware of any missing passenger jets in that location. CASA said in a statement: "There appears to be a phenomenon called ghost images and that could be what this is." ALSO READ | Meta and TikTok can track everything on in-app browsers, new research claims A picture from Google Maps shared image appears to show a downed passenger plane in a rainforest in Australia. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said that it was unaware of any missing passenger jets. "There appears to be a phenomenon called '#GhostImages' pic.twitter.com/xpQxWMVj7v — prideof Gujjar (@GujjarPrideof) August 22, 2022 × Low flight or downed plane? The Google Maps image of the jungle that puts Australia on alert pic.twitter.com/3z8uqtwslb — Azrael nOn Stop .. Injustices touch my balls (@nONsToP_aStUr) August 22, 2022 × What is a 'ghost' image? On Google Maps, users sometimes see images that are apparently not there. Multiple instances have creeped out people on several occasions. Once an eagle-eyed Google Maps user thought they had seen a plane pictured at the bottom of Lake Harriet in the US state of Minnesota in 2016. But Google later replied that it was a 'ghost' image. The latest image of a downed jetliner appears to be the latest episode of spotting a 'ghost' image which has confused Maps users. But Google has not replied yet. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Is that a 'downed' plane? Google Maps users spot spooky image in Australian rainforest

Following the US Supreme Court's verdict banning abortion in the country, online privacy has become a myth as Big Tech companies are collecting the personal details of their users for tracking and surveillance.

After investigators obtained private Facebook messages between a mother and daughter in Nebraska they were charged with terminating the teenager's pregnancy.

Highlighting that Meta “always scrutinises every government request we receive to make sure it is legally valid”, the company said it received a legal warrant from law enforcement about the case, which did not mention the word “abortion.”

According to its transparency report, the company gave investigators information in about 88 per cent of the 59,996 cases in which the government requested data in the second half of last year.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/why-is-abortion-ban-in-us-is-more-challenging-for-servicewomen-492093">Also read |&nbsp;Why is abortion ban in US more challenging for servicewomen?</a>

Caitlin Seeley George, campaigns and managing director at the nonprofit rights group Fight for the Future, told Associated Press that “Meta must flip the switch and make end-to-end encryption a default in all private messages, including on Facebook and Instagram. Doing so will literally save pregnant people's lives.”&nbsp;

In the age of digitalisation, activists fear that people’s personal data could be used to prosecute people not only those who seek an abortion but also those who assist them.

In an investigation, Vice News found that anyone could buy a weekly trove of data on clients at more than 600 Planned Parenthood sites around the country for as little as $160 until May.

From income bracket to time spent at the clinic, the files included information that third-party apps or tech companies collect from their users.

After she sought medical care for a pregnancy loss, a Black woman in Mississippi named Lattice Fisher was charged with second-degree murder in 2017.

During her trial, she was indicted on a second-degree murder charge based on her online search history including queries about miscarriage and abortion.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/after-surge-in-demand-cvs-and-walmart-are-rationing-plan-b-emergency-contraceptive-pills-492487">Also read |&nbsp;US abortion ban: CVS, Walmart ration Plan B contraceptive pills as demand surges</a>

Tech companies have said little about how they might cooperate with law enforcement or government agencies trying to prosecute people seeking an abortion where it is illegal, although many of them have announced policies to protect their own employees by paying for necessary out-of-state travel to obtain an abortion.

After facing accusations of allegedly deceiving millions of mobile phone users by enabling the collection and sale of their personal data to third parties, Democratic lawmakers asked federal regulators to investigate Apple and Google.

Following the Supreme Court's decision, Google announced it will automatically purge information about users who visit abortion clinics or other locations that could trigger legal problems.

To avoid legal trouble, activists have urged people to turn off phone location services when they are seeking reproductive health care.

They have also suggested they use more privacy-conscious web browsers such as Brave, Firefox and DuckDuckGo.

Recommending them to double-check their privacy settings, they believe that turning off ad identifiers on both Apple and Android phones is another method to ensure their data is not accessed by other parties.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Following the US Supreme Court's verdict banning abortion in the country, online privacy has become a myth as Big Tech companies are collecting the personal details of their users for tracking and surveillance.

Following the US Supreme Court's verdict banning abortion in the country, online privacy has become a myth as Big Tech companies are collecting the personal details of their users for tracking and surveillance. After investigators obtained private Facebook messages between a mother and daughter in Nebraska they were charged with terminating the teenager's pregnancy. Highlighting that Meta “always scrutinises every government request we receive to make sure it is legally valid”, the company said it received a legal warrant from law enforcement about the case, which did not mention the word “abortion.” According to its transparency report, the company gave investigators information in about 88 per cent of the 59,996 cases in which the government requested data in the second half of last year. Also read | Why is abortion ban in US more challenging for servicewomen? Caitlin Seeley George, campaigns and managing director at the nonprofit rights group Fight for the Future, told Associated Press that “Meta must flip the switch and make end-to-end encryption a default in all private messages, including on Facebook and Instagram. Doing so will literally save pregnant people's lives.” In the age of digitalisation, activists fear that people’s personal data could be used to prosecute people not only those who seek an abortion but also those who assist them. In an investigation, Vice News found that anyone could buy a weekly trove of data on clients at more than 600 Planned Parenthood sites around the country for as little as $160 until May. From income bracket to time spent at the clinic, the files included information that third-party apps or tech companies collect from their users. After she sought medical care for a pregnancy loss, a Black woman in Mississippi named Lattice Fisher was charged with second-degree murder in 2017. During her trial, she was indicted on a second-degree murder charge based on her online search history including queries about miscarriage and abortion. Also read | US abortion ban: CVS, Walmart ration Plan B contraceptive pills as demand surges Tech companies have said little about how they might cooperate with law enforcement or government agencies trying to prosecute people seeking an abortion where it is illegal, although many of them have announced policies to protect their own employees by paying for necessary out-of-state travel to obtain an abortion. After facing accusations of allegedly deceiving millions of mobile phone users by enabling the collection and sale of their personal data to third parties, Democratic lawmakers asked federal regulators to investigate Apple and Google. Following the Supreme Court's decision, Google announced it will automatically purge information about users who visit abortion clinics or other locations that could trigger legal problems. To avoid legal trouble, activists have urged people to turn off phone location services when they are seeking reproductive health care. They have also suggested they use more privacy-conscious web browsers such as Brave, Firefox and DuckDuckGo. Recommending them to double-check their privacy settings, they believe that turning off ad identifiers on both Apple and Android phones is another method to ensure their data is not accessed by other parties. (With inputs from agencies) Watch WION's live TV here: ×

Why online privacy has become a myth in post-Roe world

On Monday, Google was unavailable to thousands of users, according to the outage monitoring website Downdetector.com. According to Downdetector, which analyses outages by compiling status updates from various sources including user-submitted faults on its platform, there were over 40,000 cases of users reporting problems with the largest search engine in the world owned by Alphabet Inc.

People in Singapore, Australia, and the United Kingdom also reported having problems with Google, according to CNBC. Users posted screenshots of error messages, which caused it to temporarily become trending on Twitter. The Google servers were displaying the 502 error when a search was being done. "502. That's an error. The server encountered a temporary error and could not complete your request. Please try again in 30 seconds. That's all we know," said the message prompt.

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Google showing error for first time. This day will be remembered 😀<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/google?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#google</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/error?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#error</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/googledown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#googledown</a> <a href="https://t.co/779jOhJxva">pic.twitter.com/779jOhJxva</a>
— Ganesh Mallya (@hgmallya) <a href="https://twitter.com/hgmallya/status/1556816488358486017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Another notice stated the following: "We are sorry but it appears that there has been an internal server error while processing your request. Our engineers have been notified and are working to resolve the issue. Please try again later." Additionally, the Google Trends service experienced a brief outage. The link was opening, but nothing appeared in the window that displays trends. However, the real-time trends were functioning correctly. After a short period of time, the service was resumed. Numerous users from India and other countries complained about Google's malfunction on Twitter.

"Had a Google search engine error for the first time ever. The engine was totally down. It's so rare the first thing I did was come to Twitter to see if anything major is going on with the web. Conspiracy theories here we come! &nbsp;#google #error," @RyanBakerSLO wrote on Twitter.

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Had a Google search engine error for the first time ever. The engine was totally down. It's so rare the first thing I did was come to Twitter to see if anything major is going on with the web. Conspiracy theories here we come! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/google?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#google</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/error?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#error</a>
— Ryan Baker (@RyanBakerSLO) <a href="https://twitter.com/RyanBakerSLO/status/1556814779833978885?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2022</a></blockquote>
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It started a hilarious flurry of memes on Twitter.&nbsp;

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Me switching to twitter after experiencing error 500 in google<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Google?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Google</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/googledown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#googledown</a> <a href="https://t.co/hu4TMsB2K5">pic.twitter.com/hu4TMsB2K5</a>
— 1038 (@remier_acbang) <a href="https://twitter.com/remier_acbang/status/1556818773662765056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2022</a></blockquote>
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(with inputs from agencies)

On Monday, Google was unavailable to thousands of users, according to the outage monitoring website Downdetector.com. According to Downdetector, which analyses outages by compiling status updates from various sources including user-submitted faults on its platform, there were over 40,000 cases of users reporting problems with the largest search engine in the world owned by Alphabet Inc.

On Monday, Google was unavailable to thousands of users, according to the outage monitoring website Downdetector.com. According to Downdetector, which analyses outages by compiling status updates from various sources including user-submitted faults on its platform, there were over 40,000 cases of users reporting problems with the largest search engine in the world owned by Alphabet Inc. People in Singapore, Australia, and the United Kingdom also reported having problems with Google, according to CNBC. Users posted screenshots of error messages, which caused it to temporarily become trending on Twitter. The Google servers were displaying the 502 error when a search was being done. "502. That's an error. The server encountered a temporary error and could not complete your request. Please try again in 30 seconds. That's all we know," said the message prompt. Google showing error for first time. This day will be remembered 😀#google #error #googledown pic.twitter.com/779jOhJxva — Ganesh Mallya (@hgmallya) August 9, 2022 × Another notice stated the following: "We are sorry but it appears that there has been an internal server error while processing your request. Our engineers have been notified and are working to resolve the issue. Please try again later." Additionally, the Google Trends service experienced a brief outage. The link was opening, but nothing appeared in the window that displays trends. However, the real-time trends were functioning correctly. After a short period of time, the service was resumed. Numerous users from India and other countries complained about Google's malfunction on Twitter. "Had a Google search engine error for the first time ever. The engine was totally down. It's so rare the first thing I did was come to Twitter to see if anything major is going on with the web. Conspiracy theories here we come! #google #error," @RyanBakerSLO wrote on Twitter. Had a Google search engine error for the first time ever. The engine was totally down. It's so rare the first thing I did was come to Twitter to see if anything major is going on with the web. Conspiracy theories here we come! #google #error — Ryan Baker (@RyanBakerSLO) August 9, 2022 × It started a hilarious flurry of memes on Twitter. Me switching to twitter after experiencing error 500 in google#Google #googledown pic.twitter.com/hu4TMsB2K5 — 1038 (@remier_acbang) August 9, 2022 × (with inputs from agencies)

Google server down for thousands of users, more than 40K issues reported

Using an artificial intelligence (AI) network, an Alphabet-owned artificial intelligence research company has published the structures of nearly all proteins, the building blocks of life, of more than 200 million from bacteria to humans.

The publication of all proteins is being hailed as revolutionary for AI as it is being tipped as a potential treasure trove for drug development and evolutionary studies.

AI-powered predictions of the three-dimensional structures of nearly all cataloged proteins known to science have been made by DeepMind, a tool developed by Google’s London-based AI company, and European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), an intergovernmental organization near Cambridge, UK.

The catalog is freely and openly available to the scientific community, through the AlphaFold Protein Structure Database.

Proteins are large, complex molecules that play many critical roles in the body. They do most of the work in cells and are required for the structure, function, and regulation of the body’s tissues and organs. Hence, they are referred to as the building blocks of life.

Proteins are made up of hundreds or thousands of smaller units called amino acids, which are attached to one another in long chains.

For example, when Covid vaccine was prepared, the biologists analysed the protein of Sars-Cov-2 in order to design antibodies and neutralise the protein’s ability to infect more cells. This three-dimensional information is mostly gathered using cryo-electron microscopes.

“We’re releasing now the structures for the whole protein universe,” Demis Hassabis, founder and CEO of DeepMind, said during a press conference in London.

At the press conference, deputy director general of EMBL Ewan Birney said the DeepMind structure release is “remarkable,” and that “it will make many researchers around the world think about what experiments they can now do.”

“Being able to ‘just download’ the whole prediction set is going to - I am sure - stimulate entirely new research directions. As important is the on-demand ‘oh I am going to make a mutation on my protein, I wonder where it is on the structure’ for ... every known protein,” Birney later said in a tweet.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science-technology/earth-is-suddenly-spinning-faster-than-usual-and-it-can-spell-doom-for-us-502483" hreflang="en">Earth is suddenly spinning faster than usual, and it can spell doom for us</a>

The proteins decoded by AlphaFold comprise a range of organisms from bacteria to plants to vertebrates, including mice, humans and zebrafish.

Kathryn Tunyasuvunakool, a DeepMind research scientist, said it took their AI tool around 10 to 20 seconds to make each protein prediction, reports Science.org.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/biden-tests-positive-for-coronavirus-again-all-you-want-to-know-about-paxlovid-rebound-502457" hreflang="en">‘Paxlovid rebound’: All you want to know know | CDC guideline</a>

She added that the AI company had to work closely with EMBL-EBI to figure out how to present the immense number of structures in the database.

DeepMind says more than 500,000 researchers have already used the database since its launch last year.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Using an artificial intelligence (AI) network, an Alphabet-owned artificial intelligence research company has published the structures of nearly all proteins, the building blocks of life, of more than 200 million from bacteria to humans.

Using an artificial intelligence (AI) network, an Alphabet-owned artificial intelligence research company has published the structures of nearly all proteins, the building blocks of life, of more than 200 million from bacteria to humans. The publication of all proteins is being hailed as revolutionary for AI as it is being tipped as a potential treasure trove for drug development and evolutionary studies. AI-powered predictions of the three-dimensional structures of nearly all cataloged proteins known to science have been made by DeepMind, a tool developed by Google’s London-based AI company, and European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), an intergovernmental organization near Cambridge, UK. The catalog is freely and openly available to the scientific community, through the AlphaFold Protein Structure Database. Proteins are large, complex molecules that play many critical roles in the body. They do most of the work in cells and are required for the structure, function, and regulation of the body’s tissues and organs. Hence, they are referred to as the building blocks of life. Proteins are made up of hundreds or thousands of smaller units called amino acids, which are attached to one another in long chains. For example, when Covid vaccine was prepared, the biologists analysed the protein of Sars-Cov-2 in order to design antibodies and neutralise the protein’s ability to infect more cells. This three-dimensional information is mostly gathered using cryo-electron microscopes. “We’re releasing now the structures for the whole protein universe,” Demis Hassabis, founder and CEO of DeepMind, said during a press conference in London. At the press conference, deputy director general of EMBL Ewan Birney said the DeepMind structure release is “remarkable,” and that “it will make many researchers around the world think about what experiments they can now do.” “Being able to ‘just download’ the whole prediction set is going to - I am sure - stimulate entirely new research directions. As important is the on-demand ‘oh I am going to make a mutation on my protein, I wonder where it is on the structure’ for ... every known protein,” Birney later said in a tweet. Also read | Earth is suddenly spinning faster than usual, and it can spell doom for us The proteins decoded by AlphaFold comprise a range of organisms from bacteria to plants to vertebrates, including mice, humans and zebrafish. Kathryn Tunyasuvunakool, a DeepMind research scientist, said it took their AI tool around 10 to 20 seconds to make each protein prediction, reports Science.org. Also read | ‘Paxlovid rebound’: All you want to know know | CDC guideline She added that the AI company had to work closely with EMBL-EBI to figure out how to present the immense number of structures in the database. DeepMind says more than 500,000 researchers have already used the database since its launch last year. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Major scientific breakthrough: Google’s AI firm releases 3D view of protein universe

People online are being inspired by the story of a man who never gave up and eventually landed a job at Google, his dream company. Tyler Cohen applied at the tech giant not once or twice, but a whopping 39 times. A man is currently rejoicing after being accepted at his 40th attempt after being turned down 39 times by his "dream company," Google. Tyler Cohen acknowledges that by continuing to apply to Google despite numerous rejections, he erred on the side of lunacy. On LinkedIn, he posted a screenshot of his correspondence history with the internet giant, which displays communications going back to 2019.

"There's a fine line between perseverance and insanity. I'm still trying to figure out which one I have, "said the San Francisco-based Cohen, who will presumably resign from his role as Associate Manager-Strategy &amp; Ops at DoorDash to join Google.

"39 rejections, 1 acceptance," he added, alongside the hashtags # google # acceptedoffer # application and # noogler, which is Google's term for new hires.

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More than 36,000 people have reacted to Cohen's post, and there have been hundreds more comments. Google itself saw the message and responded from its verified LinkedIn account to welcome Cohen to the team.

"What a journey it's been, Tyler! It was definitely time," wrote Google.

While the majority of LinkedIn users applauded the newly recruited "noogler," other people questioned whether Cohen's hiring after 39 attempts indicated more about Google's hiring procedures than Cohen's abilities.

(With inputs from agencies) 
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People online are being inspired by the story of a man who never gave up and eventually landed a job at Google, his dream company. Tyler Cohen applied at the tech giant not once or twice, but a whopping 39 times.

People online are being inspired by the story of a man who never gave up and eventually landed a job at Google, his dream company. Tyler Cohen applied at the tech giant not once or twice, but a whopping 39 times. A man is currently rejoicing after being accepted at his 40th attempt after being turned down 39 times by his "dream company," Google. Tyler Cohen acknowledges that by continuing to apply to Google despite numerous rejections, he erred on the side of lunacy. On LinkedIn, he posted a screenshot of his correspondence history with the internet giant, which displays communications going back to 2019. "There's a fine line between perseverance and insanity. I'm still trying to figure out which one I have, "said the San Francisco-based Cohen, who will presumably resign from his role as Associate Manager-Strategy & Ops at DoorDash to join Google. "39 rejections, 1 acceptance," he added, alongside the hashtags # google # acceptedoffer # application and # noogler, which is Google's term for new hires. × More than 36,000 people have reacted to Cohen's post, and there have been hundreds more comments. Google itself saw the message and responded from its verified LinkedIn account to welcome Cohen to the team. "What a journey it's been, Tyler! It was definitely time," wrote Google. While the majority of LinkedIn users applauded the newly recruited "noogler," other people questioned whether Cohen's hiring after 39 attempts indicated more about Google's hiring procedures than Cohen's abilities. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Headstrong or crazy? Man lands his 'dream job' at Google in 40th attempt

On June 24th, 2022, American women not only lost their right to a safe abortion, many say they lost the autonomy they had on their own bodies. Since then, unfortunately, many disheartening news stories have come to light, like that of a 10 years old rape victim having to travel 385 kilometres (200+ miles) for an abortion. However, many organisations have also stepped forward to help out women in whatever way they can.&nbsp;

One of the biggest fallouts of the overturning of Roe v. Wade was women using the internet to access information about abortion. And let’s be honest, internet is a maze of content, much of which may be false or doctored.

Watch |&nbsp;US: At least 34 arrested near Capitol Hill at a pro-abortion rally

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YouTube is now joining the list and taking steps to deal with the repercussions of the US Supreme Court’s verdict. On Thursday, the platform said that it will start removing videos containing false or unsafe claims about the abortion procedure.&nbsp;

Talking to AFP, YouTube said, “Starting today and ramping up over the next few weeks, we will remove content that provides instructions for unsafe abortion methods or promotes false claims about abortion safety under our medical misinformation policies.”

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/roe-vs-wade-overturn-10-year-old-rape-survivor-forced-to-travels-from-ohio-to-indiana-for-abortion-494457">Roe vs Wade overturn: 10-year-old rape survivor forced to travel from Ohio to Indiana for abortion</a>

“We believe it’s important to connect people to content from authoritative sources regarding health topics.”

Instructions for risky at-home abortions and misleading claims that there is a high danger that the procedure would result in cancer or infertility are a few examples of the information YouTube stated it will remove from its platform globally.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/google-announces-deletion-of-user-location-history-on-us-abortion-clinic-visits-493720">Google announces deletion of user location history on US abortion clinic visits</a>

One of the biggest names that extended a helping hand back in June was Google. The company promised to protect the location history of its users visiting abortion clinics or other sensitive locations like domestic violence shelters. This step was to help users protect their privacy and escape scrutiny.

However, as per a Guardian report, citing findings by the Tech Transparency Project, the research arm of the non-profit Campaign for Accountability the data still remains vulnerable. Anyone with access to a person’s phone can access their location history.

(With inputs from agencies)

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On June 24th, 2022, American women not only lost their right to a safe abortion, many say they lost the autonomy they had on their own bodies. Since then, unfortunately, many disheartening news stories have come to light, like that of a 10 years old rape victim having to travel 385 kilometres (200+ miles) for an abortion.

On June 24th, 2022, American women not only lost their right to a safe abortion, many say they lost the autonomy they had on their own bodies. Since then, unfortunately, many disheartening news stories have come to light, like that of a 10 years old rape victim having to travel 385 kilometres (200+ miles) for an abortion. However, many organisations have also stepped forward to help out women in whatever way they can. One of the biggest fallouts of the overturning of Roe v. Wade was women using the internet to access information about abortion. And let’s be honest, internet is a maze of content, much of which may be false or doctored. Watch | US: At least 34 arrested near Capitol Hill at a pro-abortion rally YouTube is now joining the list and taking steps to deal with the repercussions of the US Supreme Court’s verdict. On Thursday, the platform said that it will start removing videos containing false or unsafe claims about the abortion procedure. Talking to AFP, YouTube said, “Starting today and ramping up over the next few weeks, we will remove content that provides instructions for unsafe abortion methods or promotes false claims about abortion safety under our medical misinformation policies.” Also read | Roe vs Wade overturn: 10-year-old rape survivor forced to travel from Ohio to Indiana for abortion “We believe it’s important to connect people to content from authoritative sources regarding health topics.” Instructions for risky at-home abortions and misleading claims that there is a high danger that the procedure would result in cancer or infertility are a few examples of the information YouTube stated it will remove from its platform globally. Also read | Google announces deletion of user location history on US abortion clinic visits One of the biggest names that extended a helping hand back in June was Google. The company promised to protect the location history of its users visiting abortion clinics or other sensitive locations like domestic violence shelters. This step was to help users protect their privacy and escape scrutiny. However, as per a Guardian report, citing findings by the Tech Transparency Project, the research arm of the non-profit Campaign for Accountability the data still remains vulnerable. Anyone with access to a person’s phone can access their location history. (With inputs from agencies) Watch WION LIVE HERE: You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Roe v. Wade: Google location history of women remains vulnerable; YouTube to censor false videos on abortion

In a move that experts have labelled as evasive, on Monday big-tech companies in New Zealand agreed to forego government regulation in favour of themselves reducing dangerous online content. According to Netsafe, a government-funded internet safety organisation, Twitter, Amazon.com Inc., TikTok, Meta Platforms Inc., and Alphabet-owned Google have all signed a code of conduct called Aotearoa New Zealand Code of Practice for Online Safety and Harms. The organisation's chief Brent Carey said that the signatory companies will follow the code as self-regulation. However, industry lobby group NZTech will be overseeing the compliance.&nbsp;"There are too many Kiwis being bullied, harassed, and abused online, which is why the industry has rallied together to protect users," said Carey.

Watch |&nbsp;Have a phobia? A new app can help fight it

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As per a Reuters report, the big-tech companies' adherence to obligations, such as decreasing harmful information online, disclosing how they do so, and allowing independent evaluation of results, would be under the supervision of industry lobbying group NZTech.

NZTech CEO Graeme Muller has expressed hope that "the governance framework will enable it to evolve alongside local conditions, while at the same time respecting the fundamental rights of freedom of expression."

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/japan-cracks-down-on-cyberbullying-the-crime-can-now-get-you-a-year-in-jail-496033">Japan cracks down on cyberbullying, makes it a punishable offence, but experts aren't too happy. Here's why</a>

However, interest groups demand more information, such as a system for public complaints and punishment for any noncompliance by the corporations.

They further emphasise that an industry organisation, not the government, is in charge of managing the accord.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/roe-v-wade-google-location-history-of-women-remains-vulnerable-youtube-to-censor-false-videos-on-abortion-499712">Roe v. Wade: Google location history of women remains vulnerable; YouTube to censor false videos on abortion</a>

Mandy Henk, CEO of Tohatoha NZ, a non-profit organisation that advocates the social impact of technology, called the move "a weak attempt to preempt regulation – in New Zealand and overseas – by promoting an industry-led model."

(With inputs from agencies)

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In a move that experts have labelled as evasive, on Monday big-tech companies in New Zealand agreed to forego government regulation in favour of themselves reducing dangerous online content.

In a move that experts have labelled as evasive, on Monday big-tech companies in New Zealand agreed to forego government regulation in favour of themselves reducing dangerous online content. According to Netsafe, a government-funded internet safety organisation, Twitter, Amazon.com Inc., TikTok, Meta Platforms Inc., and Alphabet-owned Google have all signed a code of conduct called Aotearoa New Zealand Code of Practice for Online Safety and Harms. The organisation's chief Brent Carey said that the signatory companies will follow the code as self-regulation. However, industry lobby group NZTech will be overseeing the compliance. "There are too many Kiwis being bullied, harassed, and abused online, which is why the industry has rallied together to protect users," said Carey. Watch | Have a phobia? A new app can help fight it As per a Reuters report, the big-tech companies' adherence to obligations, such as decreasing harmful information online, disclosing how they do so, and allowing independent evaluation of results, would be under the supervision of industry lobbying group NZTech. NZTech CEO Graeme Muller has expressed hope that "the governance framework will enable it to evolve alongside local conditions, while at the same time respecting the fundamental rights of freedom of expression." Also read | Japan cracks down on cyberbullying, makes it a punishable offence, but experts aren't too happy. Here's why However, interest groups demand more information, such as a system for public complaints and punishment for any noncompliance by the corporations. They further emphasise that an industry organisation, not the government, is in charge of managing the accord. Also read | Roe v. Wade: Google location history of women remains vulnerable; YouTube to censor false videos on abortion Mandy Henk, CEO of Tohatoha NZ, a non-profit organisation that advocates the social impact of technology, called the move "a weak attempt to preempt regulation – in New Zealand and overseas – by promoting an industry-led model." (With inputs from agencies) Watch WION LIVE HERE: You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Big-tech companies agree to self-regulate harmful content in New Zealand, experts call it a 'weak attempt'

Leader of Russia-backed breakaway region in eastern Ukraine said that serach engine Google had been blocked in the region citing what he termed 'disinformation'. Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), posted a message on his Telegram channel and accused that Google was promoting "violence against all Russians". He also claimed that Google's "handlers from the U.S. government" were to blame for this.&nbsp;

"If Google stops pursuing its criminal policy and returns to the mainstream of law, morality and common sense, there will be no obstacles to its work," he said.

Pushilin did not present any evidence to support any claims that he made. There was no immediate reaction from Google.

Russia started its 'special military operation' and sent troops into Ukraine on February 24. Russia and its proxies in eastern Ukrainian regions have been accusing Western companies, mainly digital platforms, of spreading anti-Russian propaganda. Russia has already banned Facebook and Instagram. A Russian court had observed that Meta, the parent company of Facebook was guilty of 'extremist activity'.&nbsp;

After Moscow curbed access to Facebook, the self-declared DPR and separate Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) followed suit in blocking both platforms, thus aligning themselves with Russian policy on US-based digital platforms.

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Leader of Russia-backed breakaway region in eastern Ukraine said that serach engine Google had been blocked in the region citing what he termed 'disinformation'.

Leader of Russia-backed breakaway region in eastern Ukraine said that serach engine Google had been blocked in the region citing what he termed 'disinformation'. Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), posted a message on his Telegram channel and accused that Google was promoting "violence against all Russians". He also claimed that Google's "handlers from the U.S. government" were to blame for this. "If Google stops pursuing its criminal policy and returns to the mainstream of law, morality and common sense, there will be no obstacles to its work," he said. Pushilin did not present any evidence to support any claims that he made. There was no immediate reaction from Google. Russia started its 'special military operation' and sent troops into Ukraine on February 24. Russia and its proxies in eastern Ukrainian regions have been accusing Western companies, mainly digital platforms, of spreading anti-Russian propaganda. Russia has already banned Facebook and Instagram. A Russian court had observed that Meta, the parent company of Facebook was guilty of 'extremist activity'. After Moscow curbed access to Facebook, the self-declared DPR and separate Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) followed suit in blocking both platforms, thus aligning themselves with Russian policy on US-based digital platforms. You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here. WATCH WION LIVE HERE ×

Russian proxies in east Ukraine block Google

Google parent Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has reportedly told its employees that the tech giant will be “slowing down the pace of hiring for the rest of the year”. The comments come as several analysts have predicted that the US will be hit by the recession by the end of this year.

Pichai has said that the company will have to “be more entrepreneurial” and work with “greater urgency, sharper focus, and more hunger than we’ve shown on sunnier days”, according to an internal memo cited by The Verge.

According to the memo, Pichai said that the company “isn’t freezing hiring entirely; it’ll still hire engineering, technical and other critical roles”, but the pullback, he added, will mean “pausing development and re-deploying resources to higher priority areas”.

"For the balance of 2022 and 2023, we'll focus our hiring on engineering, technical and other critical roles, and make sure the great talent we do hire is aligned with our long-term priorities," he reportedly wrote in the memo.

Pichai also indicated that the company will redeploy resources to higher priority areas and pause ongoing projects during this period.

“Making the company more efficient is up to all of us — we’ll be creating more ways for you all to engage and share ideas to help, so stay tuned,” he said.

Notably, Google isn’t the only company that has paused hiring people. Uber has said&nbsp;it’ll have to be “hardcore about costs,” while Meta sent a memo to employees&nbsp;warning of “serious times” and fierce headwinds after&nbsp;implementing hiring freezes&nbsp;for some teams,

Spotify also announced plans to slow hiring, and other companies, like Twitter, and Netflix, have recently decided to lay off employees.

(With inputs from agencies)

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&nbsp;

Google parent Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has reportedly told its employees that the tech giant will be “slowing down the pace of hiring for the rest of the year”.

Google parent Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has reportedly told its employees that the tech giant will be “slowing down the pace of hiring for the rest of the year”. The comments come as several analysts have predicted that the US will be hit by the recession by the end of this year. Pichai has said that the company will have to “be more entrepreneurial” and work with “greater urgency, sharper focus, and more hunger than we’ve shown on sunnier days”, according to an internal memo cited by The Verge. According to the memo, Pichai said that the company “isn’t freezing hiring entirely; it’ll still hire engineering, technical and other critical roles”, but the pullback, he added, will mean “pausing development and re-deploying resources to higher priority areas”. "For the balance of 2022 and 2023, we'll focus our hiring on engineering, technical and other critical roles, and make sure the great talent we do hire is aligned with our long-term priorities," he reportedly wrote in the memo. Pichai also indicated that the company will redeploy resources to higher priority areas and pause ongoing projects during this period. “Making the company more efficient is up to all of us — we’ll be creating more ways for you all to engage and share ideas to help, so stay tuned,” he said. Notably, Google isn’t the only company that has paused hiring people. Uber has said it’ll have to be “hardcore about costs,” while Meta sent a memo to employees warning of “serious times” and fierce headwinds after implementing hiring freezes for some teams, Spotify also announced plans to slow hiring, and other companies, like Twitter, and Netflix, have recently decided to lay off employees. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Google to slow down hiring, says Sundar Pichai in a memo to staff

From harassment to spying on rivals: Uber's litany of controversies

Our existence on this planet is inextricably linked to the millions of species that also call it home. Of them, there are many that made their way into our hearts as pets. Our bonding with pets doesn't need an introduction. From celebrities flaunting their pets to people buying pet-specific accessories, from visiting pet cafes to having pet crematoriums, from crying when a dog dies in a movie to watching cat videos on loop, we undeniably are in love. Animal lovers understand that having a pet is not only a responsibility but a privilege. In a world like this, it is a privilege to have a heart that cares for a voiceless creature. If you have one such, you mustn't wait to read these books about humans' glorious bond with their companion animals. While the ones that are made into movies are already celebrated, I tried to mention those which I felt are underrated.

Felix the Railway Cat by Kate Moore: 
Felix is Huddersfield Station's Senior Pest Controller and Chief Happiness Officer. As the station was yearning for a cat, an employee rescued a pregnant cat which eventually birthed Felix. First mistaken to be a male, Felix won the hearts of all the employees of the station, including those who didn't have an affinity to cats. Workplaces of Tata, Amazon, and Google have made headlines for bringing dogs to the office because, why not?

The book describes Felix's growth, her skills, naughtiness, tricks, achievements, and most importantly, her relationship with the staff and commuters of the station. It is when a regular commuter creates a Facebook page that Felix rose to fame.

The author writes about Felix with immense empathy and vivid descriptions, as though she is writing about one of us. The second reason I love this book is the way it is narrated, with the right amount of wit, emotion, and seriousness. The first reason is apparently the cover.

Wild and Wilful by Neha Sinha 
This is undoubtedly my favourite Indian book about animals so far. Neha Sinha, a wildlife conservationist talks about select rare Indian species of animals in detail, her work with them, and the bias she faced as a woman close to wildlife. Neha and her fellow women are met with judging looks when they work with wild animals, more so in villages.

While giving the scientific information, Neha also adds a humane angle to the whole human-animal conflict. She talks about animals with empathy and kindness. The book covers various aspects ranging from laws and policies on paper to the ground reality that tribal and rural people have to face. It constantly reiterates that wild animals are living things that have feelings. Neha also talks to fellow conservationists and researchers to bring out the facts and curb the myths about so-called cruel animals. 
We need more people to read, write and be like her to save animals because it is already too late.

The Traveling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa 
It is only a coincidence that I read this book during a long travel.

Found under Satoru's car, Nana didn't take much time to get into his house. Having lost his fond cat Hachi as a kid Satoru dotes over Nana. However, circumstances compel Satoru to give Nana up for adoption. Thus begins their long journey from one city to another, from van to train, requesting quite a few of his friends to adopt Nana. At each stage, we meet Satoru's friends and the various instances that shaped his life. None of the adoptions worked. During the journey, Nana experiences new places, new friends and of course, some troubles. He is smart enough to know what is going on and stubborn enough to not leave Satoru's side ever. What persuades Satoru to give up the apple of his eye and how their journey culminates is for you to read.

As we see shelters overflowing with recklessly abandoned pets, it is heartwarming to read about someone take this commitment. This story depicts how our pets are going to be with us and they should be, no matter what. Reading Nana's point of view felt like communicating with animals, which we normally can't do. That is what makes the story extremely personal. Through Nana, the author presents the thoughts of our pets - about us, about other animals, about life and the world in general. They think much more than they show. They understand what we don't tell.

Nana talks to us, questions us, makes us laugh, cry, wonder and think. If it had such profound impact on me, a dog person who never had a cat, I can only imagine how touching it will leave cat owners.

A dog's life: The Autobiography of a Stray by Ann. M Martin 
For someone who fosters the dogs of her street, this book is a gift. In my opinion, it is the best description of the life of a stray. 
The story, as the name suggests, is the autobiography of a puppy born as a nobody. The author takes us through the stormy life that leads her way home. However, there are bleak chances of strays finding loving homes, in real life.

Our protagonist is named Squirrel. Squirrel and Bone are born in an abandoned toolshed. Before they could learn the essential survival skills, they lost their mother. Squirrel is later seperated from Bone too. Thereon, she fights everyday for her survival.

Considering how the author breathes life into Squirrel, it isn't a surprise that she owns a dog and cats. It is vital to remember that the dog may be fictional but the story is not. Every dog we see on the road is as helpless and disadvantaged as Squirrel. In multiple incidents, the author shows how humans let down the man's best friend. It is a must-read for people working with dog shelters or in an individual capacity.

Laika's Window by Kurt Caswell 
Once an anonymous mongrel on the streets of Moscow, Laika is now immortalised. To say that she sacrificed her life would be an understatement. It is a joy that sending animals to space is banned now. What happened to Laika is unfair, to say the least.

The author, through poetic and empathetic descriptions, writes what Laika might have gone through during the grueling process. Did she know that she was being sent on a one-way mission? Did she understand why she was being subjected to unbearable torture? When she looked out of the window of her spacecraft, what did she see?

This book depicts how an innocent little girl lost in the space war between two countries and suffered in the name of science. It was a tough read for me, contemplating how we claim to love dogs yet are willing to let them die so that we explore the cosmos. I appreciate that the author concerned enough about Laika to present the whole event from her point of view. Reading this is sure to leave one in thought, for we have known Laika merely as a dog that died in space; never as a living thing that suffered till the very end.

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)

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Our existence on this planet is inextricably linked to the millions of species that also call it home. Of them, there are many that made their way into our hearts as pets.

Our existence on this planet is inextricably linked to the millions of species that also call it home. Of them, there are many that made their way into our hearts as pets. Our bonding with pets doesn't need an introduction. From celebrities flaunting their pets to people buying pet-specific accessories, from visiting pet cafes to having pet crematoriums, from crying when a dog dies in a movie to watching cat videos on loop, we undeniably are in love. Animal lovers understand that having a pet is not only a responsibility but a privilege. In a world like this, it is a privilege to have a heart that cares for a voiceless creature. If you have one such, you mustn't wait to read these books about humans' glorious bond with their companion animals. While the ones that are made into movies are already celebrated, I tried to mention those which I felt are underrated. Felix the Railway Cat by Kate Moore: Felix is Huddersfield Station's Senior Pest Controller and Chief Happiness Officer. As the station was yearning for a cat, an employee rescued a pregnant cat which eventually birthed Felix. First mistaken to be a male, Felix won the hearts of all the employees of the station, including those who didn't have an affinity to cats. Workplaces of Tata, Amazon, and Google have made headlines for bringing dogs to the office because, why not? The book describes Felix's growth, her skills, naughtiness, tricks, achievements, and most importantly, her relationship with the staff and commuters of the station. It is when a regular commuter creates a Facebook page that Felix rose to fame. The author writes about Felix with immense empathy and vivid descriptions, as though she is writing about one of us. The second reason I love this book is the way it is narrated, with the right amount of wit, emotion, and seriousness. The first reason is apparently the cover. Wild and Wilful by Neha Sinha This is undoubtedly my favourite Indian book about animals so far. Neha Sinha, a wildlife conservationist talks about select rare Indian species of animals in detail, her work with them, and the bias she faced as a woman close to wildlife. Neha and her fellow women are met with judging looks when they work with wild animals, more so in villages. While giving the scientific information, Neha also adds a humane angle to the whole human-animal conflict. She talks about animals with empathy and kindness. The book covers various aspects ranging from laws and policies on paper to the ground reality that tribal and rural people have to face. It constantly reiterates that wild animals are living things that have feelings. Neha also talks to fellow conservationists and researchers to bring out the facts and curb the myths about so-called cruel animals. We need more people to read, write and be like her to save animals because it is already too late. The Traveling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa It is only a coincidence that I read this book during a long travel. Found under Satoru's car, Nana didn't take much time to get into his house. Having lost his fond cat Hachi as a kid Satoru dotes over Nana. However, circumstances compel Satoru to give Nana up for adoption. Thus begins their long journey from one city to another, from van to train, requesting quite a few of his friends to adopt Nana. At each stage, we meet Satoru's friends and the various instances that shaped his life. None of the adoptions worked. During the journey, Nana experiences new places, new friends and of course, some troubles. He is smart enough to know what is going on and stubborn enough to not leave Satoru's side ever. What persuades Satoru to give up the apple of his eye and how their journey culminates is for you to read. As we see shelters overflowing with recklessly abandoned pets, it is heartwarming to read about someone take this commitment. This story depicts how our pets are going to be with us and they should be, no matter what. Reading Nana's point of view felt like communicating with animals, which we normally can't do. That is what makes the story extremely personal. Through Nana, the author presents the thoughts of our pets - about us, about other animals, about life and the world in general. They think much more than they show. They understand what we don't tell. Nana talks to us, questions us, makes us laugh, cry, wonder and think. If it had such profound impact on me, a dog person who never had a cat, I can only imagine how touching it will leave cat owners. A dog's life: The Autobiography of a Stray by Ann. M Martin For someone who fosters the dogs of her street, this book is a gift. In my opinion, it is the best description of the life of a stray. The story, as the name suggests, is the autobiography of a puppy born as a nobody. The author takes us through the stormy life that leads her way home. However, there are bleak chances of strays finding loving homes, in real life. Our protagonist is named Squirrel. Squirrel and Bone are born in an abandoned toolshed. Before they could learn the essential survival skills, they lost their mother. Squirrel is later seperated from Bone too. Thereon, she fights everyday for her survival. Considering how the author breathes life into Squirrel, it isn't a surprise that she owns a dog and cats. It is vital to remember that the dog may be fictional but the story is not. Every dog we see on the road is as helpless and disadvantaged as Squirrel. In multiple incidents, the author shows how humans let down the man's best friend. It is a must-read for people working with dog shelters or in an individual capacity. Laika's Window by Kurt Caswell Once an anonymous mongrel on the streets of Moscow, Laika is now immortalised. To say that she sacrificed her life would be an understatement. It is a joy that sending animals to space is banned now. What happened to Laika is unfair, to say the least. The author, through poetic and empathetic descriptions, writes what Laika might have gone through during the grueling process. Did she know that she was being sent on a one-way mission? Did she understand why she was being subjected to unbearable torture? When she looked out of the window of her spacecraft, what did she see? This book depicts how an innocent little girl lost in the space war between two countries and suffered in the name of science. It was a tough read for me, contemplating how we claim to love dogs yet are willing to let them die so that we explore the cosmos. I appreciate that the author concerned enough about Laika to present the whole event from her point of view. Reading this is sure to leave one in thought, for we have known Laika merely as a dog that died in space; never as a living thing that suffered till the very end. (Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.) You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here. WATCH WION LIVE HERE

5 books animal lovers should absolutely not miss

Months before June, companies’ marketing calendars remind them to start working on their pride campaigns: the graphic design department decorates logos and slogans with colourful rainbows; the copywriting department writes jingles and puns with queer lingo, and the finance department estimates how much profit the campaign is forecasted to generate. By the time pride month comes around, the corporate world explodes in a colourful carnival of pro-LGBTQ+ advertisements, campaigns and rebrandings. What was once a civil rights protest and riot to demand equal rights has become part of the corporate pipeline. Nevertheless, pride provides companies with the opportunity to make their values clear, show support for their LGBTQ+ employees and, in the best cases, use their platforms to demand social change.

Various companies across the globe are seeking to build a better experience for their people to promote loyalty, minimize turnover and drive better engagement. As part of these efforts, companies are empowering individuals to be their true selves. With the celebration of pride month, most employers have been considering how to better support members of the LGBTQ+ community in their workforce during a time of growing adversity for this group. When June 1 arrived, companies like Facebook and Walmart rolled out shelves of colourful merchandise, flooded their social media pages with rainbows and aired compassionate commercials.&nbsp;

As June arrives, corporations try really hard to make sure their consumers knew how much they supported the LGBTQ+ community. But the catch is, that now that the Pride month is over, corporations will put their shelves of merchandise on clearance, cleanse their social media pages of rainbows and no longer air compassionate commercials. Historically, corporate support seems to mostly vanish on July 1, leaving LGBTQ+ individuals and allies wondering if a company really cares about the community after Pride Month ends, or if it is just participating in rainbow washing.

Now, question is, what is Rainbow Washing? Rainbow washing is aesthetic support, and it’s about marketability and profit. The key part is that some corporations are actively giving support to anti-queer politicians, legislators, lobbyists and laws while at the same time claiming to be allies. At the surface level, a company’s rainbow logo indicates that it is an ally of the LGBTQ+ community. Rainbow washing isn’t the kind of thing that you can Google in five seconds. It takes a bit of energy and time. There are several behind-the-scenes ways a corporation could be harming the LGBTQ+ community. The LGBTQ+ community has made tremendous progress in the fight to secure the same workplace rights as other colleagues. Employers and co-workers can prevent future erosion of the basic human rights everyone deserves by being more resolute in their support and actions.

Rainbow washing strips pride month of its political power. Pride has always been political because the month is not only a celebration but a time to defend the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals. When Pride is stripped of its political power, then queer people are just there for celebration or as a culture to appropriate because it’s fun and looks pretty. The voices of queer people that are actually suffering violence or being discriminated against aren’t actually heard because Pride isn’t supposed to only be fun and pretty. Let's keep in mind and not forget that the first-ever Pride was a riot, and rainbow washing weakens the power of the origin. It gives corporations the opportunity to dilute the message of Pride and remove its revolutionary teeth. Rainbow washing harms the legitimacy of pride month in the eyes of those who are unsupportive of the LGBTQ+ community. Most conservatives aren’t going to have their minds changed by whether or not corporations support queer people and it is likely to draw more reactionary anger because they see it as proof that queer people are influencing the public. But at the same time, I believe that&nbsp;rainbow washing isn't all that bad, though. Earlier, companies would not do business with LGBTQ+ individuals and would turn them away. Today, they adorn rainbows. It is a sign that the acceptance of queer existence is fundamentally different than it was 10, 15 or 20 years ago. Even though slapping a rainbow on one's company logo is not nearly enough, we must not completely throw out the idea that changing a logo to a rainbow isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

While the exploitation of the LGBTQ+ community is a cause for anger within parts of the community, corporate support is better than what it used to be. Corporations finding it more profitable to voice public support for the queer community is not necessarily a bad thing. While it makes sense for companies to gain monetary profit, the problem is when it takes away from LGBTQ+ voices. Imagine if a friend said: We celebrated your birthday, so now I’m going to ignore you for the rest of the year. Pride month or moreover the notion of being an ally for the LGBTQ+ community and fighting for civil rights must go all year round and not for just a month or a day.&nbsp;

So, if the primary outcome of Pride Month is that in June we go to a parade, buy a rainbow-labelled product or pick up a cute T-shirt, these events have been stripped of much of their power. What companies and society need to spark is a year-round fight for LGBTQ+ people’s well-being, from healthcare to housing security to nondiscrimination—both within corporations and on an individual level.&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/content-contribution-registration-form">here</a>.

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Months before June, companies’ marketing calendars remind them to start working on their pride campaigns: the graphic design department decorates logos and slogans with colourful rainbows; the copywriting department writes jingles and puns with queer lingo, and the finance department estimates how much profit the campaign is forecasted to generate.

Months before June, companies’ marketing calendars remind them to start working on their pride campaigns: the graphic design department decorates logos and slogans with colourful rainbows; the copywriting department writes jingles and puns with queer lingo, and the finance department estimates how much profit the campaign is forecasted to generate. By the time pride month comes around, the corporate world explodes in a colourful carnival of pro-LGBTQ+ advertisements, campaigns and rebrandings. What was once a civil rights protest and riot to demand equal rights has become part of the corporate pipeline. Nevertheless, pride provides companies with the opportunity to make their values clear, show support for their LGBTQ+ employees and, in the best cases, use their platforms to demand social change. Various companies across the globe are seeking to build a better experience for their people to promote loyalty, minimize turnover and drive better engagement. As part of these efforts, companies are empowering individuals to be their true selves. With the celebration of pride month, most employers have been considering how to better support members of the LGBTQ+ community in their workforce during a time of growing adversity for this group. When June 1 arrived, companies like Facebook and Walmart rolled out shelves of colourful merchandise, flooded their social media pages with rainbows and aired compassionate commercials. As June arrives, corporations try really hard to make sure their consumers knew how much they supported the LGBTQ+ community. But the catch is, that now that the Pride month is over, corporations will put their shelves of merchandise on clearance, cleanse their social media pages of rainbows and no longer air compassionate commercials. Historically, corporate support seems to mostly vanish on July 1, leaving LGBTQ+ individuals and allies wondering if a company really cares about the community after Pride Month ends, or if it is just participating in rainbow washing. Now, question is, what is Rainbow Washing? Rainbow washing is aesthetic support, and it’s about marketability and profit. The key part is that some corporations are actively giving support to anti-queer politicians, legislators, lobbyists and laws while at the same time claiming to be allies. At the surface level, a company’s rainbow logo indicates that it is an ally of the LGBTQ+ community. Rainbow washing isn’t the kind of thing that you can Google in five seconds. It takes a bit of energy and time. There are several behind-the-scenes ways a corporation could be harming the LGBTQ+ community. The LGBTQ+ community has made tremendous progress in the fight to secure the same workplace rights as other colleagues. Employers and co-workers can prevent future erosion of the basic human rights everyone deserves by being more resolute in their support and actions. Rainbow washing strips pride month of its political power. Pride has always been political because the month is not only a celebration but a time to defend the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals. When Pride is stripped of its political power, then queer people are just there for celebration or as a culture to appropriate because it’s fun and looks pretty. The voices of queer people that are actually suffering violence or being discriminated against aren’t actually heard because Pride isn’t supposed to only be fun and pretty. Let's keep in mind and not forget that the first-ever Pride was a riot, and rainbow washing weakens the power of the origin. It gives corporations the opportunity to dilute the message of Pride and remove its revolutionary teeth. Rainbow washing harms the legitimacy of pride month in the eyes of those who are unsupportive of the LGBTQ+ community. Most conservatives aren’t going to have their minds changed by whether or not corporations support queer people and it is likely to draw more reactionary anger because they see it as proof that queer people are influencing the public. But at the same time, I believe that rainbow washing isn't all that bad, though. Earlier, companies would not do business with LGBTQ+ individuals and would turn them away. Today, they adorn rainbows. It is a sign that the acceptance of queer existence is fundamentally different than it was 10, 15 or 20 years ago. Even though slapping a rainbow on one's company logo is not nearly enough, we must not completely throw out the idea that changing a logo to a rainbow isn’t necessarily a bad thing. While the exploitation of the LGBTQ+ community is a cause for anger within parts of the community, corporate support is better than what it used to be. Corporations finding it more profitable to voice public support for the queer community is not necessarily a bad thing. While it makes sense for companies to gain monetary profit, the problem is when it takes away from LGBTQ+ voices. Imagine if a friend said: We celebrated your birthday, so now I’m going to ignore you for the rest of the year. Pride month or moreover the notion of being an ally for the LGBTQ+ community and fighting for civil rights must go all year round and not for just a month or a day. So, if the primary outcome of Pride Month is that in June we go to a parade, buy a rainbow-labelled product or pick up a cute T-shirt, these events have been stripped of much of their power. What companies and society need to spark is a year-round fight for LGBTQ+ people’s well-being, from healthcare to housing security to nondiscrimination—both within corporations and on an individual level. (Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.) You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here. WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Enough with the rainbow washing

After facing calls to limit the amount of information it collects, tech giant Google has announced it would delete users' location history when they visit abortion clinics and domestic violence shelters.

Jen Fitzpatrick, a senior vice president at Google, wrote in a blog post, "If our systems identify that someone has visited one of these places, we will delete these entries from Location History soon after they visit."

"This change will take effect in the coming weeks," Fitzpatrick added.

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Google will also delete users' location history when they visit places where privacy is sought such as fertility centers, addiction treatment facilities, and weight loss clinics.

Following the US Supreme Court's decision to ban abortion, activists and politicians have been asking tech giants to limit the amount of information they collect to avoid it being used by law enforcement for abortion investigations and prosecutions.

"Google has a long track record of pushing back on overly broad demands from law enforcement, including objecting to some demands entirely," Fitzpatrick wrote.&nbsp;

"We take into account the privacy and security expectations of people using our products, and we notify people when we comply with government demands."

Asking him to stop collecting smartphone location data lest it becomes "a tool for far-right extremists looking to crack down on people seeking reproductive health care," a group of top Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to Google chief executive Sundar Pichai in May

(With inputs from agencies)

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After facing calls to limit the amount of information it collects, tech giant Google has announced it would delete users' location history when they visit abortion clinics and domestic violence shelters.

After facing calls to limit the amount of information it collects, tech giant Google has announced it would delete users' location history when they visit abortion clinics and domestic violence shelters. Jen Fitzpatrick, a senior vice president at Google, wrote in a blog post, "If our systems identify that someone has visited one of these places, we will delete these entries from Location History soon after they visit." "This change will take effect in the coming weeks," Fitzpatrick added. × Google will also delete users' location history when they visit places where privacy is sought such as fertility centers, addiction treatment facilities, and weight loss clinics. Following the US Supreme Court's decision to ban abortion, activists and politicians have been asking tech giants to limit the amount of information they collect to avoid it being used by law enforcement for abortion investigations and prosecutions. "Google has a long track record of pushing back on overly broad demands from law enforcement, including objecting to some demands entirely," Fitzpatrick wrote. "We take into account the privacy and security expectations of people using our products, and we notify people when we comply with government demands." Asking him to stop collecting smartphone location data lest it becomes "a tool for far-right extremists looking to crack down on people seeking reproductive health care," a group of top Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to Google chief executive Sundar Pichai in May (With inputs from agencies) Watch WION's live TV here:

Google announces deletion of user location history on US abortion clinic visits

Bisakh Mondal, a student from Jadavpur University in West Bengal state of India has bagged a lucrative offer from&nbsp;Facebook. Any job aspirant would be on cloud nine if he gets an offer from tech giant like Facebook. But in the case of Mondal, he had not one but three offers from top tech firms&nbsp;in the world. Aside from Facebook, Mondal also got offers from Amazon and Google. He chose Facebook considering&nbsp;better pay packet that they were offering.&nbsp;Mondal is due to join Facebook in September.

"I will join Facebook in September. Before accepting this job, I got offers from Google and Amazon. I thought choosing Facebook would be the best as the pay package offered by them was high," Mondal told India Today. He is fourth year student of Computer Science and Engineering at Jadavpur University.

"I got the job offer on Tuesday night. In the past two years during the Covid-19 pandemic, I got the opportunity to do internships at several organisations and gather knowledge outside my curriculum studies. This has helped me crack the interviews," he said as quoted by Indian Express..

Calling every success story a 'rags to riches' tale is perhaps cliched but in case of Mondal, this holds true. He comes from a family with modest means. His mother is an Aanganwadi worker. She has been quoted in media reports as saying that she was proud of her son. She added that he had always been a 'meritorious' student.

Jadavpur University said that this was first time since the pandemic that students have got a large number of international offers.

Mondal has been offered Rs 1.8 crore (more than 200,000 USD) per annum.

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us <a href="https://www.wionews.com/content-contribution-registration-form">here</a>.

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Bisakh Mondal, a student from Jadavpur University in West Bengal state of India has bagged a lucrative offer from Facebook. Any job aspirant would be on cloud nine if he gets an offer from tech giant like Facebook.

Bisakh Mondal, a student from Jadavpur University in West Bengal state of India has bagged a lucrative offer from Facebook. Any job aspirant would be on cloud nine if he gets an offer from tech giant like Facebook. But in the case of Mondal, he had not one but three offers from top tech firms in the world. Aside from Facebook, Mondal also got offers from Amazon and Google. He chose Facebook considering better pay packet that they were offering. Mondal is due to join Facebook in September. "I will join Facebook in September. Before accepting this job, I got offers from Google and Amazon. I thought choosing Facebook would be the best as the pay package offered by them was high," Mondal told India Today. He is fourth year student of Computer Science and Engineering at Jadavpur University. "I got the job offer on Tuesday night. In the past two years during the Covid-19 pandemic, I got the opportunity to do internships at several organisations and gather knowledge outside my curriculum studies. This has helped me crack the interviews," he said as quoted by Indian Express.. Calling every success story a 'rags to riches' tale is perhaps cliched but in case of Mondal, this holds true. He comes from a family with modest means. His mother is an Aanganwadi worker. She has been quoted in media reports as saying that she was proud of her son. She added that he had always been a 'meritorious' student. Jadavpur University said that this was first time since the pandemic that students have got a large number of international offers. Mondal has been offered Rs 1.8 crore (more than 200,000 USD) per annum. You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here. WATCH WION LIVE HERE ×

This guy rejected Amazon, Google for mega pay package at Facebook

Demanding tech companies take action in the wake of America's revocation of abortion rights, privacy groups are warning that pregnancy-related information online might present a serious legal risk.

According to experts geolocation data or an internet search history might serve to incriminate women or those who help them in states that opt to ban abortion as states move to restrict or ban the procedure after the Supreme Court's landmark reversal.

Centre for Democracy and Technology president Alexandra Reeve Givens told news agency AFP "This decision opens the door to law enforcement and private bounty hunters seeking vast amounts of private data."

Tech giants such as Meta and Google, which have come forward to help female employees relocate and sponsor travel to abortion clinics in different states, track their users in order to sell ultra-targeted and personalized advertising space.&nbsp;

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With a warrant, the information is accessible to authorities and can be misued as a data dragnet weaponised against women seeking abortions and those helping them.

Eight US states have already banned abortion after the Supreme Court ruling gave them the freedom to do so by overturning Roe v. Wade.

Over 40 US Democratic lawmakers have written a letter to Google chief executive Sundar Pichai warning him about the risks posed by its data practices and urging changes.

Also see |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/from-automatic-bans-to-complex-patchwork-abortion-access-threatened-in-half-of-us-states-491572">From automatic bans to complex patchwork: Abortion access threatened in half of US states</a>

Demanding that Google get rid of location data that could be "weaponised against abortion patients and doctors," nonprofit digital rights group Fight For The Future echoed the legislators' plea in an online petition.

From text messages to emails, data from apps, especially those used to track menstrual cycles, can hold significant pregnancy-related data.

In light of the Supreme Court ruling, company behind an app called Natural Cycles which lets women track fertility is working on letting users remain completely anonymous.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Demanding tech companies take action in the wake of America's revocation of abortion rights, privacy groups are warning that pregnancy-related information online might present a serious legal risk.

Demanding tech companies take action in the wake of America's revocation of abortion rights, privacy groups are warning that pregnancy-related information online might present a serious legal risk. According to experts geolocation data or an internet search history might serve to incriminate women or those who help them in states that opt to ban abortion as states move to restrict or ban the procedure after the Supreme Court's landmark reversal. Centre for Democracy and Technology president Alexandra Reeve Givens told news agency AFP "This decision opens the door to law enforcement and private bounty hunters seeking vast amounts of private data." Tech giants such as Meta and Google, which have come forward to help female employees relocate and sponsor travel to abortion clinics in different states, track their users in order to sell ultra-targeted and personalized advertising space. × With a warrant, the information is accessible to authorities and can be misued as a data dragnet weaponised against women seeking abortions and those helping them. Eight US states have already banned abortion after the Supreme Court ruling gave them the freedom to do so by overturning Roe v. Wade. Over 40 US Democratic lawmakers have written a letter to Google chief executive Sundar Pichai warning him about the risks posed by its data practices and urging changes. Also see | From automatic bans to complex patchwork: Abortion access threatened in half of US states Demanding that Google get rid of location data that could be "weaponised against abortion patients and doctors," nonprofit digital rights group Fight For The Future echoed the legislators' plea in an online petition. From text messages to emails, data from apps, especially those used to track menstrual cycles, can hold significant pregnancy-related data. In light of the Supreme Court ruling, company behind an app called Natural Cycles which lets women track fertility is working on letting users remain completely anonymous. (With inputs from agencies) Watch WION's live TV here:

Roe v. Wade overturned: SCOTUS ruling spurs online data fears

Roe v Wade overturned: US Companies that have pledged support to its female employees

With the United States Supreme Court rolling back Roe v Wade in its recent Dobbs v. Jackson decision, many companies like Disney and Meta in the US have stepped forward seeking to help their female employees. As per a report by Verge, Google Inc&nbsp;has also made a supportive move in reaction to the judgement.&nbsp;Google's chief people officer, Fiona Cicconi sent a staff-wide email to all the employees informing them that they can "apply for relocation without justification".&nbsp;Cicconi acknowledged the ruling in her staff-wide e-mail, saying that it represents a "profound change" that will deeply affect everyone, especially women.

The email further went on to say that the company's health insurance covers out-of-state medical procedures and that employees can also apply for relocation.

Watch |&nbsp;Several US companies say that they will cover their employees' travel costs for abortion

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"To support Googlers and their dependents, our US benefits plan and health insurance covers out-of-state medical procedures that are not available where an employee lives and works. Googlers can also apply for relocation without justification, and those overseeing this process will be aware of the situation."

The latest SCOTUS judgement doesn't make abortion illegal, but it does give states the right to decide on their individual mandates; a right Missouri has already used less than 24 hours later to ban the medical practice.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/roe-v-wade-from-the-ruling-in-1973-to-it-being-overturned-today-heres-a-timeline-491477">Roe v Wade: From the ruling in 1973 to it being overturned today, here's a timeline</a>

It is believed that the judgement will spark a wave of new legislations in approximately half of the fifty US states. Thirteen states already have so-called "trigger laws", which will now restrict abortion.

While travelling for abortion remains an option, pro-choice organisations assert that travel is costly and restrictions on the procedure will harm poor women.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/roe-v-wade-overturned-heres-what-the-ruling-means-for-millions-of-american-women-491461">Roe v Wade overturned: Here's what the ruling means for millions of American women</a>

The typical American would need to travel 125 miles (200 kilometres) to the closest clinic that does legal abortions, according to the Myers Abortion Facility Database.

It may also lead to illicit abortion facilities and clandestine abortions, both of which pose serious health risks. The WHO estimates that 25 million unsafe abortions are performed each year throughout the world. Every year, this leads to 39,000 deaths of women and girls and millions more hospital admissions as a result of complications.

(With inputs from agencies)

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With the United States Supreme Court rolling back Roe v Wade in its recent Dobbs v. Jackson decision, many companies like Disney and Meta in the US have stepped forward seeking to help their female employees.

With the United States Supreme Court rolling back Roe v Wade in its recent Dobbs v. Jackson decision, many companies like Disney and Meta in the US have stepped forward seeking to help their female employees. As per a report by Verge, Google Inc has also made a supportive move in reaction to the judgement. Google's chief people officer, Fiona Cicconi sent a staff-wide email to all the employees informing them that they can "apply for relocation without justification". Cicconi acknowledged the ruling in her staff-wide e-mail, saying that it represents a "profound change" that will deeply affect everyone, especially women. The email further went on to say that the company's health insurance covers out-of-state medical procedures and that employees can also apply for relocation. Watch | Several US companies say that they will cover their employees' travel costs for abortion "To support Googlers and their dependents, our US benefits plan and health insurance covers out-of-state medical procedures that are not available where an employee lives and works. Googlers can also apply for relocation without justification, and those overseeing this process will be aware of the situation." The latest SCOTUS judgement doesn't make abortion illegal, but it does give states the right to decide on their individual mandates; a right Missouri has already used less than 24 hours later to ban the medical practice. Also read | Roe v Wade: From the ruling in 1973 to it being overturned today, here's a timeline It is believed that the judgement will spark a wave of new legislations in approximately half of the fifty US states. Thirteen states already have so-called "trigger laws", which will now restrict abortion. While travelling for abortion remains an option, pro-choice organisations assert that travel is costly and restrictions on the procedure will harm poor women. Also read | Roe v Wade overturned: Here's what the ruling means for millions of American women The typical American would need to travel 125 miles (200 kilometres) to the closest clinic that does legal abortions, according to the Myers Abortion Facility Database. It may also lead to illicit abortion facilities and clandestine abortions, both of which pose serious health risks. The WHO estimates that 25 million unsafe abortions are performed each year throughout the world. Every year, this leads to 39,000 deaths of women and girls and millions more hospital admissions as a result of complications. (With inputs from agencies) Watch WION LIVE HERE: You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Following overturning of Roe v Wade, Google offers 'relocation' to its employees

Tech giant Google said an Italian vendor used a "combination of tactics, including drive-by downloads" to target mobile users on both iOS and Android devices in Italy and Kazakhstan.

The report said RCS Lab developed tools to spy on devices. Google said it had earlier testified at the EU Parliamentary hearing on “Big Tech and Spyware” about the work it has done to "monitor and disrupt the thriving industry".

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/after-eight-year-hiatus-google-news-returns-to-spain-courtesy-updated-copyright-law-490836">Also Read:&nbsp;Google News returns to Spain, courtesy updated copyright law</a>

RCS Lab said it complies with European Union and will help to investigate the cybercrime.&nbsp;

Google said it has taken steps to protect the Android operating system. The development amid Israel's NSO's Pegasus spyware which allegedly targeted journalists, activists and dissidents.

Watch:&nbsp;Google embroiled in religious controversies

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Google said the spyware spread by getting people to click on links in messages. "Once clicked, the page attempted to get the user to download and install a malicious application on either Android or iOS," it said.

"In some cases, it worked with the target’s ISP to disable the target’s mobile data connectivity," Google said, adding,"once disabled, the attacker would send a malicious link via SMS asking the target to install an application to recover their data connectivity."

"Google's threat analysis group has been tracking more than 30 vendors with varying levels of sophistication selling exploits or surveillance capabilities to government-backed actors," it said.

(With inputs from Agencies)

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Tech giant Google said an Italian vendor used a "combination of tactics, including drive-by downloads" to target mobile users on both iOS and Android devices in Italy and Kazakhstan.

Tech giant Google said an Italian vendor used a "combination of tactics, including drive-by downloads" to target mobile users on both iOS and Android devices in Italy and Kazakhstan. The report said RCS Lab developed tools to spy on devices. Google said it had earlier testified at the EU Parliamentary hearing on “Big Tech and Spyware” about the work it has done to "monitor and disrupt the thriving industry". Also Read: Google News returns to Spain, courtesy updated copyright law RCS Lab said it complies with European Union and will help to investigate the cybercrime. Google said it has taken steps to protect the Android operating system. The development amid Israel's NSO's Pegasus spyware which allegedly targeted journalists, activists and dissidents. Watch: Google embroiled in religious controversies Google said the spyware spread by getting people to click on links in messages. "Once clicked, the page attempted to get the user to download and install a malicious application on either Android or iOS," it said. "In some cases, it worked with the target’s ISP to disable the target’s mobile data connectivity," Google said, adding,"once disabled, the attacker would send a malicious link via SMS asking the target to install an application to recover their data connectivity." "Google's threat analysis group has been tracking more than 30 vendors with varying levels of sophistication selling exploits or surveillance capabilities to government-backed actors," it said. (With inputs from Agencies) Watch WION LIVE HERE: You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Italian spyware targeted Apple, Android phones: Google

Joining Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, Google co-founder Sergey Brin has filed for divorce from his wife Nicole Shanahan.

Citing "irreconcilable differences", Brin has filed a petition for dissolution of his marriage, according to court documents.

Requesting that documents be sealed by the court, the couple took the step as they have a three-year-old son.

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According to the filing in Santa Clara, “Because of the high profile nature of their relationship, there is likely to be a significant public interest in their dissolution case and any potential child custody issues.”

It comes after Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates as well as Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott announced their divorce, making him the third mega-billionaire to do so in as many years.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/european-union-warns-google-facebook-twitter-to-tackle-deepfakes-or-risk-adverse-consequences-report-487961">Also read |&nbsp;European Union warns Google, Facebook, Twitter to tackle deepfakes or risk adverse consequences: Report</a>

The 48-year-old founded Google along with Larry Page in 1998 and has a fortune of $94 billion as per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

In 2019, both Brin and Page left Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company, but they are still controlling shareholders.

In 2015, Brin divorced 23andMe co-founder Anne Wojcicki after being married for nine years post their wedding in 2007.

According to Monica Mazzei, a partner at Sideman &amp; Bancroft LLP in San Francisco, it's likely Brin and Shanahan have a prenuptial agreement since the relationship began long after he became a billionaire.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

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Joining Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, Google co-founder Sergey Brin has filed for divorce from his wife Nicole Shanahan. Citing "irreconcilable differences", Brin has filed a petition for dissolution of his marriage, according to court documents.

Joining Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, Google co-founder Sergey Brin has filed for divorce from his wife Nicole Shanahan. Citing "irreconcilable differences", Brin has filed a petition for dissolution of his marriage, according to court documents. Requesting that documents be sealed by the court, the couple took the step as they have a three-year-old son. × According to the filing in Santa Clara, “Because of the high profile nature of their relationship, there is likely to be a significant public interest in their dissolution case and any potential child custody issues.” It comes after Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates as well as Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott announced their divorce, making him the third mega-billionaire to do so in as many years. Also read | European Union warns Google, Facebook, Twitter to tackle deepfakes or risk adverse consequences: Report The 48-year-old founded Google along with Larry Page in 1998 and has a fortune of $94 billion as per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. In 2019, both Brin and Page left Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company, but they are still controlling shareholders. In 2015, Brin divorced 23andMe co-founder Anne Wojcicki after being married for nine years post their wedding in 2007. According to Monica Mazzei, a partner at Sideman & Bancroft LLP in San Francisco, it's likely Brin and Shanahan have a prenuptial agreement since the relationship began long after he became a billionaire. (With inputs from agencies) Watch WION's live TV here:

Google co-founder Sergey Brin files for petition for dissolution of his marriage to Nicole Shanahan

News agency Reuters has reported that the European Union has warned tech giants Google, Facebook, and Twitter to tackle deepfakes or be ready to face adverse consequences.

As a part of its crackdown against fake news, the European Commission is expected to publish the updated code of practice on disinformation on Thursday.

With responsibility shared between the regulators and signatories to the code, the voluntary code, which was introduced in 2018, will now become a co-regulation scheme.

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The signatories will have to tackle the updated code spells out examples of manipulative behaviour such as deepfakes and fake accounts.

According to an EU document, "Relevant signatories will adopt, reinforce and implement clear policies regarding impermissible manipulative behaviours and practices on their services, based on the latest evidence on the conducts and tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) employed by malicious actors."

When they are used in a political context, deepfakes, which are hyperrealistic forgeries created by computer techniques, have triggered alarm worldwide.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/digital-weaponry-russia-using-deepfakes-to-spread-misinformation-against-ukraine-claims-report-458746">Also read |&nbsp;Digital weaponry: Russia using deepfakes to spread misinformation against Ukraine, claims report</a>

The Digital Services Act (DSA), signed by the 27-country European Union earlier this year, will be linked to this code.

On the basis of DSA rules, companies which fail to live up to their obligations under the code can face fines of as much as 6 per cent of their global turnover.

To provide more transparency on political advertising, signatories will also have to take measures to tackle advertising containing disinformation.

(With inputs from agencies)

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News agency Reuters has reported that the European Union has warned tech giants Google, Facebook, and Twitter to tackle deepfakes or be ready to face adverse consequences.

News agency Reuters has reported that the European Union has warned tech giants Google, Facebook, and Twitter to tackle deepfakes or be ready to face adverse consequences. As a part of its crackdown against fake news, the European Commission is expected to publish the updated code of practice on disinformation on Thursday. With responsibility shared between the regulators and signatories to the code, the voluntary code, which was introduced in 2018, will now become a co-regulation scheme. × The signatories will have to tackle the updated code spells out examples of manipulative behaviour such as deepfakes and fake accounts. According to an EU document, "Relevant signatories will adopt, reinforce and implement clear policies regarding impermissible manipulative behaviours and practices on their services, based on the latest evidence on the conducts and tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) employed by malicious actors." When they are used in a political context, deepfakes, which are hyperrealistic forgeries created by computer techniques, have triggered alarm worldwide. Also read | Digital weaponry: Russia using deepfakes to spread misinformation against Ukraine, claims report The Digital Services Act (DSA), signed by the 27-country European Union earlier this year, will be linked to this code. On the basis of DSA rules, companies which fail to live up to their obligations under the code can face fines of as much as 6 per cent of their global turnover. To provide more transparency on political advertising, signatories will also have to take measures to tackle advertising containing disinformation. (With inputs from agencies) Watch WION's live TV here:

European Union warns Google, Facebook, Twitter to tackle deepfakes or risk adverse consequences: Report

Nearly 15 years after the iPhone sparked the smartphone revolution, Apple is assembling the pieces for what it hopes will become its next business-altering device: a headset that blends the digital world with the real one.

The company has enlisted Hollywood directors such as Jon Favreau to develop video content for a headset that it is expected to ship next year, according to three people familiar with that work. Favreau, an executive producer of “Prehistoric Planet” on Apple TV+, is working to bring that show’s dinosaurs to life on the headset, which looks like a pair of ski goggles and aims to offer virtual- and augmented-reality experiences, these people said.

Separately, at its annual conference for developers this Monday, Apple plans to unveil software tools that would allow apps to add new camera and voice functionality, laying the groundwork for a hands-free interface that customers will eventually be able to navigate on the headset, according to two people familiar with the project and documents reviewed by The New York Times.

An Apple spokesperson, Trudy Muller, declined to comment on future projects. A spokesperson for Favreau could not comment.

The planned headset will thrust Apple into an emerging competition to define the future of mixed reality. Microsoft, Google and Facebook’s parent company, Meta, are in various stages of developing software and hardware to create environments where 3D digital images and the physical world coexist.

Last year, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg dropped Facebook as his company’s name and committed it to building a concept known as the metaverse, where the online, virtual and real worlds coalesce in a new universe. He and others believe it could become the next wave of computing, succeeding the smartphone age dominated by Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android software, much as those platforms followed the decades of Windows and Macintosh.

“This is the next frontier,” said Carolina Milanesi, a technology analyst with Creative Strategies, a technology research firm. “For Apple, this is about a new computing experience and opportunity to engage consumers with a device and new experiences that build on what they’ve done with content.”

The mixed-reality work is expected to be overshadowed during the keynote of Apple’s conference Monday, which will largely be devoted to the company’s existing software systems. Apple may also announce a redesigned MacBook Air with slimmer borders around its display than current models and updated processors, analysts said.

Apple’s development of virtual-reality content and software tools is central to creating experiences that give its future headset purpose. Its last major new product, the Apple Watch, was launched with about 3,000 apps but struggled to take off because tech reviewers said few of those apps were useful. Similar shortcomings have dogged Meta’s Quest virtual-reality headset, which surpassed 10 million sales last year, because many view it as a gaming device.

From its original Macintosh to its iPad, Apple has pursued products that attract a broad swath of potential customers and have an array of uses. It sold an estimated 240 million iPhones last year, accounting for about half of its $366 billion in total sales. To make the headset worthwhile, analysts said, it will need to have utilities that transcend the niche world of video games.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has been talking about the potential of augmented reality for years. In 2016, he told investors that the company was investing heavily in it and considered it a “great commercial opportunity.” Around that time, many employees on Apple’s campus were reading “Ready Player One,” a futuristic novel about virtual reality, and talking about the possibilities of creating Apple’s own mixed-reality world.

Apple hired an engineer from Dolby Technologies, Mike Rockwell, and tasked him with leading the effort. His early efforts to create an augmented-reality product were hobbled by weak computing power, two people familiar with the project said. Continuing challenges with its battery power have forced Apple to postpone its release until next year, those people said.

The augmented-reality initiative has been divisive inside Apple. At least two members of its industrial design team said they had left the company, in part, because they had some concerns about developing a product that might change the way people interact with one another. Such sensitivities have increased inside the company amid rising public concern about children’s screen time.

With Rockwell at the helm, the product would be one of the first to come out of Apple led by its engineering team rather than its co-founder Steve Jobs, who died in 2011, and its former design chief, Jony Ive, who left the company in 2019. The Apple Watch project was led by Ive and his designers, who defined how it looked, operated and was marketed.

Favreau's programming shows how Apple is trying to differentiate its product from Meta’s. It also illustrates how the company is tapping into the relationships it has cultivated in Hollywood since starting Apple TV+ in 2019.

“An amazing headset could give you a better experience than 80-inch TV,” said Matt Miesnieks, CEO of LivingCities.xyz, a startup working on metaverse technology.

The software tools from Apple extend a multiyear push to encourage developers to build augmented-reality apps. The company kicked off that effort in 2017 with ARKit, which allowed developers to use the iPhone’s camera and motion sensors to place digital objects in the real world and let people interact with them.

However, about 70% of Apple’s developers said they did not use that tool, according to a survey of more than 500 developers by Creative Strategies.

A toolkit that Apple is expected to introduce at the conference offers software developers new abilities to trigger shortcuts inside their apps using Siri and QR codes, interactions that will be leveraged in future headsets, a person familiar with the project said. 
&nbsp;

Nearly 15 years after the iPhone sparked the smartphone revolution, Apple is assembling the pieces for what it hopes will become its next business-altering device: a headset that blends the digital world with the real one.

Nearly 15 years after the iPhone sparked the smartphone revolution, Apple is assembling the pieces for what it hopes will become its next business-altering device: a headset that blends the digital world with the real one. The company has enlisted Hollywood directors such as Jon Favreau to develop video content for a headset that it is expected to ship next year, according to three people familiar with that work. Favreau, an executive producer of “Prehistoric Planet” on Apple TV+, is working to bring that show’s dinosaurs to life on the headset, which looks like a pair of ski goggles and aims to offer virtual- and augmented-reality experiences, these people said. Separately, at its annual conference for developers this Monday, Apple plans to unveil software tools that would allow apps to add new camera and voice functionality, laying the groundwork for a hands-free interface that customers will eventually be able to navigate on the headset, according to two people familiar with the project and documents reviewed by The New York Times. An Apple spokesperson, Trudy Muller, declined to comment on future projects. A spokesperson for Favreau could not comment. The planned headset will thrust Apple into an emerging competition to define the future of mixed reality. Microsoft, Google and Facebook’s parent company, Meta, are in various stages of developing software and hardware to create environments where 3D digital images and the physical world coexist. Last year, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg dropped Facebook as his company’s name and committed it to building a concept known as the metaverse, where the online, virtual and real worlds coalesce in a new universe. He and others believe it could become the next wave of computing, succeeding the smartphone age dominated by Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android software, much as those platforms followed the decades of Windows and Macintosh. “This is the next frontier,” said Carolina Milanesi, a technology analyst with Creative Strategies, a technology research firm. “For Apple, this is about a new computing experience and opportunity to engage consumers with a device and new experiences that build on what they’ve done with content.” The mixed-reality work is expected to be overshadowed during the keynote of Apple’s conference Monday, which will largely be devoted to the company’s existing software systems. Apple may also announce a redesigned MacBook Air with slimmer borders around its display than current models and updated processors, analysts said. Apple’s development of virtual-reality content and software tools is central to creating experiences that give its future headset purpose. Its last major new product, the Apple Watch, was launched with about 3,000 apps but struggled to take off because tech reviewers said few of those apps were useful. Similar shortcomings have dogged Meta’s Quest virtual-reality headset, which surpassed 10 million sales last year, because many view it as a gaming device. From its original Macintosh to its iPad, Apple has pursued products that attract a broad swath of potential customers and have an array of uses. It sold an estimated 240 million iPhones last year, accounting for about half of its $366 billion in total sales. To make the headset worthwhile, analysts said, it will need to have utilities that transcend the niche world of video games. Apple CEO Tim Cook has been talking about the potential of augmented reality for years. In 2016, he told investors that the company was investing heavily in it and considered it a “great commercial opportunity.” Around that time, many employees on Apple’s campus were reading “Ready Player One,” a futuristic novel about virtual reality, and talking about the possibilities of creating Apple’s own mixed-reality world. Apple hired an engineer from Dolby Technologies, Mike Rockwell, and tasked him with leading the effort. His early efforts to create an augmented-reality product were hobbled by weak computing power, two people familiar with the project said. Continuing challenges with its battery power have forced Apple to postpone its release until next year, those people said. The augmented-reality initiative has been divisive inside Apple. At least two members of its industrial design team said they had left the company, in part, because they had some concerns about developing a product that might change the way people interact with one another. Such sensitivities have increased inside the company amid rising public concern about children’s screen time. With Rockwell at the helm, the product would be one of the first to come out of Apple led by its engineering team rather than its co-founder Steve Jobs, who died in 2011, and its former design chief, Jony Ive, who left the company in 2019. The Apple Watch project was led by Ive and his designers, who defined how it looked, operated and was marketed. Favreau's programming shows how Apple is trying to differentiate its product from Meta’s. It also illustrates how the company is tapping into the relationships it has cultivated in Hollywood since starting Apple TV+ in 2019. “An amazing headset could give you a better experience than 80-inch TV,” said Matt Miesnieks, CEO of LivingCities.xyz, a startup working on metaverse technology. The software tools from Apple extend a multiyear push to encourage developers to build augmented-reality apps. The company kicked off that effort in 2017 with ARKit, which allowed developers to use the iPhone’s camera and motion sensors to place digital objects in the real world and let people interact with them. However, about 70% of Apple’s developers said they did not use that tool, according to a survey of more than 500 developers by Creative Strategies. A toolkit that Apple is expected to introduce at the conference offers software developers new abilities to trigger shortcuts inside their apps using Siri and QR codes, interactions that will be leveraged in future headsets, a person familiar with the project said.

Apple starts connecting the dots for its next big thing

Google was accused of having hostile and casteist workplace practices after a talk by Dalit rights activist to Google News employees was cancelled by the tech giant, reports The Washington Post.

A Dalit rights activist based in the US&nbsp;and the founder and executive director of Equality Labs, a nonprofit that advocates for Dalits, Thenmozhi Soundararajan, was scheduled to give a talk to Google News employees for the Dalit History Month (April). However, it was cancelled after some of the employees expressed their apprehensions, the report said.

Some employees then began spreading misinformation against the activist, calling her “Hindu-phobic” and “anti-Hindu” in emails to the company’s leaders, the report said citing Google’s intranet and mailing lists and current Google employees.

Soundararajan then urged Google CEO Sundar Pichai to allow her presentation to resume, but her plea was ignored. This led some employees to conclude that Google was willfully ignoring caste bias, the report added.

“During this time, opponents to caste equity internally circulated disinformation about Soundararajan and Equality Labs to derail the civil rights event until its ultimate cancellation,” Equality Labs said in a statement.

“The movement towards caste equity is one rooted in love, empathy and justice,” said Soundararajan.

“I cannot find the words to express just how traumatic and discriminatory Google’s actions were towards its employees and myself, as the company unlawfully cancelled a talk about caste equity. Google must address the casteism within its workforce that allows for these attacks to occur and continue,” she said.

She also slammed Pichai and sought an answer from the Google CEO on the controversy.

“(He) is Indian and he is Brahmin and he grew up in Tamil Nadu. There is no way you grow up in Tamil Nadu and not know about caste because of how caste politics shaped the conversation,” Soundararajan told The Washington Post.

However, Google has denied these allegations.

“Caste discrimination has no place in our workplace. We also have a very clear, publicly shared policy against retaliation and discrimination in our workplace,” Google spokesperson Shannon Newberry told The Washington Post.

Following the incident, an Indian American employee, Tanuja Gupta, who works as the senior Google News executive and the one who invited Soundararajan to speak, resigned over the incident, according to a copy of her farewell email published internally on Wednesday and seen by The Washington Post.

In her June 1, 2022 resignation email to over 15,000, Gupta said, “Having been at the company for 11 years, I had many reasons for leaving, but this was the only one I needed. In the process of doing my job and promoting caste equity at the company, I saw four women of colour harassed and silenced.”

“The reality is that these are not isolated events, this is a pattern.”

(With inputs from agencies)

Watch WION's live TV here:

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Google was accused of having hostile and casteist workplace practices after a talk by Dalit rights activist to Google News employees was cancelled by the tech giant, reports The Washington Post.

Google was accused of having hostile and casteist workplace practices after a talk by Dalit rights activist to Google News employees was cancelled by the tech giant, reports The Washington Post. A Dalit rights activist based in the US and the founder and executive director of Equality Labs, a nonprofit that advocates for Dalits, Thenmozhi Soundararajan, was scheduled to give a talk to Google News employees for the Dalit History Month (April). However, it was cancelled after some of the employees expressed their apprehensions, the report said. Some employees then began spreading misinformation against the activist, calling her “Hindu-phobic” and “anti-Hindu” in emails to the company’s leaders, the report said citing Google’s intranet and mailing lists and current Google employees. Soundararajan then urged Google CEO Sundar Pichai to allow her presentation to resume, but her plea was ignored. This led some employees to conclude that Google was willfully ignoring caste bias, the report added. “During this time, opponents to caste equity internally circulated disinformation about Soundararajan and Equality Labs to derail the civil rights event until its ultimate cancellation,” Equality Labs said in a statement. “The movement towards caste equity is one rooted in love, empathy and justice,” said Soundararajan. “I cannot find the words to express just how traumatic and discriminatory Google’s actions were towards its employees and myself, as the company unlawfully cancelled a talk about caste equity. Google must address the casteism within its workforce that allows for these attacks to occur and continue,” she said. She also slammed Pichai and sought an answer from the Google CEO on the controversy. “(He) is Indian and he is Brahmin and he grew up in Tamil Nadu. There is no way you grow up in Tamil Nadu and not know about caste because of how caste politics shaped the conversation,” Soundararajan told The Washington Post. However, Google has denied these allegations. “Caste discrimination has no place in our workplace. We also have a very clear, publicly shared policy against retaliation and discrimination in our workplace,” Google spokesperson Shannon Newberry told The Washington Post. Following the incident, an Indian American employee, Tanuja Gupta, who works as the senior Google News executive and the one who invited Soundararajan to speak, resigned over the incident, according to a copy of her farewell email published internally on Wednesday and seen by The Washington Post. In her June 1, 2022 resignation email to over 15,000, Gupta said, “Having been at the company for 11 years, I had many reasons for leaving, but this was the only one I needed. In the process of doing my job and promoting caste equity at the company, I saw four women of colour harassed and silenced.” “The reality is that these are not isolated events, this is a pattern.” (With inputs from agencies) Watch WION's live TV here:

Google accused of hostile and casteist workplace practices: Report

"Is Google trying to f*** me?"

This is the question former US President Donald Trump has been asking his friends and advisers for the past several weeks.

What is the source of Trump's paranoia?

As per a report by RollingStone, citing two people with the know-how, the absence of the former President's social media app Truth Social is what concerns him.

Watch |&nbsp;Gravitas: Donald Trump's&nbsp;own Social Media Platform

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The app was launched for Apple devices in February of this year and three months down the line it is still missing from the Google Play Store and hence unavailable for Android users.

In the US, Android users, by the way, account for roughly 40 per cent of the mobile market. This absence has left Trump wondering whether Google is behind this delay.

Google's YouTube did suspend the businessman from its website following the infamous Capitol Hill riots, however, this suspension has no connection to the Play Store, which has its own separate terms of service.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/no-way-elon-musk-is-going-to-buy-twitter-says-trump-479144">No way Elon Musk is going to buy Twitter, says Trump</a>

While in theory, the sinister plot by tech giants to suppress free speech sounds entirely plausible, it may all be in the paranoid businessman's head.

RollingStone claims that Truth Social hasn't even submitted the app for review by Google so as to gain a spot on the Play Store.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/the-newest-problem-for-trumps-truth-social-is-elon-musk-473062">The newest problem for Trump’s Truth Social is Elon Musk</a>

If job listings by the former president's Trump Media &amp; Technology Group (TMTG) are anything to go by, the company is yet to fully develop an Android app. It is still hiring Android Developers.

The application that was to give solid competition to Big Tech social media networks had a sub-par launch and three months since that, the number of downloads is plunging, even as the former President continues to claim "everybody loves it."

(With inputs from agencies)

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"Is Google trying to f*** me?" This is the question former US President Donald Trump has been asking his friends and advisers for the past several weeks. What is the source of Trump's paranoia?

"Is Google trying to f*** me?" This is the question former US President Donald Trump has been asking his friends and advisers for the past several weeks. What is the source of Trump's paranoia? As per a report by RollingStone, citing two people with the know-how, the absence of the former President's social media app Truth Social is what concerns him. Watch | Gravitas: Donald Trump's own Social Media Platform The app was launched for Apple devices in February of this year and three months down the line it is still missing from the Google Play Store and hence unavailable for Android users. In the US, Android users, by the way, account for roughly 40 per cent of the mobile market. This absence has left Trump wondering whether Google is behind this delay. Google's YouTube did suspend the businessman from its website following the infamous Capitol Hill riots, however, this suspension has no connection to the Play Store, which has its own separate terms of service. Also read | No way Elon Musk is going to buy Twitter, says Trump While in theory, the sinister plot by tech giants to suppress free speech sounds entirely plausible, it may all be in the paranoid businessman's head. RollingStone claims that Truth Social hasn't even submitted the app for review by Google so as to gain a spot on the Play Store. Also read | The newest problem for Trump’s Truth Social is Elon Musk If job listings by the former president's Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) are anything to go by, the company is yet to fully develop an Android app. It is still hiring Android Developers. The application that was to give solid competition to Big Tech social media networks had a sub-par launch and three months since that, the number of downloads is plunging, even as the former President continues to claim "everybody loves it." (With inputs from agencies) Watch WION LIVE HERE: You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Is Google hatching a sinister plot to butt in on Donald Trump's app Truth Social's success?

Google last week unveiled its new palette of 10 skin tones which is touted to be a step forward in making AI serve people of colour better.

When it launched the new Monk Skin Tone Scale, Google's parent company Alphabet Inc said that the palette would replace a flawed standard of six colors known as the Fitzpatrick Skin Type, which had become popular in the tech industry to assess whether smartwatch heart-rate sensors, artificial intelligence systems including facial recognition and other offerings show color bias.

Tech researchers acknowledged that Fitzpatrick underrepresented people with darker skin. Reuters exclusively reported last year that Google was developing an alternative.

To develop the new palette, Google partnered with Harvard University sociologist Ellis Monk. He studied colorism and &nbsp;had felt dehumanized by cameras that failed to detect his face and reflect his skin tone.

Monk said Fitzpatrick is great for classifying differences among lighter skin. But most people are darker, so he wanted a scale that "does better job for the majority of world," he said.

Monk through Photoshop and other digital art tools curated 10 tones - a manageable number for people who help train and assess AI systems. He and Google surveyed around 3,000 people across the United States and found that a significant number said a 10-point scale matched their skin as well as a 40-shade palette did.

Tulsee Doshi, head of product for Google's responsible AI team, called the Monk scale "a good balance between being representative and being tractable."

Google is already applying it. Beauty-related Google Images searches such as "bridal makeup looks" now allow filtering results based on Monk. Image searches such as "cute babies" now show photos with varying skin tones.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Google last week unveiled its new palette of 10 skin tones which is touted to be a step forward in making AI serve people of colour better. When it launched the new Monk Skin Tone Scale, Google's parent company Alphabet Inc said that the palette would replace a flawed standard of six colors known as the Fitzpatrick Skin Type, which had become popular in the tech industry to assess whether smartwatch heart-rate sensors, artificial intelligence systems including facial recognition and other offerings show color bias.

Google last week unveiled its new palette of 10 skin tones which is touted to be a step forward in making AI serve people of colour better. When it launched the new Monk Skin Tone Scale, Google's parent company Alphabet Inc said that the palette would replace a flawed standard of six colors known as the Fitzpatrick Skin Type, which had become popular in the tech industry to assess whether smartwatch heart-rate sensors, artificial intelligence systems including facial recognition and other offerings show color bias. Tech researchers acknowledged that Fitzpatrick underrepresented people with darker skin. Reuters exclusively reported last year that Google was developing an alternative. To develop the new palette, Google partnered with Harvard University sociologist Ellis Monk. He studied colorism and had felt dehumanized by cameras that failed to detect his face and reflect his skin tone. Monk said Fitzpatrick is great for classifying differences among lighter skin. But most people are darker, so he wanted a scale that "does better job for the majority of world," he said. Monk through Photoshop and other digital art tools curated 10 tones - a manageable number for people who help train and assess AI systems. He and Google surveyed around 3,000 people across the United States and found that a significant number said a 10-point scale matched their skin as well as a 40-shade palette did. Tulsee Doshi, head of product for Google's responsible AI team, called the Monk scale "a good balance between being representative and being tractable." Google is already applying it. Beauty-related Google Images searches such as "bridal makeup looks" now allow filtering results based on Monk. Image searches such as "cute babies" now show photos with varying skin tones. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE ×

What is Google's Monk Skin Tone Scale? How will it detect AI bias?

Google has added 24 more languages to its Google Translate language translation tool. Translate currently covers a total of 133 languages used around the world.&nbsp;

New Indian languages being introduced include Assamese, Bhojpuri, Sanskrit, Dogri, Konkani, Meiteilon (Manipuri), Mizo, and Maithili.

Google is also adding Quechua (Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador), Guarani (Paraguay and Bolivia, Brazil and Argentina), and Aymara (Bolivia, Peru, and Chile) to the service for the first time, as well as an English-based Dialect Krio (Sierra Leone).

On May 11, Google Translate users will start getting these new languages, with all users having access by the end of the week.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/last-resort-dating-apps-maker-match-sues-google-for-refusing-to-share-almost-30-of-their-sales-477783">'Last resort': Dating apps maker Match sues Google for refusing to share almost 30% of their sales</a>

The list of languages also includes Ewe (Ghana and Tongo), Kurdish (Iraq), Sepedi (South Africa), Twi (Ghana), Oromo (Ethiopia and Kenya), Tsonga (Eswatini, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique).

According to the company, more than 300 million people speak these languages as their first or second language. It further added that these languages are also the first ones added by Google utilising a translation known as Zero-Shot Machine translation, a learning model that translates any test into another language by just viewing the texts.&nbsp;

Full list of 24 new languages added to Google Translate

Assamese (used by about 25 million people in Northeast India)

Aymara (used by about two million people in Bolivia, Chile and Peru)

Bambara (used by about 14 million people in Mali)

Bhojpuri (used by about 50 million people in northern India, Nepal and Fiji)

Dhivehi (used by about 300,000 people in the Maldives)

Dogri (used by about three million people in northern India)

Ewe (used by about seven million people in Ghana and Togo)

Guarani (used by about seven million people in Paraguay and Bolivia, Argentina and Brazil)

Ilocano (used by about 10 million people in northern Philippines)

Konkani (used by about two million people in Central India)

Krio (used by about four million people in Sierra Leone)

Kurdish (Sorani) (used by about eight million people, mostly in Iraq)

Lingala, used by about 45 million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Angola and the Republic of South Sudan

Luganda (used by about 20 million people in Uganda and Rwanda)

Maithili (used by about 34 million people in northern India)

Meiteilon (Manipuri) (used by about two million people in Northeast India)

Mizo (used by about 830,000 people in Northeast India)

Oromo (used by about 37 million people in Ethiopia and Kenya)

Quechua (used by about 10 million people in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and surrounding countries)

Sanskrit (used by about 20,000 people in India)

Sepedi (used by about 14 million people in South Africa)

Tigrinya (used by about eight million people in Eritrea and Ethiopia)

Tsonga (used by about seven million people in Eswatini, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe)

Twi (used by about 11 million people in Ghana)

Watch |&nbsp;Tech giant Google to ban third-party call recording application

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Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet, in his speech said, “"There is a long tail of languages that are underrepresented on the web today and translating them is a hard technical problem since translation models are usually trained with bilingual text. However, there is not enough publicly available bilingual text for every language.”&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/apple-google-and-microsoft-working-on-passwordless-future-477217">Apple, Google and Microsoft working on 'passwordless future'</a>

Because this is a new technology, Google chose to focus on languages with significant speaker populations and locations where technology is typically reserved, which led to work on a number of languages in Africa and India due to the presence of vast linguistic and ethnic groupings.

In a blog post, the business stated that while the technology isn't perfect now, they will continue to work on models to give the similar experience with existing languages.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE:&nbsp;

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(With inputs from agencies) 
&nbsp;

Google has added 24 more languages to its Google Translate language translation tool. Translate currently covers a total of 133 languages used around the world. New Indian languages being introduced include Assamese, Bhojpuri, Sanskrit, Dogri, Konkani, Meiteilon (Manipuri), Mizo, and Maithili.

Google has added 24 more languages to its Google Translate language translation tool. Translate currently covers a total of 133 languages used around the world. New Indian languages being introduced include Assamese, Bhojpuri, Sanskrit, Dogri, Konkani, Meiteilon (Manipuri), Mizo, and Maithili. Google is also adding Quechua (Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador), Guarani (Paraguay and Bolivia, Brazil and Argentina), and Aymara (Bolivia, Peru, and Chile) to the service for the first time, as well as an English-based Dialect Krio (Sierra Leone). On May 11, Google Translate users will start getting these new languages, with all users having access by the end of the week. Also read | 'Last resort': Dating apps maker Match sues Google for refusing to share almost 30% of their sales The list of languages also includes Ewe (Ghana and Tongo), Kurdish (Iraq), Sepedi (South Africa), Twi (Ghana), Oromo (Ethiopia and Kenya), Tsonga (Eswatini, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique). According to the company, more than 300 million people speak these languages as their first or second language. It further added that these languages are also the first ones added by Google utilising a translation known as Zero-Shot Machine translation, a learning model that translates any test into another language by just viewing the texts. Full list of 24 new languages added to Google Translate Assamese (used by about 25 million people in Northeast India) Aymara (used by about two million people in Bolivia, Chile and Peru) Bambara (used by about 14 million people in Mali) Bhojpuri (used by about 50 million people in northern India, Nepal and Fiji) Dhivehi (used by about 300,000 people in the Maldives) Dogri (used by about three million people in northern India) Ewe (used by about seven million people in Ghana and Togo) Guarani (used by about seven million people in Paraguay and Bolivia, Argentina and Brazil) Ilocano (used by about 10 million people in northern Philippines) Konkani (used by about two million people in Central India) Krio (used by about four million people in Sierra Leone) Kurdish (Sorani) (used by about eight million people, mostly in Iraq) Lingala, used by about 45 million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Angola and the Republic of South Sudan Luganda (used by about 20 million people in Uganda and Rwanda) Maithili (used by about 34 million people in northern India) Meiteilon (Manipuri) (used by about two million people in Northeast India) Mizo (used by about 830,000 people in Northeast India) Oromo (used by about 37 million people in Ethiopia and Kenya) Quechua (used by about 10 million people in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and surrounding countries) Sanskrit (used by about 20,000 people in India) Sepedi (used by about 14 million people in South Africa) Tigrinya (used by about eight million people in Eritrea and Ethiopia) Tsonga (used by about seven million people in Eswatini, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe) Twi (used by about 11 million people in Ghana) Watch | Tech giant Google to ban third-party call recording application Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet, in his speech said, “"There is a long tail of languages that are underrepresented on the web today and translating them is a hard technical problem since translation models are usually trained with bilingual text. However, there is not enough publicly available bilingual text for every language.” Also read | Apple, Google and Microsoft working on 'passwordless future' Because this is a new technology, Google chose to focus on languages with significant speaker populations and locations where technology is typically reserved, which led to work on a number of languages in Africa and India due to the presence of vast linguistic and ethnic groupings. In a blog post, the business stated that while the technology isn't perfect now, they will continue to work on models to give the similar experience with existing languages. WATCH WION LIVE HERE: (With inputs from agencies)

Google Translate adds 24 languages and dialects, including Sanskrit and Bhojpuri

Tech giant Google had decided to ban all third-party call recording apps from the Play Store starting Wednesday.

So, if you have installed call recording apps in your Android smartphone it will stop working from May 11.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/last-resort-dating-apps-maker-match-sues-google-for-refusing-to-share-almost-30-of-their-sales-477783">Also Read:&nbsp;</a><a href="http://13.235.153.162/technology/last-resort-dating-apps-maker-match-sues-google-for-refusing-to-share-almost-30-of-their-sales-477783" hreflang="en">Dating apps maker Match sues Google for refusing to share almost 30% of their sales</a>

In an announcement earlier, Google had said: "This policy change will only affect the third-party apps on the Play Store. Many default dialer apps like the Google Phone, Mi Dialer, and more have native call recording functionality built-in on specific devices." This means the new policy will not affect apps with native call recording functionality.

Watch:&nbsp;Google bans Apps with hidden data-harvesting software from Playstore

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"Those default dialer apps on devices such as Pixel and Xiaomi smartphones will not be affected by the change," the search giant said.

"In this context, remote refers to call audio recording in which the person on the other end is ignorant of the recording. So, if the app is the phone's default dialer and comes pre-loaded, accessibility isn't required to access the incoming audio stream, and the app isn't in breach," the company explained.

From today, call recording will not be allowed using Google's accessibility APIs.&nbsp;

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Tech giant Google had decided to ban all third-party call recording apps from the Play Store starting Wednesday. So, if you have installed call recording apps in your Android smartphone it will stop working from May 11.

Tech giant Google had decided to ban all third-party call recording apps from the Play Store starting Wednesday. So, if you have installed call recording apps in your Android smartphone it will stop working from May 11. Also Read: Dating apps maker Match sues Google for refusing to share almost 30% of their sales In an announcement earlier, Google had said: "This policy change will only affect the third-party apps on the Play Store. Many default dialer apps like the Google Phone, Mi Dialer, and more have native call recording functionality built-in on specific devices." This means the new policy will not affect apps with native call recording functionality. Watch: Google bans Apps with hidden data-harvesting software from Playstore "Those default dialer apps on devices such as Pixel and Xiaomi smartphones will not be affected by the change," the search giant said. "In this context, remote refers to call audio recording in which the person on the other end is ignorant of the recording. So, if the app is the phone's default dialer and comes pre-loaded, accessibility isn't required to access the incoming audio stream, and the app isn't in breach," the company explained. From today, call recording will not be allowed using Google's accessibility APIs. WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Google to ban third-party call recording apps from Play Store starting today

Google is in the headlines yet again for its allegedly anticompetitive conduct with the Play store.

The tech giant has been sued by dating apps maker Match Group Inc for refusing to share almost 30 per cent of their sales.

The Tinder owner said that the step was a "last resort" to prevent its other apps from being booted off the Play store.

This is not the first time Google has been sued for its monopolistic attitude as previously "Fortnite" maker Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Alphabet Inc for a similar ordeal.

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According to Shar Dubey, the chief executive officer of the Match Group, "We tried, in good faith, to resolve these concerns with Google, but their insistence and threats have left us no choice."

Seeking to bar such behaviour, Match's lawsuit alleges Google has violated federal and state antitrust laws.

In its filing, Match said that even though its customer prefers Tinder's payment system Google is trying to intimidate them by saying that it will block downloads of those apps which were previously exempted by June 1 unless they solely offer its payment system and share revenue.

Also see |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/from-google-to-meta-tech-giants-dominating-wall-streets-trillion-dollar-club-477022" hreflang="en">From Google to Meta: Tech giants dominating Wall Street's trillion-dollar club</a>

After lowering its fees, Google told developers that they can bypass the Play store as they have created other programmes to address concerns.

Defending its decision, Google said its payment tool helps deter scams and added "Like any business, we charge for our services, and like any responsible platform, we protect users against fraud."&nbsp;

But Dubey said that going around Play was unviable and added that "It's like saying, 'you don't have to take the elevator to get to the 60th floor of a building, you can always scale the outside wall.'"&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

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Google is in the headlines yet again for its allegedly anticompetitive conduct with the Play store. The tech giant has been sued by dating apps maker Match Group Inc for refusing to share almost 30 per cent of their sales.

Google is in the headlines yet again for its allegedly anticompetitive conduct with the Play store. The tech giant has been sued by dating apps maker Match Group Inc for refusing to share almost 30 per cent of their sales. The Tinder owner said that the step was a "last resort" to prevent its other apps from being booted off the Play store. This is not the first time Google has been sued for its monopolistic attitude as previously "Fortnite" maker Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Alphabet Inc for a similar ordeal. According to Shar Dubey, the chief executive officer of the Match Group, "We tried, in good faith, to resolve these concerns with Google, but their insistence and threats have left us no choice." Seeking to bar such behaviour, Match's lawsuit alleges Google has violated federal and state antitrust laws. In its filing, Match said that even though its customer prefers Tinder's payment system Google is trying to intimidate them by saying that it will block downloads of those apps which were previously exempted by June 1 unless they solely offer its payment system and share revenue. Also see | From Google to Meta: Tech giants dominating Wall Street's trillion-dollar club After lowering its fees, Google told developers that they can bypass the Play store as they have created other programmes to address concerns. Defending its decision, Google said its payment tool helps deter scams and added "Like any business, we charge for our services, and like any responsible platform, we protect users against fraud." But Dubey said that going around Play was unviable and added that "It's like saying, 'you don't have to take the elevator to get to the 60th floor of a building, you can always scale the outside wall.'" (With inputs from agencies) Watch WION's live TV here:

'Last resort': Dating apps maker Match sues Google for refusing to share almost 30% of their sales

In a recent blog post, Google stated that it made a number of privacy-focused improvements last year in order to better protect users against harmful apps.&nbsp;

The search engine behemoth banned 1.2 million policy-breaking apps from being released on Google Play in 2021, saving billions of damaging installations.

Over 190,000 accounts were banned in 2021 as a result of Google's efforts to prevent fraudulent and spammy developers.&nbsp;

Additionally, the business closed approximately 500,000 inactive or abandoned developer accounts.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/warning-to-billions-of-chrome-users-google-says-browser-successfully-targeted-by-hackers-474644">Also read | Warning to billions of Chrome users! Google says browser successfully targeted by hackers</a>

"Providing a safe experience to billions of users continues to be one of the highest priorities for Google Play," the team said.

Google unveiled its Data Safety section in May, which operates in a similar way to Apple's privacy 'nutrition labels,' allowing developers to provide customers with information about their apps' privacy and security right from their app listings on Google Play.&nbsp;

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/you-think-videoconferencing-is-the-new-normal-but-it-hinders-creativity-study-tells-474459">You think videoconferencing is the new normal? But it hinders creativity, study claims</a>

It was made available to users earlier this week, and developers must submit the essential information in this part for their apps by July 20.

One of Google's efforts to assist users understand what data they are sharing with app developers and for what purposes is the Data Safety section.&nbsp;

However, because developers are responsible for disclosing data access information, there may be some cases of inaccurate information.

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In a recent blog post, Google stated that it made a number of privacy-focused improvements last year in order to better protect users against harmful apps. The search engine behemoth banned 1.

In a recent blog post, Google stated that it made a number of privacy-focused improvements last year in order to better protect users against harmful apps. The search engine behemoth banned 1.2 million policy-breaking apps from being released on Google Play in 2021, saving billions of damaging installations. Over 190,000 accounts were banned in 2021 as a result of Google's efforts to prevent fraudulent and spammy developers. Additionally, the business closed approximately 500,000 inactive or abandoned developer accounts. Also read | Warning to billions of Chrome users! Google says browser successfully targeted by hackers "Providing a safe experience to billions of users continues to be one of the highest priorities for Google Play," the team said. Google unveiled its Data Safety section in May, which operates in a similar way to Apple's privacy 'nutrition labels,' allowing developers to provide customers with information about their apps' privacy and security right from their app listings on Google Play. ALSO READ | You think videoconferencing is the new normal? But it hinders creativity, study claims It was made available to users earlier this week, and developers must submit the essential information in this part for their apps by July 20. One of Google's efforts to assist users understand what data they are sharing with app developers and for what purposes is the Data Safety section. However, because developers are responsible for disclosing data access information, there may be some cases of inaccurate information. WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Google blocked 1.2 million privacy-violating apps from the Play Store last year

Russian&nbsp;hackers&nbsp;have recently attempted to penetrate the networks of&nbsp;NATO&nbsp;and the&nbsp;militaries&nbsp;of some&nbsp;eastern&nbsp;European&nbsp;countries,&nbsp;Google's Threat Analysis Group said in a report published on Wednesday.

The report did not say which&nbsp;militaries&nbsp;had been&nbsp;targeted&nbsp;in what&nbsp;Google&nbsp;described as "credential phishing campaigns" launched by a&nbsp;Russian-based group called Coldriver, or Callisto.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/morning-news-brief-zelensky-dismisses-russian-claims-of-scaleback-pakistan-politics-and-more-467041">Morning news brief: Zelensky dismisses Russian claims of scaleback, Pakistan politics, and more</a>

"These campaigns were sent using newly created Gmail accounts to non-Google&nbsp;accounts, so the success rate of these campaigns is unknown," the report&nbsp;said.

Russia, which is now under heavy Western economic sanctions following its decision to invade Ukraine on Feb. 24, regularly denies accusations of mounting cyber attacks on Western targets.

In 2019, Finnish cybersecurity firm F-Secure Labs described Callisto as an unidentified and advanced threat actor "interested in intelligence gathering related to foreign and security policy" in Europe.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russia-may-single-out-and-detain-us-citizens-state-dept-issues-another-travel-advisory-466846">‘Russia may single out and detain US citizens’: State Dept issues another travel advisory</a>

The group also&nbsp;targeted&nbsp;a&nbsp;NATO&nbsp;Centre of Excellence, Wednesday's&nbsp;Google&nbsp;report said, without elaborating.

In a statement,&nbsp;NATO&nbsp;did not directly address&nbsp;Google's report but said: "We see malicious cyber activity on a daily basis."

"NATO&nbsp;Centres of Excellence work alongside the Alliance but they are not part of&nbsp;NATO&nbsp;as such. We are in touch with them on this issue," the statement said.

Watch |&nbsp;United States: Putin misled on how war progressed

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Russian hackers have recently attempted to penetrate the networks of NATO and the militaries of some eastern European countries, Google's Threat Analysis Group said in a report published on Wednesday.

Russian hackers have recently attempted to penetrate the networks of NATO and the militaries of some eastern European countries, Google's Threat Analysis Group said in a report published on Wednesday. The report did not say which militaries had been targeted in what Google described as "credential phishing campaigns" launched by a Russian-based group called Coldriver, or Callisto. Also read | Morning news brief: Zelensky dismisses Russian claims of scaleback, Pakistan politics, and more "These campaigns were sent using newly created Gmail accounts to non-Google accounts, so the success rate of these campaigns is unknown," the report said. Russia, which is now under heavy Western economic sanctions following its decision to invade Ukraine on Feb. 24, regularly denies accusations of mounting cyber attacks on Western targets. In 2019, Finnish cybersecurity firm F-Secure Labs described Callisto as an unidentified and advanced threat actor "interested in intelligence gathering related to foreign and security policy" in Europe. Also read | ‘Russia may single out and detain US citizens’: State Dept issues another travel advisory The group also targeted a NATO Centre of Excellence, Wednesday's Google report said, without elaborating. In a statement, NATO did not directly address Google's report but said: "We see malicious cyber activity on a daily basis." "NATO Centres of Excellence work alongside the Alliance but they are not part of NATO as such. We are in touch with them on this issue," the statement said. Watch | United States: Putin misled on how war progressed

Russian hackers targeted NATO, eastern European militaries: Google

Russia's media regulator has imposed restrictions on Google News, accusing the company of disseminating "false" material on Russia's offensive in Ukraine.

According to a statement from Russia's media regulator Roskomnadzor reported by the agencies, the decision was made at the request of the Russian General Prosecutor's Office.

“Google provided access to numerous publications and materials that contain false information… about the course of the special military operation on Ukrainian territory,” the statement by Russia's media regulator says. 
 
"We’ve confirmed that some people are having difficulty accessing the Google News app and website in Russia and that this is not due to any technical issues on our end," Google said in statement. 
 
"We’ve worked hard to keep information services like News accessible to people in Russia for as long as possible."

WATCH |&nbsp;Gravitas: Will Putin launch a nuclear strike?

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"The American online news resource in question provided access to numerous publications and materials containing inauthentic and publicly important information about the course of the special military operation on the territory of Ukraine," Interfax quoted the regulator as saying. 
 
Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russian-spies-in-poland-country-expels-45-russian-diplomats-for-espionage-464868">Russian spies in Poland?: Country expels 45 Russian diplomats for espionage</a> 
 
A new Russian law makes it illegal to report any event that could discredit the Russian military. 
 
Since the beginning of Russia's engagement in Ukraine on February 24, the Russian government has strengthened its grip on information on the internet, one of the country's last bastions of free expression.&nbsp; 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

Russia's media regulator has imposed restrictions on Google News, accusing the company of disseminating "false" material on Russia's offensive in Ukraine. According to a statement from Russia's media regulator Roskomnadzor reported by the agencies, the decision was made at the request of the Russian General Prosecutor's Office.

Russia's media regulator has imposed restrictions on Google News, accusing the company of disseminating "false" material on Russia's offensive in Ukraine. According to a statement from Russia's media regulator Roskomnadzor reported by the agencies, the decision was made at the request of the Russian General Prosecutor's Office. “Google provided access to numerous publications and materials that contain false information… about the course of the special military operation on Ukrainian territory,” the statement by Russia's media regulator says. "We’ve confirmed that some people are having difficulty accessing the Google News app and website in Russia and that this is not due to any technical issues on our end," Google said in statement. "We’ve worked hard to keep information services like News accessible to people in Russia for as long as possible." WATCH | Gravitas: Will Putin launch a nuclear strike? × "The American online news resource in question provided access to numerous publications and materials containing inauthentic and publicly important information about the course of the special military operation on the territory of Ukraine," Interfax quoted the regulator as saying. Also read | Russian spies in Poland?: Country expels 45 Russian diplomats for espionage A new Russian law makes it illegal to report any event that could discredit the Russian military. Since the beginning of Russia's engagement in Ukraine on February 24, the Russian government has strengthened its grip on information on the internet, one of the country's last bastions of free expression. (With inputs from agencies)

Russia blocks Google over 'inauthentic' information on Ukraine war

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