After a bumper hiring spree in the aftermath of the pandemic, the tech giants might be looking to go back on their decision. Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai on Tuesday stated that he wants to make his company 20 per cent efficient while hinting at possible job cuts.

After a bumper hiring spree in the aftermath of the pandemic, the tech giants might be looking to go back on their decision. Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai on Tuesday stated that he wants to make his company 20 per cent efficient while hinting at possible job cuts. “We want to make sure as a company, when you have fewer resources than before, you are prioritizing all the right things to be working on and your employees are really productive that they can actually have impact on the things they’re working on so that’s what we are spending our time on,” said Pichai. The Google boss further added that as a company they were looking to get 20 per cent more productive, “Across everything we do, we can be slower to make decisions. You look at it end-to-end and figure out how to make the company 20 per cent more productive.” Read more: Google to slow down hiring, says Sundar Pichai in a memo to staff Terming uncertainty around macroeconomics, Pichai acknowledged the company had become “slower” after its headcount ballooned. “The more we try to understand the macroeconomic, we feel very uncertain about it. The macroeconomic performance is correlated to ad spend, consumer spend and so on,” added the Google boss. It is pertinent to note that this is not the first time that Pichai has hinted at slashing the workforce. In July, Pichai wrote a memo to his employees where he asserted that the company will be “slowing down the pace of hiring for the rest of the year” Pichai 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” He added 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," Pichai reportedly wrote in the memo. Read more: Google to slow down hiring, says Sundar Pichai in a memo to staff Google slowing down its hiring can also be related to the advertisement revenue that has taken a tumble ever since Apple brought its new data policy, in addition to weaker-than-expected earnings in the second consecutive quarter. As reported by WION, a report released by Appsumer, an advertising analytics firm on Tuesday showed that Apple's competitors viz. Facebook and Google saw a 3 per cent and 1.7 per cent dip in the number of mobile apps advertising respectively. The study stated that more and more advertisers are willing to spend big bucks to advertise on Apple App Store, in addition to Apple News and Stocks. Advertisers allocated almost 15 per cent of their ad budget to Apple while both Google and Facebook saw a decline. Read more: Apple might have broken Google and Facebook's duopoly in the advertising market (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

Sundar Pichai hints at slashing Google workforce, wants company 20% more efficient

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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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

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)

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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

American multinational technology company Google, which is facing a new Big Tech antitrust bill, has been under increasing pressure after a&nbsp;three-judge panel of the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals&nbsp;revived a part of Florida's social media law to disclose the standards they use to moderate content on its platform.

The unanimous decision was authored by Circuit Judge Kevin Newsom, who was appointed by Republican former President Donald Trump.

"The First Amendment protects platforms and their right to moderate content as they see fit - and the government can't force them to host content they don't want," NetChoice Vice President Carl Szabo said in a statement.

According to US Senator Mike Lee, “This lack of competition in digital advertising means that monopoly rents are being imposed upon every website that is ad-supported and every company — small, medium, or large — that relies on internet advertising to grow its business.”

“It is essentially a tax on thousands of American businesses, and thus a tax on millions of American consumers,” Lee added.<iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/google-bans-apps-with-hidden-data-harvesting-software-from-playstore-469107/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe>

The Alphabet-owned internet titan can be forbidden from owning multiple parts of the digital advertising chain if the Competition and Transparency in Digital Advertising Act is passed in the US Senate.

The tech giant's Russian subsidiary will file for bankruptcy after authorities seized its bank account following a series of spats with Moscow.

The Dutch consumer watchdog has launched a preliminary investigation into Google over its Play store for apps after dating site Tinder lodged a complaint against it.

In its complaint, the Match Group said that Google only allowed its own payment system to be used when purchasing apps, the Authority for Consumers and Markets said.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/is-google-hatching-a-sinister-plot-to-butt-in-on-donald-trumps-app-truth-socials-success-481441">Also read |&nbsp;Is Google hatching a sinister plot to butt in on Donald Trump's app Truth Social's success?</a>

Dutch regulator's spokesman Murco Mijnlieff told AFP, "We very recently received a complaint, and we will see if there is material to launch a formal inquiry."

The Silicon Vallery company has repeatedly faced problems in the United States and Europe over its alleged anti-competitive behaviour.

According to a letter signed by more than 100 groups lead by Common Cause and sent to the chief executive of Google Sundar Pichai, "High-profile disinformation spreaders and other bad actors are continuing to use social media platforms to disseminate messages that undermine trust in elections."

"Candidates are using the Big Lie as a platform plank to pre-emptively declare voter fraud in order to dispute the results of the 2022 election," they wrote.&nbsp;

"This is damaging American democracy by undermining faith in the integrity of our elections."

Activists have urged Pichai to prioritise fact-checking and providing real-time access to data to external watchdogs.

(With inputs from agencies)

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American multinational technology company Google, which is facing a new Big Tech antitrust bill, has been under increasing pressure after a three-judge panel of the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals revived a part of Florida's social media law to disclose the standards they use to moderate content on its platform.

American multinational technology company Google, which is facing a new Big Tech antitrust bill, has been under increasing pressure after a three-judge panel of the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals revived a part of Florida's social media law to disclose the standards they use to moderate content on its platform. The unanimous decision was authored by Circuit Judge Kevin Newsom, who was appointed by Republican former President Donald Trump. "The First Amendment protects platforms and their right to moderate content as they see fit - and the government can't force them to host content they don't want," NetChoice Vice President Carl Szabo said in a statement. According to US Senator Mike Lee, “This lack of competition in digital advertising means that monopoly rents are being imposed upon every website that is ad-supported and every company — small, medium, or large — that relies on internet advertising to grow its business.” “It is essentially a tax on thousands of American businesses, and thus a tax on millions of American consumers,” Lee added. The Alphabet-owned internet titan can be forbidden from owning multiple parts of the digital advertising chain if the Competition and Transparency in Digital Advertising Act is passed in the US Senate. The tech giant's Russian subsidiary will file for bankruptcy after authorities seized its bank account following a series of spats with Moscow. The Dutch consumer watchdog has launched a preliminary investigation into Google over its Play store for apps after dating site Tinder lodged a complaint against it. In its complaint, the Match Group said that Google only allowed its own payment system to be used when purchasing apps, the Authority for Consumers and Markets said. Also read | Is Google hatching a sinister plot to butt in on Donald Trump's app Truth Social's success? Dutch regulator's spokesman Murco Mijnlieff told AFP, "We very recently received a complaint, and we will see if there is material to launch a formal inquiry." The Silicon Vallery company has repeatedly faced problems in the United States and Europe over its alleged anti-competitive behaviour. According to a letter signed by more than 100 groups lead by Common Cause and sent to the chief executive of Google Sundar Pichai, "High-profile disinformation spreaders and other bad actors are continuing to use social media platforms to disseminate messages that undermine trust in elections." "Candidates are using the Big Lie as a platform plank to pre-emptively declare voter fraud in order to dispute the results of the 2022 election," they wrote. "This is damaging American democracy by undermining faith in the integrity of our elections." Activists have urged Pichai to prioritise fact-checking and providing real-time access to data to external watchdogs. (With inputs from agencies) Watch WION's live TV here:

With growing pile of antitrust woes, how long can Google own internet?

Google parent Alphabet Inc reported record quarterly sales that topped expectations on Tuesday, as its internet advertising business surged on consumers using Google search as they shopped online and advertisers upping their marketing budgets.

Alphabet`s shares jumped more than 8% in after-hours trading, also rising on the company`s announcement that it would undertake a 20-to-one stock split.

The results were the latest to reinforce that the global trend toward a more digital economy has made Big Tech companies resistant to small-market shocks. While concerns about rising inflation, COVID-19 variants and supply-chain shortages have rattled Wall Street and hurt sales at some businesses, the companies that control key gateways to e-commerce, hybrid work and streaming entertainment have not seen a dip since the early days of the pandemic.

Alphabet`s sales jumped 32% to $75.3 billion in the fourth quarter, for a third straight quarterly sales record and topping the average estimate of $72 billion among financial analysts tracked by Refinitiv.

Consumers dove into Google search looking for apparel and hobbyist items, while retail, finance, entertainment and travel advertisers raised marketing budgets, Google`s chief business officer, Philipp Schindler, said on an earnings call.

Analysts said Google, which generates more revenue from internet ads than any other company, is proving that its growth is unstoppable for the foreseeable future.

"The pandemic has handily accelerated the world’s reliance on digital advertising," said Sophie Lund-Yates, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. "Sitting through traditional TV advert breaks or reading billboards suddenly feels completely archaic in the age of streaming and mobile phone addiction."

Shares of Alphabet rose 8.6% in after-hours trading, to $2,990.10, erasing their losses for the year-to-date. Shares of competitors in online ads including Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc, Twitter Inc, Trade Desk Inc and Snap Inc all rose as well.

Under the planned 20-for-one stock split, investors as of July 1 will receive 19 additional shares for each one held. The split, which is subject to shareholder approval, will make the stock more affordable and potentially eligible for inclusion in more market indexes.

Shares of Apple Inc and Tesla Inc rallied in 2020 after splits, but increasingly brokerages such as Robinhood Markets allow purchases of fractional shares, diminishing some benefit of the tactic.

Banner year

For the 2021 full year, Alphabet`s sales rose 41% to a record $258 billion. Sales had grown just 13% in 2020, the slowest rate in over a decade, after advertisers slashed spending in the first few weeks of the pandemic.

Across both 2021 and 2020, Google`s advertising business, including YouTube, accounted for 81% of Alphabet`s revenues.

Companies including Amazon.com Inc and ByteDance`s TikTok have been taking small pieces of Google`s share of the global advertising market. But market forecasters do not expect major slippage in Google`s leading position. Google`s secondary businesses, including Cloud, also have been lifting overall sales.

Google Cloud, which serves clients such as online shopping software maker Shopify Inc, increased quarterly revenue by 45% to $5.5 billion, above estimates of $5.4 billion.

The division`s operating loss narrowed by 45% to $3.1 billion in 2021.

Alphabet Chief Executive Sundar Pichai told analysts that Cloud is exploring how to support clients that want to use blockchain, one of several emerging technologies that proponents view as crucial to kickstarting a new era of online innovations.

Alphabet also reported a quarterly sales record during the holiday season for its Google Pixel smartphones, despite what Pichai called "extremely challenging" supply constraints.

Alphabet`s quarterly profit was $20.6 billion, or $30.69 per share, beating expectations of $27.56 per share and marking a fourth straight quarter of record profit. The profit benefited from unrealized gains from Alphabet`s investments in startups, and the company also got a $2 billion boost last year from extending the useful life of its servers and networking gear.

For the 2021 year, Alphabet`s profit increased 89% to $76 billion.

Alphabet`s total costs in 2021 increased 27% to $178.9 billion as the company began to resume its pre-pandemic pace of hiring and construction. The company also noted increased legal fees, costs from a one-time bonus of $1,600 to all employees https://www.reuters.com/article/google-bonus-idCNL4N2ST4F5, and a rise in charitable contributions as it matched increased giving by employees.

Numerous lawsuits accusing Google of anticompetitive conduct in the advertising and mobile app store markets continue to be one of the company`s biggest challenges.

Google already has said its efforts to lower Play app store fees to assuage some of the concerns will hurt revenue.

Alphabet`s cash hoard grew by nearly $3 billion in 2021 to $139.6 billion, with another $50 billion going to buying back shares.

The operating loss for Other Bets, a unit that includes self-driving technology company Waymo and other non-Google ventures, was $5.3 billion in 2021, widening from $4.5 billion in 2020. The company offered no 2022 financial outlook for the unit.

Google parent Alphabet Inc reported record quarterly sales that topped expectations on Tuesday, as its internet advertising business surged on consumers using Google search as they shopped online and advertisers upping their marketing budgets.

Google parent Alphabet Inc reported record quarterly sales that topped expectations on Tuesday, as its internet advertising business surged on consumers using Google search as they shopped online and advertisers upping their marketing budgets. Alphabet`s shares jumped more than 8% in after-hours trading, also rising on the company`s announcement that it would undertake a 20-to-one stock split. The results were the latest to reinforce that the global trend toward a more digital economy has made Big Tech companies resistant to small-market shocks. While concerns about rising inflation, COVID-19 variants and supply-chain shortages have rattled Wall Street and hurt sales at some businesses, the companies that control key gateways to e-commerce, hybrid work and streaming entertainment have not seen a dip since the early days of the pandemic. Alphabet`s sales jumped 32% to $75.3 billion in the fourth quarter, for a third straight quarterly sales record and topping the average estimate of $72 billion among financial analysts tracked by Refinitiv. Consumers dove into Google search looking for apparel and hobbyist items, while retail, finance, entertainment and travel advertisers raised marketing budgets, Google`s chief business officer, Philipp Schindler, said on an earnings call. Analysts said Google, which generates more revenue from internet ads than any other company, is proving that its growth is unstoppable for the foreseeable future. "The pandemic has handily accelerated the world’s reliance on digital advertising," said Sophie Lund-Yates, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. "Sitting through traditional TV advert breaks or reading billboards suddenly feels completely archaic in the age of streaming and mobile phone addiction." Shares of Alphabet rose 8.6% in after-hours trading, to $2,990.10, erasing their losses for the year-to-date. Shares of competitors in online ads including Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc, Twitter Inc, Trade Desk Inc and Snap Inc all rose as well. Under the planned 20-for-one stock split, investors as of July 1 will receive 19 additional shares for each one held. The split, which is subject to shareholder approval, will make the stock more affordable and potentially eligible for inclusion in more market indexes. Shares of Apple Inc and Tesla Inc rallied in 2020 after splits, but increasingly brokerages such as Robinhood Markets allow purchases of fractional shares, diminishing some benefit of the tactic. Banner year For the 2021 full year, Alphabet`s sales rose 41% to a record $258 billion. Sales had grown just 13% in 2020, the slowest rate in over a decade, after advertisers slashed spending in the first few weeks of the pandemic. Across both 2021 and 2020, Google`s advertising business, including YouTube, accounted for 81% of Alphabet`s revenues. Companies including Amazon.com Inc and ByteDance`s TikTok have been taking small pieces of Google`s share of the global advertising market. But market forecasters do not expect major slippage in Google`s leading position. Google`s secondary businesses, including Cloud, also have been lifting overall sales. Google Cloud, which serves clients such as online shopping software maker Shopify Inc, increased quarterly revenue by 45% to $5.5 billion, above estimates of $5.4 billion. The division`s operating loss narrowed by 45% to $3.1 billion in 2021. Alphabet Chief Executive Sundar Pichai told analysts that Cloud is exploring how to support clients that want to use blockchain, one of several emerging technologies that proponents view as crucial to kickstarting a new era of online innovations. Alphabet also reported a quarterly sales record during the holiday season for its Google Pixel smartphones, despite what Pichai called "extremely challenging" supply constraints. Alphabet`s quarterly profit was $20.6 billion, or $30.69 per share, beating expectations of $27.56 per share and marking a fourth straight quarter of record profit. The profit benefited from unrealized gains from Alphabet`s investments in startups, and the company also got a $2 billion boost last year from extending the useful life of its servers and networking gear. For the 2021 year, Alphabet`s profit increased 89% to $76 billion. Alphabet`s total costs in 2021 increased 27% to $178.9 billion as the company began to resume its pre-pandemic pace of hiring and construction. The company also noted increased legal fees, costs from a one-time bonus of $1,600 to all employees https://www.reuters.com/article/google-bonus-idCNL4N2ST4F5, and a rise in charitable contributions as it matched increased giving by employees. Numerous lawsuits accusing Google of anticompetitive conduct in the advertising and mobile app store markets continue to be one of the company`s biggest challenges. Google already has said its efforts to lower Play app store fees to assuage some of the concerns will hurt revenue. Alphabet`s cash hoard grew by nearly $3 billion in 2021 to $139.6 billion, with another $50 billion going to buying back shares. The operating loss for Other Bets, a unit that includes self-driving technology company Waymo and other non-Google ventures, was $5.3 billion in 2021, widening from $4.5 billion in 2020. The company offered no 2022 financial outlook for the unit.

Google propels record Alphabet revenue, driving shares up 8%

India on Tuesday announced Padma Bhushan, its third-highest civilian award for Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Both tech bosses are of Indian origin. The announcement was made on the eve of India's Republic Day.

Padma Bhushan is part of India's Padma Awards which are divided into three categories: Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri.

Padma Vibhushan is the highest accolade among the three awards. The Padma awards are conferred on individuals with exceptional service in fields such as art, public affairs, science and engineering, social work,&nbsp; medicine, trade and industry,&nbsp;literature and education, sports, and civil service.&nbsp;

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/padma-awards-2022-general-bipin-rawat-kalyan-singh-among-four-conferred-padma-vibhushan-447523">Padma awards 2022: General Bipin Rawat, Kalyan Singh among four conferred Padma Vibhushan</a>

Pichai (49) and Nadella (54) are among 17 Padma Bhushan awardees this year. Both of them have been awarded Padma Bhushan in the 'trade and industry' category.

The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year. The awards will actually be handed to recipients&nbsp;in a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhawan, the official residence of President of India. The ceremony usually takes place in March or April.

This year the President has approved the conferment of 128 Padma Awards including 2 duo cases.

Born on June 10, 1972 in Madras (now Chennai), Pichai Sundararajan -- better known as Sundar Pichai -- earned his degree from IIT Kharagpur in metallurgical engineering.

Moving to the US, he earned an MS from Stanford University in materials science and engineering and further earned an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Pichai began his career as a materials engineer. After a short stint at the management consulting firm McKinsey &amp; Co, he joined Google in 2004, and the rest is history.

Pichai was picked up as the next CEO of Google on August 10, 2015, after previously being appointed Product Chief by CEO Larry Page. He was appointed to the Alphabet Board of Directors in 2017.

He was included in Time`s annual list of the 100 most influential people in 2016 and 2020.

Pichai is married to Anjali Pichai and has two children. His recreational interests include cricket and football.

On the other hand, Satya Narayana Nadella was born on August 17, 1967 in Hyderabad (present-day Telangana).

His mother Prabhavati was a Sanskrit lecturer, and his father, Bukkapuram Nadella Yugandhar, was an IAS officer of the 1962 batch.

Nadella studied at the Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet, before receiving a bachelor`s in electrical engineering from the Manipal Institute of Technology in Karnataka in 1988.

He then moved to the US to study for an MS in computer science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, earning the degree in 1990.

Later, he received an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 1997.

He is currently the Executive Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, succeeding Steve Ballmer in 2014 as CEO and John W. Thompson in 2021 as Chairman.

Before becoming the CEO, he was the Executive Vice President of Microsoft`s cloud and enterprise group, responsible for building and running the company`s computing platforms.

(With inputs from agencies)

India on Tuesday announced Padma Bhushan, its third-highest civilian award for Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Both tech bosses are of Indian origin.

India on Tuesday announced Padma Bhushan, its third-highest civilian award for Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Both tech bosses are of Indian origin. The announcement was made on the eve of India's Republic Day. Padma Bhushan is part of India's Padma Awards which are divided into three categories: Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri. Padma Vibhushan is the highest accolade among the three awards. The Padma awards are conferred on individuals with exceptional service in fields such as art, public affairs, science and engineering, social work, medicine, trade and industry, literature and education, sports, and civil service. Also Read | Padma awards 2022: General Bipin Rawat, Kalyan Singh among four conferred Padma Vibhushan Pichai (49) and Nadella (54) are among 17 Padma Bhushan awardees this year. Both of them have been awarded Padma Bhushan in the 'trade and industry' category. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year. The awards will actually be handed to recipients in a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhawan, the official residence of President of India. The ceremony usually takes place in March or April. This year the President has approved the conferment of 128 Padma Awards including 2 duo cases. Born on June 10, 1972 in Madras (now Chennai), Pichai Sundararajan -- better known as Sundar Pichai -- earned his degree from IIT Kharagpur in metallurgical engineering. Moving to the US, he earned an MS from Stanford University in materials science and engineering and further earned an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Pichai began his career as a materials engineer. After a short stint at the management consulting firm McKinsey & Co, he joined Google in 2004, and the rest is history. Pichai was picked up as the next CEO of Google on August 10, 2015, after previously being appointed Product Chief by CEO Larry Page. He was appointed to the Alphabet Board of Directors in 2017. He was included in Time`s annual list of the 100 most influential people in 2016 and 2020. Pichai is married to Anjali Pichai and has two children. His recreational interests include cricket and football. On the other hand, Satya Narayana Nadella was born on August 17, 1967 in Hyderabad (present-day Telangana). His mother Prabhavati was a Sanskrit lecturer, and his father, Bukkapuram Nadella Yugandhar, was an IAS officer of the 1962 batch. Nadella studied at the Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet, before receiving a bachelor`s in electrical engineering from the Manipal Institute of Technology in Karnataka in 1988. He then moved to the US to study for an MS in computer science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, earning the degree in 1990. Later, he received an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 1997. He is currently the Executive Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, succeeding Steve Ballmer in 2014 as CEO and John W. Thompson in 2021 as Chairman. Before becoming the CEO, he was the Executive Vice President of Microsoft`s cloud and enterprise group, responsible for building and running the company`s computing platforms. (With inputs from agencies)

India awards Padma Bhushan to Google's Sundar Pichai and Microsoft's Satya Nadella

A new lawsuit has claimed that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai colluded in online ad sales.

According to an amended antitrust complaint filed by Texas and 15 other states, the two tech giants teamed up and hammered out the terms of the agreement.

The deal was allegedly struck as part of Google's effort to counter header bidding, which publishers wanted to use to make more money from advertising placed on their websites, the filing said.

Also see |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/from-meatless-meat-to-web-30-here-are-the-tech-trends-that-can-dominate-in-2022-441762" hreflang="en">From meatless meat to Web 3.0: Here are the tech trends that can dominate in 2022</a>

"Google quickly realised that this innovation substantially threatened its exchange’s ability to demand a very large&nbsp;19 to 22 per cent,&nbsp;cut on all advertising transactions," the filing said.

"Following the agreement, Facebook curtailed its involvement with header bidding in return for Google giving Facebook information, speed, and other advantages."

Facebook, which has since become Meta Platforms Inc, said in a statement that the deal was not exclusive to Google and that other agreements have increased competition for ad placements. It said it was better for advertisers "while fairly compensating publishers."

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-google-slapped-with-huge-fines-in-france-over-cookies-442661" hreflang="en">Facebook, Google slapped with huge fines in France over 'cookies'</a>

Facebook’s former chief operating officer&nbsp;Sheryl Sandberg was “explicit that ‘this is a big deal strategically’” in a 2018 email thread about the deal that included Zuckerberg.

“We’re nearly ready to sign and need your approval to move forward,” the email read, according to the complaint. Zuckerberg wanted to meet with Sandberg and his other executives before making a decision, the complaint states.

In a statement, Google spokesperson Peter Schottenfels said the lawsuit is “full of inaccuracies and lacks legal merit.”

Meta spokesperson Chris Sgro said Friday that the company’s ad bidding agreement with Google and similar agreements it has with other bidding platforms “have helped to increase competition for ad placements.”

“These business relationships enable Meta to deliver more value to advertisers while fairly compensating publishers, resulting in better outcomes for all,” Sgro said.

(With inputs from agencies)

A new lawsuit has claimed that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai colluded in online ad sales. According to an amended antitrust complaint filed by Texas and 15 other states, the two tech giants teamed up and hammered out the terms of the agreement.

A new lawsuit has claimed that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai colluded in online ad sales. According to an amended antitrust complaint filed by Texas and 15 other states, the two tech giants teamed up and hammered out the terms of the agreement. The deal was allegedly struck as part of Google's effort to counter header bidding, which publishers wanted to use to make more money from advertising placed on their websites, the filing said. Also see | From meatless meat to Web 3.0: Here are the tech trends that can dominate in 2022 "Google quickly realised that this innovation substantially threatened its exchange’s ability to demand a very large 19 to 22 per cent, cut on all advertising transactions," the filing said. "Following the agreement, Facebook curtailed its involvement with header bidding in return for Google giving Facebook information, speed, and other advantages." Facebook, which has since become Meta Platforms Inc, said in a statement that the deal was not exclusive to Google and that other agreements have increased competition for ad placements. It said it was better for advertisers "while fairly compensating publishers." Also read| Facebook, Google slapped with huge fines in France over 'cookies' Facebook’s former chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg was “explicit that ‘this is a big deal strategically’” in a 2018 email thread about the deal that included Zuckerberg. “We’re nearly ready to sign and need your approval to move forward,” the email read, according to the complaint. Zuckerberg wanted to meet with Sandberg and his other executives before making a decision, the complaint states. In a statement, Google spokesperson Peter Schottenfels said the lawsuit is “full of inaccuracies and lacks legal merit.” Meta spokesperson Chris Sgro said Friday that the company’s ad bidding agreement with Google and similar agreements it has with other bidding platforms “have helped to increase competition for ad placements.” “These business relationships enable Meta to deliver more value to advertisers while fairly compensating publishers, resulting in better outcomes for all,” Sgro said. (With inputs from agencies)

New lawsuit alleges Facebook and Google colluded in online ad sales

Claimants who accused Alphabet Inc's Google of unlawfully tracking their internet use while on "Incognito" browsing mode can question Chief Executive Sundar Pichai for up to two hours.The plaintiffs are arguing that Pichai has "unique, personal knowledge" of issues relating to the Chrome browser and privacy concerns.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai to be questioned in privacy lawsuit

Reacting to the Indian-American Parag Agrawal's appointment as Twitter's new CEO, Tesla chief Elon Musk has said that "USA benefits greatly from Indian talent!".

Elon Musk was replying to Stripe CEO Patrick Collison's tweet, which stated that six US tech giants now run by Indian-origin CEOs. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/jack-dorseys-successor-at-twitter-who-is-parag-agrawal-432834">Also read | Jack Dorsey's successor at Twitter: Who is Parag Agrawal?</a>

"Google, Microsoft, Adobe, IBM, Palo Alto Networks, and now Twitter are run by CEOs who grew up in India. It is wonderful to watch the amazing success of Indians in the technology world; it is a good reminder of the opportunity America offers to immigrants. (Congrats, @paraga!)," Collison said. 
 
And&nbsp;Elon Musk responded to Patrick's post by saying, "USA benefits greatly from Indian talent!"&nbsp;

<img alt="Parag Agrawal" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="5e5942bd-0b4c-4cde-b47d-ef6d0317aecd" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/CEO.JPG" />

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey resigned on Monday, and Indian origin Parag Agrawal is all set to be his successor. 
 
Parag is an IIT Bombay graduate who has served as the Chief Technology Officer at the microblogging platform. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/ive-decided-to-leave-twitter-ceo-founder-jack-dorsey-resigns-432821">Also read | 'I've decided to leave Twitter': CEO &amp; founder Jack Dorsey resigns</a>

Agrawal had completed his PhD in computer science from the prestigious Stanford University.

He joined Twitter in 2011 and has served as chief technology officer since October 2017, where he was responsible for the network's technical strategy.

He has previously worked in AT&amp;T, Microsoft Corporation, and Yahoo. According to PeopleAI, Agrawal has an estimated net worth of $1.52 million.

(With inputs from agencies)

Reacting to the Indian-American Parag Agrawal's appointment as Twitter's new CEO, Tesla chief Elon Musk has said that "USA benefits greatly from Indian talent!".

Reacting to the Indian-American Parag Agrawal's appointment as Twitter's new CEO, Tesla chief Elon Musk has said that "USA benefits greatly from Indian talent!". Elon Musk was replying to Stripe CEO Patrick Collison's tweet, which stated that six US tech giants now run by Indian-origin CEOs. Also read | Jack Dorsey's successor at Twitter: Who is Parag Agrawal? "Google, Microsoft, Adobe, IBM, Palo Alto Networks, and now Twitter are run by CEOs who grew up in India. It is wonderful to watch the amazing success of Indians in the technology world; it is a good reminder of the opportunity America offers to immigrants. (Congrats, @paraga!)," Collison said. And Elon Musk responded to Patrick's post by saying, "USA benefits greatly from Indian talent!" Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey resigned on Monday, and Indian origin Parag Agrawal is all set to be his successor. Parag is an IIT Bombay graduate who has served as the Chief Technology Officer at the microblogging platform. Also read | 'I've decided to leave Twitter': CEO & founder Jack Dorsey resigns Agrawal had completed his PhD in computer science from the prestigious Stanford University. He joined Twitter in 2011 and has served as chief technology officer since October 2017, where he was responsible for the network's technical strategy. He has previously worked in AT&T, Microsoft Corporation, and Yahoo. According to PeopleAI, Agrawal has an estimated net worth of $1.52 million. (With inputs from agencies)

Elon Musk praises elevation of Parag Agarwal as Twitter CEO: 'USA benefits greatly from Indian talent'

South&nbsp;Korean MPs on Tuesday passed a law banning Apple and Google from forcing app developers to use the tech giants' payment systems, effectively declaring their lucrative App Store and Play Store monopolies illegal.

The bill was approved by 180 votes to nil in the National Assembly, making&nbsp;South&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;the first major economy to pass legislation on the issue, in a move that could set a precedent for other jurisdictions around the world.

In the United States, three senators this month introduced a bill to loosen the tech firms' grip on their stores, while in Europe lawmakers are debating legislation that could force Apple to bring in alternatives to the App Store.

The&nbsp;South&nbsp;Korean measure comes as Apple and Google face global criticism for charging up to 30 percent commission on app sales and requiring their own payment systems be used that collect a share of the transactions.

The Korean law,&nbsp;locally dubbed the "Anti-Google&nbsp;Law,"&nbsp;will offer users a choice of app payment providers, allowing them to bypass charges set by the store owner.

"This law will certainly set a precedent for other countries, as well as app developers and content creators worldwide," Kang Ki-hwan at the&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;Mobile Internet Business Association told AFP.

It is expected to come into force in September, according to reports.

Later this year Google plans to enforce globally a requirement for developers to use its payment system,&nbsp;with its 30 percent commission above a certain threshold,&nbsp;for in-app purchases.

In&nbsp;South&nbsp;Korea, it is also planning to charge commission on all content payments from October, ending an exemption where commissions were only payable for online games.

'Fair compensation'&nbsp;

That announcement prompted an angry response from&nbsp;South&nbsp;Korean artists and creators, with web fiction writers and webtoon artists accusing Google of "power abuse" and campaigning fiercely for the new law.

"Without this law, our working environment,&nbsp;where creators are guaranteed of full rewards for their efforts,&nbsp;would've been destroyed," Seo Bum-gang, a webtoon artist who heads the&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;Webtoon Industry Association, told AFP.

"We need this law to protect the diversity of our industry, where artists and creators of all economic backgrounds can share their content without having to worry about the commission fees."

Apple&nbsp;and&nbsp;Google&nbsp;have maintained that commissions charged are standard in the industry and fair compensation for building safe marketplaces where developers can reach people around the world.

Ahead of the debate, Apple told AFP that it would put digital purchasers at risk of fraud, undermine their privacy protection and render parental controls less effective.

"We believe user trust in App Store purchases will decrease as a result of this proposal --leading to fewer opportunities for the over 482,000 registered developers in&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;who have earned more than 8.55 trillion won to date with Apple," it said in a statement.

Google&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;did not respond to requests for comment from AFP.

The two tech giants dominate the online app market in&nbsp;South&nbsp;Korea, the world's 12th largest economy known for its technological prowess.&nbsp;

Google's Play Store made revenue of almost 6 trillion won ($5.2 billion) in 2019, accounting for 63 percent of the country's total, according to data from Seoul's science ministry.

Apple's App Store&nbsp;had a 24.4 percent share of total app store sales in the country in the same year.

South Korean MPs on Tuesday passed a law banning Apple and Google from forcing app developers to use the tech giants' payment systems, effectively declaring their lucrative App Store and Play Store monopolies illegal.

South Korean MPs on Tuesday passed a law banning Apple and Google from forcing app developers to use the tech giants' payment systems, effectively declaring their lucrative App Store and Play Store monopolies illegal. The bill was approved by 180 votes to nil in the National Assembly, making South Korea the first major economy to pass legislation on the issue, in a move that could set a precedent for other jurisdictions around the world. In the United States, three senators this month introduced a bill to loosen the tech firms' grip on their stores, while in Europe lawmakers are debating legislation that could force Apple to bring in alternatives to the App Store. The South Korean measure comes as Apple and Google face global criticism for charging up to 30 percent commission on app sales and requiring their own payment systems be used that collect a share of the transactions. The Korean law, locally dubbed the "Anti-Google Law," will offer users a choice of app payment providers, allowing them to bypass charges set by the store owner. "This law will certainly set a precedent for other countries, as well as app developers and content creators worldwide," Kang Ki-hwan at the Korea Mobile Internet Business Association told AFP. It is expected to come into force in September, according to reports. Later this year Google plans to enforce globally a requirement for developers to use its payment system, with its 30 percent commission above a certain threshold, for in-app purchases. In South Korea, it is also planning to charge commission on all content payments from October, ending an exemption where commissions were only payable for online games. 'Fair compensation' That announcement prompted an angry response from South Korean artists and creators, with web fiction writers and webtoon artists accusing Google of "power abuse" and campaigning fiercely for the new law. "Without this law, our working environment, where creators are guaranteed of full rewards for their efforts, would've been destroyed," Seo Bum-gang, a webtoon artist who heads the Korea Webtoon Industry Association, told AFP. "We need this law to protect the diversity of our industry, where artists and creators of all economic backgrounds can share their content without having to worry about the commission fees." Apple and Google have maintained that commissions charged are standard in the industry and fair compensation for building safe marketplaces where developers can reach people around the world. Ahead of the debate, Apple told AFP that it would put digital purchasers at risk of fraud, undermine their privacy protection and render parental controls less effective. "We believe user trust in App Store purchases will decrease as a result of this proposal --leading to fewer opportunities for the over 482,000 registered developers in Korea who have earned more than 8.55 trillion won to date with Apple," it said in a statement. Google Korea did not respond to requests for comment from AFP. The two tech giants dominate the online app market in South Korea, the world's 12th largest economy known for its technological prowess. Google's Play Store made revenue of almost 6 trillion won ($5.2 billion) in 2019, accounting for 63 percent of the country's total, according to data from Seoul's science ministry. Apple's App Store had a 24.4 percent share of total app store sales in the country in the same year.

South Korea bans Apple and Google payment monopolies in world first

Google's parent Alphabet unveiled a new "moonshot" project to develop software for robotics which could be used in a wide range of industries.

To expand beyond its main search and advertising business,&nbsp;Google&nbsp;in 2015 established Alphabet as a holding company overseeing various "other bets", ranging from its autonomous vehicle unit to helium balloons that provide solar-powered internet services in remote areas.

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-37-american-states-sue-google-396829/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Intrinsic develops software tools designed to make industrial robots that can be used to make everything from solar panels to cars and has been incubating its technology at&nbsp;Google's research unit, X, for over five years.

The new unit, dubbed Intrinsic, will "become an independent Alphabet company," and seek industrial partners to advance their work helping to make everything from solar panels to cars,&nbsp;the new unit's chief, Wendy Tan-White,&nbsp;said in a blog post.

"Intrinsic&nbsp;is working to unlock the creative and economic potential of industrial robotics for millions more businesses, entrepreneurs, and developers," she said.

"We're developing software tools designed to make industrial robots ... easier to use, less costly and more flexible, so that more people can use them to make new products, businesses and services."

Intrinsic emerged from Alphabet X, the so-called "moonshot" project that launched self-driving car division Waymo and life sciences group Verily.

"We are currently looking for partners in the automotive, electronics, and health care industries who are already using industrial robotics and want to learn together," said Tan-White, who founded the website-building platform Moonfruit.

Intrinsic also may help "support a shift towards a more sustainable and equitable way" of manufacturing by facilitating low-cost production, she said.

"Currently only 10 countries&nbsp;manufacture 70 percent of the world's goods," she said. "This means most things are made far away from their end consumers, which drives&nbsp; global transport emissions, and many countries and businesses miss out on economic opportunities."

Known as Alphabet's "Moonshot Factory", X is a research and development unit that acts as a nursery for the company's many offshoot projects, such as Waymo, Wing, Makani, Loon and others, helping them take root as viable separate entities.

(With inputs from agencies)

Google's parent Alphabet unveiled a new "moonshot" project to develop software for robotics which could be used in a wide range of industries. To expand beyond its main search and advertising business, Google in 2015 established Alphabet as a holding company overseeing various "other bets", ranging from its autonomous vehicle unit to helium balloons that provide solar-powered internet services in remote areas.

Google's parent Alphabet unveiled a new "moonshot" project to develop software for robotics which could be used in a wide range of industries. To expand beyond its main search and advertising business, Google in 2015 established Alphabet as a holding company overseeing various "other bets", ranging from its autonomous vehicle unit to helium balloons that provide solar-powered internet services in remote areas. Intrinsic develops software tools designed to make industrial robots that can be used to make everything from solar panels to cars and has been incubating its technology at Google's research unit, X, for over five years. The new unit, dubbed Intrinsic, will "become an independent Alphabet company," and seek industrial partners to advance their work helping to make everything from solar panels to cars, the new unit's chief, Wendy Tan-White, said in a blog post. "Intrinsic is working to unlock the creative and economic potential of industrial robotics for millions more businesses, entrepreneurs, and developers," she said. "We're developing software tools designed to make industrial robots ... easier to use, less costly and more flexible, so that more people can use them to make new products, businesses and services." Intrinsic emerged from Alphabet X, the so-called "moonshot" project that launched self-driving car division Waymo and life sciences group Verily. "We are currently looking for partners in the automotive, electronics, and health care industries who are already using industrial robotics and want to learn together," said Tan-White, who founded the website-building platform Moonfruit. Intrinsic also may help "support a shift towards a more sustainable and equitable way" of manufacturing by facilitating low-cost production, she said. "Currently only 10 countries manufacture 70 percent of the world's goods," she said. "This means most things are made far away from their end consumers, which drives global transport emissions, and many countries and businesses miss out on economic opportunities." Known as Alphabet's "Moonshot Factory", X is a research and development unit that acts as a nursery for the company's many offshoot projects, such as Waymo, Wing, Makani, Loon and others, helping them take root as viable separate entities. (With inputs from agencies)

Google's parent Alphabet launches new robotics software company Intrinsic

Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet and Google, has warned that the free and open internet is under threat around the world, with numerous countries impeding information flow.

In an interview with BBC, he said that many countries are controlling the flow of information and that the approach is frequently taken for granted.&nbsp;

He also focused on two innovations, artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing, that he believes will further revolutionise the globe during the next quarter-century.&nbsp; 
 
Watch | Gravitas: 37 American states sue Google

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Artificial intelligence, he claims, is more powerful than fire, electricity, or the internet.&nbsp;

"I view it as the most profound technology that humanity will ever develop and work on. You know, if you think about fire or electricity or the internet, it's like that. But I think even more profound," he was quoted as saying in the report.

When asked if the Chinese model of internet surveillance is gaining traction, Pichai responded that the free and open internet "is being assaulted."

"None of our primary products and services is available in China," he remarked, without mentioning China specifically.&nbsp;

On July 9, US President Joe Biden made a crucial step toward restoring net neutrality, a set of laws that ban internet service providers from restricting or slowing down web traffic based on their preferences.&nbsp;

"Big providers can use their power to discriminatorily block or slow down online services. The Obama-Biden Administration`s FCC adopted `Net Neutrality` rules that required these companies to treat all internet services equally, but this was undone in 2017," the order read.

In the order, "the President encourages the FCC to restore Net Neutrality rules undone by the prior administration."

(With inputs from agencies)

Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet and Google, has warned that the free and open internet is under threat around the world, with numerous countries impeding information flow.

Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet and Google, has warned that the free and open internet is under threat around the world, with numerous countries impeding information flow. In an interview with BBC, he said that many countries are controlling the flow of information and that the approach is frequently taken for granted. He also focused on two innovations, artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing, that he believes will further revolutionise the globe during the next quarter-century. Watch | Gravitas: 37 American states sue Google Artificial intelligence, he claims, is more powerful than fire, electricity, or the internet. "I view it as the most profound technology that humanity will ever develop and work on. You know, if you think about fire or electricity or the internet, it's like that. But I think even more profound," he was quoted as saying in the report. When asked if the Chinese model of internet surveillance is gaining traction, Pichai responded that the free and open internet "is being assaulted." "None of our primary products and services is available in China," he remarked, without mentioning China specifically. On July 9, US President Joe Biden made a crucial step toward restoring net neutrality, a set of laws that ban internet service providers from restricting or slowing down web traffic based on their preferences. "Big providers can use their power to discriminatorily block or slow down online services. The Obama-Biden Administration`s FCC adopted `Net Neutrality` rules that required these companies to treat all internet services equally, but this was undone in 2017," the order read. In the order, "the President encourages the FCC to restore Net Neutrality rules undone by the prior administration." (With inputs from agencies)

Google chief Sundar Pichai warns about threats to free and open internet in countries

Google chief executive Sundar Pichai said that the Covid-19 situation in India is dire and the 'worst is yet to come'. Google CEO told CNN that it has been 'heartening' to see the kind of attention people at the highest levels in the United States have been giving to the health crisis unfolding in India and other countries.&nbsp;

“The situation there is dire and it has been heartbreaking to see. And I think the worst is yet to come,” said Pichai.&nbsp;

“What's been heartening, at least being here, is definitely seeing the attention here. I realise that at the highest levels, from President Biden, secretary Blinken, there has been focus on engaging to see how we can help India and the other countries being affected,” Pichai added.&nbsp;

Recently, the first US government assistance flight carrying COVID-19 emergency aid supplies landed in India. &nbsp;

A military aircraft Super Galaxy military transporter brought the first supplies to help India to fight the deadly second COVID-19 wave that has wreaked havoc across the country, straining its healthcare system.&nbsp;

The aircraft is carrying more than 400 oxygen cylinders and other hospital equipment and nearly one million rapid coronavirus tests landed at New Delhi’s international airport.&nbsp;

“The first of several emergency COVID-19 relief shipments from the United States has arrived in India! Building on over 70 years of cooperation, the United States stands with India as we fight the COVID-19 pandemic together. #USIndiaDosti,” the US Embassy tweeted.&nbsp;

India is currently recording a world record infection rate of more than 380,000 cases and 3,500 deaths a day and a huge international aid operation has been launched with dozens of countries promising help.&nbsp;

The delivery, which flew in from the Travis military base in California, followed talks this week between US President Joe Biden and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.&nbsp;

“The United States is delivering supplies worth more than $100 million in the coming days to provide urgent relief to our partners in India,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said. &nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

Google chief executive Sundar Pichai said that the Covid-19 situation in India is dire and the 'worst is yet to come'. Google CEO told CNN that it has been 'heartening' to see the kind of attention people at the highest levels in the United States have been giving to the health crisis unfolding in India and other countries.

Google chief executive Sundar Pichai said that the Covid-19 situation in India is dire and the 'worst is yet to come'. Google CEO told CNN that it has been 'heartening' to see the kind of attention people at the highest levels in the United States have been giving to the health crisis unfolding in India and other countries. “The situation there is dire and it has been heartbreaking to see. And I think the worst is yet to come,” said Pichai. “What's been heartening, at least being here, is definitely seeing the attention here. I realise that at the highest levels, from President Biden, secretary Blinken, there has been focus on engaging to see how we can help India and the other countries being affected,” Pichai added. Recently, the first US government assistance flight carrying COVID-19 emergency aid supplies landed in India. A military aircraft Super Galaxy military transporter brought the first supplies to help India to fight the deadly second COVID-19 wave that has wreaked havoc across the country, straining its healthcare system. The aircraft is carrying more than 400 oxygen cylinders and other hospital equipment and nearly one million rapid coronavirus tests landed at New Delhi’s international airport. “The first of several emergency COVID-19 relief shipments from the United States has arrived in India! Building on over 70 years of cooperation, the United States stands with India as we fight the COVID-19 pandemic together. #USIndiaDosti,” the US Embassy tweeted. India is currently recording a world record infection rate of more than 380,000 cases and 3,500 deaths a day and a huge international aid operation has been launched with dozens of countries promising help. The delivery, which flew in from the Travis military base in California, followed talks this week between US President Joe Biden and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The United States is delivering supplies worth more than $100 million in the coming days to provide urgent relief to our partners in India,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said. (With inputs from agencies)

‘Worst is yet to come’, says Google CEO Sundar Pichai on India’s Covid crisis

In a show of solidarity, CEOs of some 40 top American companies have come together to create a global task force to mobilise resources to help India fight the battle against COVID-19.

A collective initiative of the US-India Business Council of the US Chambers of Commerce, and the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum and Business Roundtable, the task force during its meeting here on Monday committed to get 20,000 oxygen concentrators to India in the next few weeks.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/google-microsofts-indian-american-ceos-pledge-support-in-indias-fight-against-covid-19-380513" hreflang="en">Google, Microsoft's Indian-American CEOs pledge support in India's fight against COVID-19</a>

The new US public-private partnership to provide India critical medical supplies, vaccines, oxygen, and other life-saving assistance amid an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases is called the Global Task Force on Pandemic Response: Mobilising for India.

The first-of-its-kind country-specific global task force to address a public health crisis in another country was addressed by US Secretary of State Tony Blinken.

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Productive conversation with <a href="https://twitter.com/USIBC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USIBC</a> today on how the United States and India can leverage the expertise and capabilities of the U.S. private sector as we urgently work toward solutions for India's COVID-19 crisis.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecBlinken/status/1386814848139399169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 26, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The conversation showed how the United States and India can leverage the expertise and capabilities of the US private sector towards solutions for India's COVID-19 crisis, Blinken said in a tweet.

US&nbsp;Representative Ro Khanna, Democratic vice chair of the Congressional Caucus on&nbsp;India said&nbsp;that&nbsp;Indian-American billionaire and Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla and other&nbsp;Indian-American tech executives at Google, IBM and Microsoft are working closely with the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on&nbsp;India.

The group is trying to match&nbsp;Indian hospitals and other facilities with supplies of oxygen and other urgently needed medical equipment, and pushing the White House to do more for&nbsp;India, the world's largest democracy, as a surge in infections overwhelms hospitals.

On Twitter, Khosla offered to fund the bulk import of oxygen and other supplies to&nbsp;India. Khanna said Khosla has offered to underwrite the initiative.

Google said&nbsp;on Monday it was donating another $18 million in&nbsp;India&nbsp;for victims and medical supplies, and confirmed chief executive Sundar Pichai was personally donating $700,000 to UNICEF's&nbsp;India&nbsp;response.&nbsp;

Indian immigrants and their offspring, some with deep pockets, are a powerful political force in the United States, and dozens of&nbsp;Indian Americans have roles in the Biden administration. Demographers estimate there are close to 4 million people of&nbsp;Indian descent in the United States.

The United States has faced criticism in&nbsp;India&nbsp;where local vaccine makers struggled to buy raw materials from U.S. suppliers. Administration officials insist there is no export ban in place, although the US&nbsp;Defence Production Act allows the government to give preference to U.S. manufacturers.

The&nbsp;Indian-American caucus is meeting with the&nbsp;Indian ambassador this week to see what else can be done to speed distribution of unused AstraZeneca vaccines and other supplies to&nbsp;India, Khanna said.

It has been pushing the White House to do more, Khanna said.

"The administration's initial response has been very encouraging, but the hope is that they will continue by releasing the AstraZeneca vaccines," Khanna said.

The White House on Monday said it would share up to 60 million doses of AstraZeneca Plc's coronavirus vaccine with other countries as soon as the next few weeks.

(With inputs from agencies)

In a show of solidarity, CEOs of some 40 top American companies have come together to create a global task force to mobilise resources to help India fight the battle against COVID-19.

In a show of solidarity, CEOs of some 40 top American companies have come together to create a global task force to mobilise resources to help India fight the battle against COVID-19. A collective initiative of the US-India Business Council of the US Chambers of Commerce, and the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum and Business Roundtable, the task force during its meeting here on Monday committed to get 20,000 oxygen concentrators to India in the next few weeks. Also read| Google, Microsoft's Indian-American CEOs pledge support in India's fight against COVID-19 The new US public-private partnership to provide India critical medical supplies, vaccines, oxygen, and other life-saving assistance amid an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases is called the Global Task Force on Pandemic Response: Mobilising for India. The first-of-its-kind country-specific global task force to address a public health crisis in another country was addressed by US Secretary of State Tony Blinken. Productive conversation with @USIBC today on how the United States and India can leverage the expertise and capabilities of the U.S. private sector as we urgently work toward solutions for India's COVID-19 crisis. — Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) April 26, 2021 × The conversation showed how the United States and India can leverage the expertise and capabilities of the US private sector towards solutions for India's COVID-19 crisis, Blinken said in a tweet. US Representative Ro Khanna, Democratic vice chair of the Congressional Caucus on India said that Indian-American billionaire and Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla and other Indian-American tech executives at Google, IBM and Microsoft are working closely with the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on India. The group is trying to match Indian hospitals and other facilities with supplies of oxygen and other urgently needed medical equipment, and pushing the White House to do more for India, the world's largest democracy, as a surge in infections overwhelms hospitals. On Twitter, Khosla offered to fund the bulk import of oxygen and other supplies to India. Khanna said Khosla has offered to underwrite the initiative. Google said on Monday it was donating another $18 million in India for victims and medical supplies, and confirmed chief executive Sundar Pichai was personally donating $700,000 to UNICEF's India response. Indian immigrants and their offspring, some with deep pockets, are a powerful political force in the United States, and dozens of Indian Americans have roles in the Biden administration. Demographers estimate there are close to 4 million people of Indian descent in the United States. The United States has faced criticism in India where local vaccine makers struggled to buy raw materials from U.S. suppliers. Administration officials insist there is no export ban in place, although the US Defence Production Act allows the government to give preference to U.S. manufacturers. The Indian-American caucus is meeting with the Indian ambassador this week to see what else can be done to speed distribution of unused AstraZeneca vaccines and other supplies to India, Khanna said. It has been pushing the White House to do more, Khanna said. "The administration's initial response has been very encouraging, but the hope is that they will continue by releasing the AstraZeneca vaccines," Khanna said. The White House on Monday said it would share up to 60 million doses of AstraZeneca Plc's coronavirus vaccine with other countries as soon as the next few weeks. (With inputs from agencies)

Indian Americans in US Congress, tech organise COVID-19 aid to India

Google CEO Sundar Pichai and his Microsoft counterpart Satya Nadella have assured help to India as the country grapples with a ravaging coronavirus crisis that has put enormous pressure on its hospitals due to a shortage of beds, oxygen, and medical supplies.

India logged a record of 3,52,991 new coronavirus infections in a day on Monday, taking its total tally of COVID-19 cases to 1,73,13,163. The death toll increased to 1,95,123 with a record 2,812 daily new fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry data.

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Devastated to see the worsening Covid crisis in India. Google &amp; Googlers are providing Rs 135 Crore in funding to <a href="https://twitter.com/GiveIndia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GiveIndia</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/UNICEF?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UNICEF</a> for medical supplies, orgs supporting high-risk communities, and grants to help spread critical information.<a href="https://t.co/OHJ79iEzZH">https://t.co/OHJ79iEzZH</a>
— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) <a href="https://twitter.com/sundarpichai/status/1386528938889908231?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 26, 2021</a></blockquote>
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I am heartbroken by the current situation in India. I’m grateful the U.S. government is mobilizing to help. Microsoft will continue to use its voice, resources, and technology to aid relief efforts, and support the purchase of critical oxygen concentration devices.
— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) <a href="https://twitter.com/satyanadella/status/1386500849740902403?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 26, 2021</a></blockquote>
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US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have assured India and its people of providing all assistance, including urgently sending necessary medical life-saving supplies and equipment, to help the country combat the deadly coronavirus crisis.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/us-will-immediately-send-vaccine-components-medical-supplies-to-india-says-biden-380291">US will 'immediately' send vaccine components, medical supplies to India</a>

''Just as India sent assistance to the United States as our hospitals were strained early in the pandemic, we are determined to help India in its time of need,''&nbsp;Biden said in a tweet.

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The U.S. is working closely with the Indian government to rapidly deploy additional support and supplies during an alarming COVID-19 outbreak. As we provide assistance, we pray for the people of India—including its courageous healthcare workers.
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) <a href="https://twitter.com/VP/status/1386407377956573186?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2021</a></blockquote>
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At the JFK Airport in New York, 318 Philips Oxygen Concentrators were loaded at the Air Indian plane headed to New Delhi.

This week, the US Chambers of Commerce has scheduled to host a CEO delegation meeting with Secretary of State Tony Blinken, followed by an industry briefing on April 27 on India's COVID-19 crisis and how the business community can help.

The US Chamber and Chamber Foundation has set up a Resources for India's COVID Crisis page, which lists urgently needed supplies and links to humanitarian organisations doing work on the ground.

"We are also working to set up a portal through which American companies can offer direct support and resources. Look out for more details shortly,? Chambers said in an email to its members on Sunday.

In this crisis period, the US Chamber of Commerce and the larger business community are stepping up to help.

Last week Chambers urged the administration to "release the millions of AstraZeneca vaccine doses in storage&nbsp;as well as other life-saving support&nbsp;for shipment to India, Brazil, and other nations hard-hit by the pandemic.?

Following a conversation between National Security Advisors Jake Sullivan and Ajit Doval on Sunday, the US pledged to provide raw materials required for manufacturing of the Covishield vaccine in India, as well as supplies of therapeutics, rapid diagnostic test kits, ventilators, and Personal Protective Equipment.

On Sunday, US Chamber President and&nbsp;CEO Suzanne Clark and SVP for International Strategy and Global Initiatives Nisha Biswal joined a call with the Business Roundtable and American CEOs on supporting India's COVID response.

Meanwhile, several Indian-American organisations have launched fundraising campaigns to fight the pandemic in India.

Indian-American Milan Vaishnav from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think-tank said there are at least four key elements to a response.

"First, we need to see senior US leadership express solidarity with the Indian people. To Indians and Indian Americans, empathy will be welcome. Second, the US has the capacity to provide oxygen, ventilators, medication &amp; emergency supplies. The public sector can galvanise private support. If the optics of the US Defense Dept delivering relief is problematic, there are other workarounds, including via 3rd countries,''&nbsp;he said.

"Third, access to essential vaccine materials. The Defense Production Act issue is real but hardly black and white. The Government of India, US Government, Serum Institute -- their stories don't match up. Here's the good news: The Government of India has finally delivered a list of what it needs. Now the US Government can work on the problem. It's messy but doable,''&nbsp;Vaishnav said.

The goal of addressing India's DPA (&amp; related) concerns should be to ensure that future vaccine production in India (for India and for the world) is not adversely impacted in any way. From the outside, it appears that both sides agree on this," he said.

India is struggling with a second wave of the pandemic with more than 3,00,000 daily new coronavirus cases being reported in the past few days, and hospitals in several states are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds.

To address the growing demand for oxygen in India, the government has reached out to various countries to procure containers and oxygen cylinders.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

Google CEO Sundar Pichai and his Microsoft counterpart Satya Nadella have assured help to India as the country grapples with a ravaging coronavirus crisis that has put enormous pressure on its hospitals due to a shortage of beds, oxygen, and medical supplies.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai and his Microsoft counterpart Satya Nadella have assured help to India as the country grapples with a ravaging coronavirus crisis that has put enormous pressure on its hospitals due to a shortage of beds, oxygen, and medical supplies. India logged a record of 3,52,991 new coronavirus infections in a day on Monday, taking its total tally of COVID-19 cases to 1,73,13,163. The death toll increased to 1,95,123 with a record 2,812 daily new fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry data. Devastated to see the worsening Covid crisis in India. Google & Googlers are providing Rs 135 Crore in funding to @GiveIndia, @UNICEF for medical supplies, orgs supporting high-risk communities, and grants to help spread critical information.https://t.co/OHJ79iEzZH — Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) April 26, 2021 × I am heartbroken by the current situation in India. I’m grateful the U.S. government is mobilizing to help. Microsoft will continue to use its voice, resources, and technology to aid relief efforts, and support the purchase of critical oxygen concentration devices. — Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) April 26, 2021 × US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have assured India and its people of providing all assistance, including urgently sending necessary medical life-saving supplies and equipment, to help the country combat the deadly coronavirus crisis. Also read| US will 'immediately' send vaccine components, medical supplies to India ''Just as India sent assistance to the United States as our hospitals were strained early in the pandemic, we are determined to help India in its time of need,'' Biden said in a tweet. The U.S. is working closely with the Indian government to rapidly deploy additional support and supplies during an alarming COVID-19 outbreak. As we provide assistance, we pray for the people of India—including its courageous healthcare workers. — Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) April 25, 2021 × At the JFK Airport in New York, 318 Philips Oxygen Concentrators were loaded at the Air Indian plane headed to New Delhi. This week, the US Chambers of Commerce has scheduled to host a CEO delegation meeting with Secretary of State Tony Blinken, followed by an industry briefing on April 27 on India's COVID-19 crisis and how the business community can help. The US Chamber and Chamber Foundation has set up a Resources for India's COVID Crisis page, which lists urgently needed supplies and links to humanitarian organisations doing work on the ground. "We are also working to set up a portal through which American companies can offer direct support and resources. Look out for more details shortly,? Chambers said in an email to its members on Sunday. In this crisis period, the US Chamber of Commerce and the larger business community are stepping up to help. Last week Chambers urged the administration to "release the millions of AstraZeneca vaccine doses in storage as well as other life-saving support for shipment to India, Brazil, and other nations hard-hit by the pandemic.? Following a conversation between National Security Advisors Jake Sullivan and Ajit Doval on Sunday, the US pledged to provide raw materials required for manufacturing of the Covishield vaccine in India, as well as supplies of therapeutics, rapid diagnostic test kits, ventilators, and Personal Protective Equipment. On Sunday, US Chamber President and CEO Suzanne Clark and SVP for International Strategy and Global Initiatives Nisha Biswal joined a call with the Business Roundtable and American CEOs on supporting India's COVID response. Meanwhile, several Indian-American organisations have launched fundraising campaigns to fight the pandemic in India. Indian-American Milan Vaishnav from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think-tank said there are at least four key elements to a response. "First, we need to see senior US leadership express solidarity with the Indian people. To Indians and Indian Americans, empathy will be welcome. Second, the US has the capacity to provide oxygen, ventilators, medication & emergency supplies. The public sector can galvanise private support. If the optics of the US Defense Dept delivering relief is problematic, there are other workarounds, including via 3rd countries,'' he said. "Third, access to essential vaccine materials. The Defense Production Act issue is real but hardly black and white. The Government of India, US Government, Serum Institute -- their stories don't match up. Here's the good news: The Government of India has finally delivered a list of what it needs. Now the US Government can work on the problem. It's messy but doable,'' Vaishnav said. The goal of addressing India's DPA (& related) concerns should be to ensure that future vaccine production in India (for India and for the world) is not adversely impacted in any way. From the outside, it appears that both sides agree on this," he said. India is struggling with a second wave of the pandemic with more than 3,00,000 daily new coronavirus cases being reported in the past few days, and hospitals in several states are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds. To address the growing demand for oxygen in India, the government has reached out to various countries to procure containers and oxygen cylinders. (With inputs from agencies)

Google, Microsoft's Indian-American CEOs pledge support in India's fight against COVID-19

Google has announced a new "Timelapse" feature for Google Earth in which people can see four decades of planetary change.&nbsp;

For doing this, Google has used 24 million satellite photos from the last 37 years.&nbsp;

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/instagram-launches-experiment-to-hide-likes-377629">Instagram launches experiment to hide 'likes'</a>

"Our planet has seen rapid environmental change in the past half-century -- more than any other point in human history. The new Timelapse feature in Google Earth compiles 24 million satellite photos from the past 37 years into an interactive 4D experience," Google CEO Sundar Pichai said on Thursday as quoted by news agency PTI.&nbsp;

"For the first time, we'll put a vivid depiction of our rapidly changing planet into the hands of everyone, everywhere," Rebecca Moore director of Google Earth, Earth Engine, and outreach said in a news conference.

She called this the biggest update to Google Earth since 2017 and with this people can see the Earth in a completely new dimension.&nbsp;

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/google-ai-chief-samy-bengio-resigns-over-colleagues-firing-and-racial-discrimination-375828">Google AI chief Samy Bengio resigns over colleagues' firing and racial discrimination</a>

Timelapse, she said, was made possible due to the US government and European Union commitments to open and accessible data.&nbsp;

NASA, US Geological Survey, European Commission, and the European Space Agency, provided Google Earth with the images.&nbsp;

"We like to say if Google maps is about finding your way, Google Earth has been about getting lost and we've focused on creating the most realistic digital representation of the planet that's ever been put into the hands of the public with features that entertain people and enlighten people," the Google Earth director said.

(With inputs from agencies)

Google has announced a new "Timelapse" feature for Google Earth in which people can see four decades of planetary change. For doing this, Google has used 24 million satellite photos from the last 37 years.

Google has announced a new "Timelapse" feature for Google Earth in which people can see four decades of planetary change. For doing this, Google has used 24 million satellite photos from the last 37 years. Also read | Instagram launches experiment to hide 'likes' "Our planet has seen rapid environmental change in the past half-century -- more than any other point in human history. The new Timelapse feature in Google Earth compiles 24 million satellite photos from the past 37 years into an interactive 4D experience," Google CEO Sundar Pichai said on Thursday as quoted by news agency PTI. "For the first time, we'll put a vivid depiction of our rapidly changing planet into the hands of everyone, everywhere," Rebecca Moore director of Google Earth, Earth Engine, and outreach said in a news conference. She called this the biggest update to Google Earth since 2017 and with this people can see the Earth in a completely new dimension. Also read | Google AI chief Samy Bengio resigns over colleagues' firing and racial discrimination Timelapse, she said, was made possible due to the US government and European Union commitments to open and accessible data. NASA, US Geological Survey, European Commission, and the European Space Agency, provided Google Earth with the images. "We like to say if Google maps is about finding your way, Google Earth has been about getting lost and we've focused on creating the most realistic digital representation of the planet that's ever been put into the hands of the public with features that entertain people and enlighten people," the Google Earth director said. (With inputs from agencies)

Now, experience 4 decades of planetary changes as Google Earth unveils 'Timelapse' feature

Lawmakers grilled the leaders of Facebook, Google and Twitter on Thursday about the connection between online disinformation and the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, causing Twitter’s CEO to publicly admit for the first time that his product had played a role in the events that left five people dead.

When a Democratic lawmaker asked the executives to answer with a “yes” or a “no” whether the platforms bore some responsibility for the misinformation that had contributed to the riot, Jack Dorsey of Twitter said “yes.” Neither Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook nor Sundar Pichai of Google would answer the question directly.

The roughly five-hour hearing before a House committee marked the first time lawmakers directly questioned the CEOs regarding social media’s role in the January riot. The tech bosses were also peppered with questions about how their companies helped spread falsehoods around COVID-19 vaccines, enable racism and hurt children’s mental health.

It was also the first time the executives had testified since President Joe Biden’s inauguration. Tough questioning from lawmakers signaled that scrutiny of Silicon Valley’s business practices would not let up, and could even intensify, with Democrats in the White House and leading both chambers of Congress.

The CEOs have become Capitol Hill regulars in recent years. Zuckerberg has testified seven times since 2018. Dorsey has appeared five times and Pichai has testified four times since then. But these hearings, regarding disinformation, antitrust and data privacy, have not led to regulations. Though there is bipartisan animus toward the companies, there is still little agreement on how specifically to hold the internet giants to account. Dozens of privacy, speech and antitrust bills have gone nowhere in the past few years.

“It will be very challenging to translate these concerns into legislation,” said Alexandra Givens, CEO of the Center for Democracy and Technology, a tech think tank.

At the heart of the hearing were questions about whether the companies had a financial incentive to keep users engaged — and clicking on ads — by feeding them divisive, extreme and hateful content. Lawmakers from both parties said Congress should reconsider a law that shields the platforms from lawsuits over content posted by their users.

“You’re not passive bystanders,” said Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “You’re making money.”

Lawmakers, who compared the business practices of social media companies to tobacco and alcohol companies, grew frustrated at times with what they said was the executives’ evasiveness.

Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., asked the tech CEOs to answer yes or no: Did their platforms contribute to the spread of misinformation before the riot?

Zuckerberg and Pichai dodged the question. Dorsey was more direct.

“Yes,” he said. “But you also have to take into consideration the broader ecosystem. It’s not just about the technology platforms we use.”

Doyle pressed the other executives.

“How is it possible for you not to at least admit that Facebook played a leading role in facilitating the recruitment, planning and execution of the attack on the Capitol?” he asked Zuckerberg.

“I think that the responsibility here lies with the people who took the actions to break the law and do the insurrection,” Zuckerberg said. He added that people who spread the misinformation bore responsibility as well.

“But your platforms supercharged that,” Doyle said.

Later, while still participating in the videoconference hearing, Dorsey tweeted a single question mark with a poll that had two options: “Yes” or “No.” When asked about his tweet by a lawmaker, he said “yes” was winning.

The January riot at the Capitol has made the issue of disinformation deeply personal for lawmakers. The riot was fueled by false claims from President Donald Trump and others that the election had been stolen, which were rampant on social media.

Some of the participants had connections to QAnon and other online conspiracy theories. And prosecutors have said that groups involved in the riot, including the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, coordinated some of their actions on social media.

Lawmakers also criticized the platforms for the way they have enabled the spread of misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic and the vaccines for COVID-19. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., who represents part of Silicon Valley, told Dorsey that Twitter should “eliminate all COVID misinformation — and not label or reduce its spread, but remove it.”

Republicans criticized the companies for the amplification of toxic content that particularly harmed children. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., said social media was her “greatest fear” as a parent. “I’ve monitored where your algorithms lead them. It’s frightening. I know I’m not alone,” Rodgers said.

The Republican members also focused on decisions by the social media platforms to ban Trump and his associates after the Jan. 6 riots. The bans hardened views by conservatives that the companies are left-leaning and are inclined to squelch conservative voices.

“We’re all aware of Big Tech’s ever-increasing censorship of conservative voices and their commitment to serve the radical progressive agenda,” said Rep. Bob Latta of Ohio, the ranking Republican on the panel’s technology subcommittee.

The company leaders defended their businesses, saying they had invested heavily in hiring content moderators and in technology like artificial intelligence, used to identify and fight disinformation.

Zuckerberg argued against the notion that his company had a financial incentive to juice its users’ attention by driving them toward more extreme content. He said Facebook didn’t design “algorithms in order to just kind of try to tweak and optimize and get people to spend every last minute on our service.”

He added later in the hearing that elections disinformation was spread in messaging apps, where amplification and algorithms don’t aid in spread of false content. He also blamed television and other traditional media for spreading election lies.

The companies showed fissures in their view on regulations. Facebook has vocally supported internet regulations in a major advertising blitz on television and in newspapers. In the hearing, Zuckerberg suggested specific regulatory reforms to a key legal shield, known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, that has helped Facebook and other Silicon Valley internet giants thrive.

The legal shield protects companies that host and moderate third-party content, and says companies like Google and Twitter are simply intermediaries of their user-generated content. Democrats have argued that with that protection, companies aren’t motivated to remove disinformation. Republicans accuse the companies of using the shield to moderate too much and to take down content that doesn’t represent their political viewpoints.

“I believe that Section 230 would benefit from thoughtful changes to make it work better for people,” Zuckerberg said in the statement.

He proposed that liability protection for companies be conditional on their ability to fight the spread of certain types of unlawful content. He said platforms should be required to demonstrate that they have systems in place for identifying unlawful content and removing it. Reforms, he said, should be different for smaller social networks, which wouldn’t have the same resources like Facebook to meet new requirements.

Pichai and Dorsey said they supported requirements of transparency in content moderation but fell short of agreeing with Zuckerberg’s other ideas. Dorsey said that it would be very difficult to distinguish a large platform from a smaller one.

Lawmakers did not appear to be won over.

“There’s a lot of smugness among you,” said Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio. “There’s this air of untouchable-ness in your responses to many of the tough questions that you’re being asked.” 
&nbsp;

Lawmakers grilled the leaders of Facebook, Google and Twitter on Thursday about the connection between online disinformation and the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, causing Twitter’s CEO to publicly admit for the first time that his product had played a role in the events that left five people dead.

Lawmakers grilled the leaders of Facebook, Google and Twitter on Thursday about the connection between online disinformation and the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, causing Twitter’s CEO to publicly admit for the first time that his product had played a role in the events that left five people dead. When a Democratic lawmaker asked the executives to answer with a “yes” or a “no” whether the platforms bore some responsibility for the misinformation that had contributed to the riot, Jack Dorsey of Twitter said “yes.” Neither Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook nor Sundar Pichai of Google would answer the question directly. The roughly five-hour hearing before a House committee marked the first time lawmakers directly questioned the CEOs regarding social media’s role in the January riot. The tech bosses were also peppered with questions about how their companies helped spread falsehoods around COVID-19 vaccines, enable racism and hurt children’s mental health. It was also the first time the executives had testified since President Joe Biden’s inauguration. Tough questioning from lawmakers signaled that scrutiny of Silicon Valley’s business practices would not let up, and could even intensify, with Democrats in the White House and leading both chambers of Congress. The CEOs have become Capitol Hill regulars in recent years. Zuckerberg has testified seven times since 2018. Dorsey has appeared five times and Pichai has testified four times since then. But these hearings, regarding disinformation, antitrust and data privacy, have not led to regulations. Though there is bipartisan animus toward the companies, there is still little agreement on how specifically to hold the internet giants to account. Dozens of privacy, speech and antitrust bills have gone nowhere in the past few years. “It will be very challenging to translate these concerns into legislation,” said Alexandra Givens, CEO of the Center for Democracy and Technology, a tech think tank. At the heart of the hearing were questions about whether the companies had a financial incentive to keep users engaged — and clicking on ads — by feeding them divisive, extreme and hateful content. Lawmakers from both parties said Congress should reconsider a law that shields the platforms from lawsuits over content posted by their users. “You’re not passive bystanders,” said Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “You’re making money.” Lawmakers, who compared the business practices of social media companies to tobacco and alcohol companies, grew frustrated at times with what they said was the executives’ evasiveness. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., asked the tech CEOs to answer yes or no: Did their platforms contribute to the spread of misinformation before the riot? Zuckerberg and Pichai dodged the question. Dorsey was more direct. “Yes,” he said. “But you also have to take into consideration the broader ecosystem. It’s not just about the technology platforms we use.” Doyle pressed the other executives. “How is it possible for you not to at least admit that Facebook played a leading role in facilitating the recruitment, planning and execution of the attack on the Capitol?” he asked Zuckerberg. “I think that the responsibility here lies with the people who took the actions to break the law and do the insurrection,” Zuckerberg said. He added that people who spread the misinformation bore responsibility as well. “But your platforms supercharged that,” Doyle said. Later, while still participating in the videoconference hearing, Dorsey tweeted a single question mark with a poll that had two options: “Yes” or “No.” When asked about his tweet by a lawmaker, he said “yes” was winning. The January riot at the Capitol has made the issue of disinformation deeply personal for lawmakers. The riot was fueled by false claims from President Donald Trump and others that the election had been stolen, which were rampant on social media. Some of the participants had connections to QAnon and other online conspiracy theories. And prosecutors have said that groups involved in the riot, including the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, coordinated some of their actions on social media. Lawmakers also criticized the platforms for the way they have enabled the spread of misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic and the vaccines for COVID-19. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., who represents part of Silicon Valley, told Dorsey that Twitter should “eliminate all COVID misinformation — and not label or reduce its spread, but remove it.” Republicans criticized the companies for the amplification of toxic content that particularly harmed children. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., said social media was her “greatest fear” as a parent. “I’ve monitored where your algorithms lead them. It’s frightening. I know I’m not alone,” Rodgers said. The Republican members also focused on decisions by the social media platforms to ban Trump and his associates after the Jan. 6 riots. The bans hardened views by conservatives that the companies are left-leaning and are inclined to squelch conservative voices. “We’re all aware of Big Tech’s ever-increasing censorship of conservative voices and their commitment to serve the radical progressive agenda,” said Rep. Bob Latta of Ohio, the ranking Republican on the panel’s technology subcommittee. The company leaders defended their businesses, saying they had invested heavily in hiring content moderators and in technology like artificial intelligence, used to identify and fight disinformation. Zuckerberg argued against the notion that his company had a financial incentive to juice its users’ attention by driving them toward more extreme content. He said Facebook didn’t design “algorithms in order to just kind of try to tweak and optimize and get people to spend every last minute on our service.” He added later in the hearing that elections disinformation was spread in messaging apps, where amplification and algorithms don’t aid in spread of false content. He also blamed television and other traditional media for spreading election lies. The companies showed fissures in their view on regulations. Facebook has vocally supported internet regulations in a major advertising blitz on television and in newspapers. In the hearing, Zuckerberg suggested specific regulatory reforms to a key legal shield, known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, that has helped Facebook and other Silicon Valley internet giants thrive. The legal shield protects companies that host and moderate third-party content, and says companies like Google and Twitter are simply intermediaries of their user-generated content. Democrats have argued that with that protection, companies aren’t motivated to remove disinformation. Republicans accuse the companies of using the shield to moderate too much and to take down content that doesn’t represent their political viewpoints. “I believe that Section 230 would benefit from thoughtful changes to make it work better for people,” Zuckerberg said in the statement. He proposed that liability protection for companies be conditional on their ability to fight the spread of certain types of unlawful content. He said platforms should be required to demonstrate that they have systems in place for identifying unlawful content and removing it. Reforms, he said, should be different for smaller social networks, which wouldn’t have the same resources like Facebook to meet new requirements. Pichai and Dorsey said they supported requirements of transparency in content moderation but fell short of agreeing with Zuckerberg’s other ideas. Dorsey said that it would be very difficult to distinguish a large platform from a smaller one. Lawmakers did not appear to be won over. “There’s a lot of smugness among you,” said Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio. “There’s this air of untouchable-ness in your responses to many of the tough questions that you’re being asked.”

US lawmakers grill tech CEOs on Capitol riot, getting few direct answers

Alphabet Inc's&nbsp;Google has unveiled a&nbsp;$25 million global grant to non-profits and social enterprises globally, including in India, that are working on empowering girls and women.

The company, which has committed support of one million rural women entrepreneurs in India, also stated that its Internet Saathi digital literacy training programme has benefitted over 30 million women across the country.

Google's&nbsp;new Impact Challenge, a philanthropic initiative was unveiled on International Women`s Day by the company's CEO&nbsp;Sundar Pichai.

Google.org, the philanthropic arm of the technology giant, is aimed at addressing systemic barriers and inequities so that women have access to economic equality, the opportunity to build financial independence, and pursue entrepreneurism, said Google chief executive Sundar Pichai at a virtual event.

"We are announcing a new commitment to allow 1 million women in the rural villages to become entrepreneurs, through business tutorials, tools, and mentorship," he added.

"In India, in the past few years, we have invested more than USD 40 million alongside the entrepreneurs, the innovators, the non-profits who are doing amazing work. We announced another million-dollar initiative building on that work, in particular, to help to acquire&nbsp;digital skills to those who are most vulnerable, including women," Jacquelline Fuller, Vice President at Google and President of Google.Org, said in a virtual briefing.

She added that one of the first initiatives under that effort is led by the NASSCOM Foundation, wherein the organisation is getting a $500,000 grant from Google.Org to support one lakh women agricultural workers.

"Whatever these teams need, we are going to be alongside them and help carry out their vision," said Jacquelline Fuller, President of Google.org, at the event.

The company said it will accept applications from teams worldwide until April 9.

Fuller also announced that Google.org is going to invest an additional $1 million to help underserved women in India. Even as India is the world`s second-largest internet market, women make up a small percentage of online users in the country.

Five years ago, Google launched a program called `Internet Saathi` to bring internet literacy to women in rural parts of India. The company said the program, for which it collaborated with Indian conglomerate Tata, significantly helped improve women`s participation on the Indian internet.

Four of 10 internet users in rural India are now women, said Google, up from one in 10 in 2015. The company, citing its own research, said the Internet Saathi program benefited more than 30 million women in India and that it`s now concluding the program to focus on other efforts to continue this mission.

Sapna Chadha, Senior Country Marketing Director at Google India and Southeast Asia, said based on learnings from the Internet Saathi program, the company has launched the Women Will web platform that will be complemented by community support, mentorship and accelerator programmes for rural women entrepreneurs.

Alphabet Inc's Google has unveiled a $25 million global grant to non-profits and social enterprises globally, including in India, that are working on empowering girls and women.

Alphabet Inc's Google has unveiled a $25 million global grant to non-profits and social enterprises globally, including in India, that are working on empowering girls and women. The company, which has committed support of one million rural women entrepreneurs in India, also stated that its Internet Saathi digital literacy training programme has benefitted over 30 million women across the country. Google's new Impact Challenge, a philanthropic initiative was unveiled on International Women`s Day by the company's CEO Sundar Pichai. Google.org, the philanthropic arm of the technology giant, is aimed at addressing systemic barriers and inequities so that women have access to economic equality, the opportunity to build financial independence, and pursue entrepreneurism, said Google chief executive Sundar Pichai at a virtual event. "We are announcing a new commitment to allow 1 million women in the rural villages to become entrepreneurs, through business tutorials, tools, and mentorship," he added. "In India, in the past few years, we have invested more than USD 40 million alongside the entrepreneurs, the innovators, the non-profits who are doing amazing work. We announced another million-dollar initiative building on that work, in particular, to help to acquire digital skills to those who are most vulnerable, including women," Jacquelline Fuller, Vice President at Google and President of Google.Org, said in a virtual briefing. She added that one of the first initiatives under that effort is led by the NASSCOM Foundation, wherein the organisation is getting a $500,000 grant from Google.Org to support one lakh women agricultural workers. "Whatever these teams need, we are going to be alongside them and help carry out their vision," said Jacquelline Fuller, President of Google.org, at the event. The company said it will accept applications from teams worldwide until April 9. Fuller also announced that Google.org is going to invest an additional $1 million to help underserved women in India. Even as India is the world`s second-largest internet market, women make up a small percentage of online users in the country. Five years ago, Google launched a program called `Internet Saathi` to bring internet literacy to women in rural parts of India. The company said the program, for which it collaborated with Indian conglomerate Tata, significantly helped improve women`s participation on the Indian internet. Four of 10 internet users in rural India are now women, said Google, up from one in 10 in 2015. The company, citing its own research, said the Internet Saathi program benefited more than 30 million women in India and that it`s now concluding the program to focus on other efforts to continue this mission. Sapna Chadha, Senior Country Marketing Director at Google India and Southeast Asia, said based on learnings from the Internet Saathi program, the company has launched the Women Will web platform that will be complemented by community support, mentorship and accelerator programmes for rural women entrepreneurs.

Google to provide $25 million to social enterprises working on women empowerment

Google and Facebook are "very close" to deals with major <a href="https://www.wionews.com/australia-and-new-zealand">Australian</a> media to pay for news, a top government official said Monday, as the tech giants scramble to avoid landmark regulation.

Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said talks with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai had made "great progress" in resolving a standoff being closely watched around the world.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/microsoft-says-it-supports-australias-plans-to-make-google-pay-for-news-361044">Microsoft says it supports Australia's plans to make Google pay for news</a>

Australia is poised to adopt legislation that would force digital companies to pay for news content, something that would create a global precedent and, according to Facebook and Google, wreck the way the internet works.

The companies have threatened to partially withdraw services from the country if the rules become law, sparking a war of words with Canberra.

But that disagreement appeared to ease Monday, with Frydenberg telling public broadcaster ABC talks with the companies "made great progress over the course of the weekend".

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/facebook-to-launch-smartwatch-with-messaging-fitness-features-363611">Facebook to launch smartwatch with messaging, fitness features</a>

"I think we're very close to some very significant commercial deals," he said, "and in doing so that will transform the domestic media landscape."

The agreements could be enough to see Facebook and Google avoid the most severe parts of the legislation -- including binding arbitration to ensure they are not using their online advertising duopoly to dictate terms in deals with media companies.

Following Frydenberg's remarks, SevenWest Media, owner of broadcaster 7NEWS and The West Australian newspaper, announced Monday a new agreement for its content to be hosted on Google's News Showcase product.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported the first major deal with a large Australian news organisation was worth more than Aus$30 million (US$23 million) a year.

SevenWest chairman Kerry Stokes said it was a "great outcome" and hailed the government's work on its news media bargaining code as "instrumental in the outcome of this ground-breaking agreement".

The firm will join several smaller local publishers on News Showcase, which Google said had received more than one million views since launching in Australia eight days ago.

Frydenberg's comments suggest major Australian media organisations, such as Rupert Murdoch's News Corp and Nine Entertainment, could be close to reaching similar deals.

A Google spokesman said the company was in discussions with publishers both "large and small" while a Facebook spokesperson said the firm had been negotiating to "land commercial deals that reflect the commercial value of news content on our platform".

News groups worldwide have seen their businesses ravaged by the loss of advertising dollars that once flowed to their newspapers but are now overwhelmingly captured by the big digital platforms.

Thousands of journalists' jobs have been lost and numerous outlets forced to close in Australia alone over the past decade.

Google and Facebook are "very close" to deals with major Australian media to pay for news, a top government official said Monday, as the tech giants scramble to avoid landmark regulation.

Google and Facebook are "very close" to deals with major Australian media to pay for news, a top government official said Monday, as the tech giants scramble to avoid landmark regulation. Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said talks with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai had made "great progress" in resolving a standoff being closely watched around the world. Also read| Microsoft says it supports Australia's plans to make Google pay for news Australia is poised to adopt legislation that would force digital companies to pay for news content, something that would create a global precedent and, according to Facebook and Google, wreck the way the internet works. The companies have threatened to partially withdraw services from the country if the rules become law, sparking a war of words with Canberra. But that disagreement appeared to ease Monday, with Frydenberg telling public broadcaster ABC talks with the companies "made great progress over the course of the weekend". Also read| Facebook to launch smartwatch with messaging, fitness features "I think we're very close to some very significant commercial deals," he said, "and in doing so that will transform the domestic media landscape." The agreements could be enough to see Facebook and Google avoid the most severe parts of the legislation -- including binding arbitration to ensure they are not using their online advertising duopoly to dictate terms in deals with media companies. Following Frydenberg's remarks, SevenWest Media, owner of broadcaster 7NEWS and The West Australian newspaper, announced Monday a new agreement for its content to be hosted on Google's News Showcase product. The Sydney Morning Herald reported the first major deal with a large Australian news organisation was worth more than Aus$30 million (US$23 million) a year. SevenWest chairman Kerry Stokes said it was a "great outcome" and hailed the government's work on its news media bargaining code as "instrumental in the outcome of this ground-breaking agreement". The firm will join several smaller local publishers on News Showcase, which Google said had received more than one million views since launching in Australia eight days ago. Frydenberg's comments suggest major Australian media organisations, such as Rupert Murdoch's News Corp and Nine Entertainment, could be close to reaching similar deals. A Google spokesman said the company was in discussions with publishers both "large and small" while a Facebook spokesperson said the firm had been negotiating to "land commercial deals that reflect the commercial value of news content on our platform". News groups worldwide have seen their businesses ravaged by the loss of advertising dollars that once flowed to their newspapers but are now overwhelmingly captured by the big digital platforms. Thousands of journalists' jobs have been lost and numerous outlets forced to close in Australia alone over the past decade.

Google and Facebook 'close' to deals with Australian media

Several top executives and prominent figures around the world have been sending congratulatory messages to Jeff Bezos and Andy Jassy via Twitter after the former announced he will stand aside as chief executive. Bezos will take up the role of executive chair in the third quarter and hand over the CEO role to Jassy, who currently heads Amazon Web Services.&nbsp;

Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and others have congratulated Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his successor Andy Jassy on their new roles on Wednesday.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-to-step-down-360973">Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to step down</a>

In a communique to Amazon employees, Bezos said, he would 'stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives' but would pivot towards philanthropic initiatives, including the Day One Fund and Bezos Earth Fund, and other ventures in space exploration and journalism.&nbsp;

Pichai sent his best wishes for the two passion projects of the outgoing Amazon CEO, namely the Day One Fund and the Bezos Earth Fund.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/meet-andy-jassy-next-amazon-ceo-after-jeff-bezos-361003" hreflang="en">Meet Andy Jassy, next Amazon CEO after Jeff Bezos</a>

Noting Jassy's accomplishments, Nadella said, "a well-deserved recognition of what you have accomplished." Benioff also took to Twitter to say, Amazon 'could not be in better hands’.&nbsp;

Bezos, 57, founded Amazon in his garage in 1994. He went on to grow it into a colossus, which dominates online retail, with operations in streaming music and television, robotics, artificial intelligence, groceries, cloud computing, and more.&nbsp;

In 1997, Jassy joined Amazon as a marketing manager and in 2003, he founded AWS, the cloud services division of the tech giant, which has been one of the most profitable, yet least-known units of the company.&nbsp;

Several top executives and prominent figures around the world have been sending congratulatory messages to Jeff Bezos and Andy Jassy via Twitter after the former announced he will stand aside as chief executive.

Several top executives and prominent figures around the world have been sending congratulatory messages to Jeff Bezos and Andy Jassy via Twitter after the former announced he will stand aside as chief executive. Bezos will take up the role of executive chair in the third quarter and hand over the CEO role to Jassy, who currently heads Amazon Web Services. Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and others have congratulated Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his successor Andy Jassy on their new roles on Wednesday. Also read: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to step down In a communique to Amazon employees, Bezos said, he would 'stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives' but would pivot towards philanthropic initiatives, including the Day One Fund and Bezos Earth Fund, and other ventures in space exploration and journalism. Pichai sent his best wishes for the two passion projects of the outgoing Amazon CEO, namely the Day One Fund and the Bezos Earth Fund. Also read: Meet Andy Jassy, next Amazon CEO after Jeff Bezos Noting Jassy's accomplishments, Nadella said, "a well-deserved recognition of what you have accomplished." Benioff also took to Twitter to say, Amazon 'could not be in better hands’. Bezos, 57, founded Amazon in his garage in 1994. He went on to grow it into a colossus, which dominates online retail, with operations in streaming music and television, robotics, artificial intelligence, groceries, cloud computing, and more. In 1997, Jassy joined Amazon as a marketing manager and in 2003, he founded AWS, the cloud services division of the tech giant, which has been one of the most profitable, yet least-known units of the company.

Pichai, Nadella join bigwigs in congratulating Bezos, Jassy

Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Monday stressed that growing up in India amid poor access to a computer or a phone set him on a course to build a more inclusive global digital economy and empower the next billion people. 
 
Speaking at the Singapore FinTech Festival, Pichai said that the question of inclusion and opportunity is deeply personal to him. 
 
"Growing up in India, I didn`t have much access to a computer, or a phone. To make a call, I had to wait in long lines to use a shared phone with everyone else. 
 
"So when our family finally got our first rotary phone, it changed our lives for the better, and it set me on a course to help bring technology to more people around the world," he emphasised. 
 
He said the digital inclusion can be achieved first by accelerating progress in closing the digital divide, which means expanding connectivity, financial inclusion, and digital skills. 
 
"Second, by deepening partnerships between governments and business, which means building on the new collaborations we`ve seen during Covid," he said. 
 
Pichai mentioned how Google Pay is helping India bridge the digital divide. 
 
The company launched Google Tez, now Google Pay in India in 2017. 
 
"At the time, my home country was still largely a cash-based society. Since then, digital payments services have helped reshape how transactions are made. They`ve increased financial inclusion by making payments simple and seamless for over a hundred million Indians," Pichai informed. 
 
"People are using Google Pay to do everything from send money home to their families and split the check for dinner. Kirana store owners are using it to pay their business expenses, as well as receive payments from their loyal customers". 
 
People in India complete more than three billion digital transactions a month, two thirds of which are taking place outside India`s biggest cities. 
 
Digital payment transactions across Southeast Asia are set to almost double to $1.2 trillion by 2025. 
 
"Now, we`re using the same technology to improve Google Pay globally, starting in Singapore and the US, with more to come," Pichai said.

Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Monday stressed that growing up in India amid poor access to a computer or a phone set him on a course to build a more inclusive global digital economy and empower the next billion people.

Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Monday stressed that growing up in India amid poor access to a computer or a phone set him on a course to build a more inclusive global digital economy and empower the next billion people. Speaking at the Singapore FinTech Festival, Pichai said that the question of inclusion and opportunity is deeply personal to him. "Growing up in India, I didn`t have much access to a computer, or a phone. To make a call, I had to wait in long lines to use a shared phone with everyone else. "So when our family finally got our first rotary phone, it changed our lives for the better, and it set me on a course to help bring technology to more people around the world," he emphasised. He said the digital inclusion can be achieved first by accelerating progress in closing the digital divide, which means expanding connectivity, financial inclusion, and digital skills. "Second, by deepening partnerships between governments and business, which means building on the new collaborations we`ve seen during Covid," he said. Pichai mentioned how Google Pay is helping India bridge the digital divide. The company launched Google Tez, now Google Pay in India in 2017. "At the time, my home country was still largely a cash-based society. Since then, digital payments services have helped reshape how transactions are made. They`ve increased financial inclusion by making payments simple and seamless for over a hundred million Indians," Pichai informed. "People are using Google Pay to do everything from send money home to their families and split the check for dinner. Kirana store owners are using it to pay their business expenses, as well as receive payments from their loyal customers". People in India complete more than three billion digital transactions a month, two thirds of which are taking place outside India`s biggest cities. Digital payment transactions across Southeast Asia are set to almost double to $1.2 trillion by 2025. "Now, we`re using the same technology to improve Google Pay globally, starting in Singapore and the US, with more to come," Pichai said.

Growing up in India made me build inclusive digital economy: Google's Pichai

As tech giants faced an intense hearing on Senate on Wednesday, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was in the centre to face the ire of conservative lawmakers.&nbsp;

"My concern is that these platforms have become powerful arbiters of what is true and what content users can access," said Roger Wicker, the Republican chairman of the Commerce Committee, as quoted by the news agency AFP.&nbsp;

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/pick-eye-pish-eye-senators-struggle-to-pronounce-google-ceo-sundar-pichais-name-338710">'Pick Eye', 'Pish Eye': Senators struggle to pronounce Google CEO Sundar Pichai's name</a>

He said the panel had "dozens of examples of conservative content being censored," asking Dorsey on how Twitter decides to label or remove any post.&nbsp;

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-hit-by-bad-connection-causes-delay-in-us-senate-hearing-338615">Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg hit by 'bad connection', causes delay in US Senate hearing</a>

"Your platform allows foreign dictators to post propaganda without restriction yet your routinely restrict the president of the United States," the Republican senator said, referring to one post from China accusing the US military of bringing the coronavirus.

Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, came down heavily on Dorsey, even shouting at him at times and accusing Twitter of "silencing people" on speeches which it disagreed with.&nbsp;

He also rebuked Dorsey on Twitter's decision to restrict access to a New York Post story of questionable provenance that made corruption allegations against Joe Biden's son.

"Mr Dorsey who the hell elected you and put you in charge of what the media are allowed to report and what the American people are allowed to hear?" Cruz said.&nbsp;

Trump also endorsed in a tweet Republicans criticism during Senate as he faces a tough battle in the upcoming presidential election and accused social media giants to cover up "corruption" of Biden.&nbsp;

He also demanded "Repeal Section 230!", a section that protects social media organisations from content posted by the users.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

As tech giants faced an intense hearing on Senate on Wednesday, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was in the centre to face the ire of conservative lawmakers. "My concern is that these platforms have become powerful arbiters of what is true and what content users can access," said Roger Wicker, the Republican chairman of the Commerce Committee, as quoted by the news agency AFP.

As tech giants faced an intense hearing on Senate on Wednesday, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was in the centre to face the ire of conservative lawmakers. "My concern is that these platforms have become powerful arbiters of what is true and what content users can access," said Roger Wicker, the Republican chairman of the Commerce Committee, as quoted by the news agency AFP. Also read | 'Pick Eye', 'Pish Eye': Senators struggle to pronounce Google CEO Sundar Pichai's name He said the panel had "dozens of examples of conservative content being censored," asking Dorsey on how Twitter decides to label or remove any post. Also read | Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg hit by 'bad connection', causes delay in US Senate hearing "Your platform allows foreign dictators to post propaganda without restriction yet your routinely restrict the president of the United States," the Republican senator said, referring to one post from China accusing the US military of bringing the coronavirus. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, came down heavily on Dorsey, even shouting at him at times and accusing Twitter of "silencing people" on speeches which it disagreed with. He also rebuked Dorsey on Twitter's decision to restrict access to a New York Post story of questionable provenance that made corruption allegations against Joe Biden's son. "Mr Dorsey who the hell elected you and put you in charge of what the media are allowed to report and what the American people are allowed to hear?" Cruz said. Trump also endorsed in a tweet Republicans criticism during Senate as he faces a tough battle in the upcoming presidential election and accused social media giants to cover up "corruption" of Biden. He also demanded "Repeal Section 230!", a section that protects social media organisations from content posted by the users.

'Who the hell put you in charge?' Republicans lash out at tech giants during Senate debate

Despite testifying to the Capitol Hill three times, US senators still struggle to pronounce the name of Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google's parent company Alphabet.&nbsp;

The Indian American CEO was a part of questioning on Wednesday along with Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter's Jack Dorsey, but senators found it hard to speak his name properly, including Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/facebook-google-and-microsoft-avoiding-3bn-in-tax-in-poorer-nations-338007#:~:text=Big%20US%20technology%20companies%20like,or%20instruction%20to%20their%20residents.">Facebook, Google and Microsoft avoiding $3bn in tax in poorer nations</a>

Lawmakers pronounced his name as "Mr Pick Eye," "Mr Pish Eye" among other incorrect usages, drawing flak from several social media users.&nbsp;

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-hit-by-bad-connection-causes-delay-in-us-senate-hearing-338615">Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg hit by 'bad connection', causes delay in US Senate hearing</a>

Pichai, who was born in Chennai, is head of the trillion-dollar company that is known as one of the most powerful in the field of tech.&nbsp;

Lexi Reese, chief operating officer of tech company Gusto, took to Twitter to ask lawmakers to pronounce his name correctly and even suggested a video on YouTube, owned by Google, to learn the correct way of speaking his name.&nbsp;

Though senators had no trouble in pronouncing Zuckerberg or Dorsey, Ron Johnson, a Republican senator, pronounced Zuckerberg once as "Mr, Zuckerman".

Meanwhile, Capitol Hill clashed with tech giants on Wednesday over legal protections and censorship on social media during a fiery hearing days before Election Day.

Dorsey, Zuckerberg and Pichai had been summoned to the Senate to testify to debate a law known as Section 230 that guards their platforms against liability over what their users share.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Despite testifying to the Capitol Hill three times, US senators still struggle to pronounce the name of Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google's parent company Alphabet. The Indian American CEO was a part of questioning on Wednesday along with Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter's Jack Dorsey, but senators found it hard to speak his name properly, including Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

Despite testifying to the Capitol Hill three times, US senators still struggle to pronounce the name of Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google's parent company Alphabet. The Indian American CEO was a part of questioning on Wednesday along with Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter's Jack Dorsey, but senators found it hard to speak his name properly, including Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Also read | Facebook, Google and Microsoft avoiding $3bn in tax in poorer nations Lawmakers pronounced his name as "Mr Pick Eye," "Mr Pish Eye" among other incorrect usages, drawing flak from several social media users. Also read | Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg hit by 'bad connection', causes delay in US Senate hearing Pichai, who was born in Chennai, is head of the trillion-dollar company that is known as one of the most powerful in the field of tech. Lexi Reese, chief operating officer of tech company Gusto, took to Twitter to ask lawmakers to pronounce his name correctly and even suggested a video on YouTube, owned by Google, to learn the correct way of speaking his name. Though senators had no trouble in pronouncing Zuckerberg or Dorsey, Ron Johnson, a Republican senator, pronounced Zuckerberg once as "Mr, Zuckerman". Meanwhile, Capitol Hill clashed with tech giants on Wednesday over legal protections and censorship on social media during a fiery hearing days before Election Day. Dorsey, Zuckerberg and Pichai had been summoned to the Senate to testify to debate a law known as Section 230 that guards their platforms against liability over what their users share.

'Pick Eye', 'Pish Eye': Senators struggle to pronounce Google CEO Sundar Pichai's name

When Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai, the chief executives of Apple and Google, were photographed eating dinner together in 2017 at an upscale Vietnamese restaurant called Tamarine, the picture set off a tabloid-worthy frenzy about the relationship between the two most powerful companies in Silicon Valley.

As the two men sipped red wine at a window table inside the restaurant in Palo Alto, their companies were in tense negotiations to renew one of the most lucrative business deals in history: an agreement to feature Google’s search engine as the preselected choice on Apple’s iPhone and other devices. The updated deal was worth billions of dollars to both companies and cemented their status at the top of the tech industry’s pecking order.

Now the partnership is in jeopardy. Last Tuesday, the Justice Department filed a landmark lawsuit against Google — the U.S. government’s biggest antitrust case in two decades — and homed in on the alliance as a prime example of what prosecutors say are the company’s illegal tactics to protect its monopoly and choke off competition in web search.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebooks-zuckerberg-twitters-dorsey-to-testify-before-us-senate-panel-after-us-election-337677">Also read|&nbsp;Facebook's Zuckerberg, Twitter's Dorsey to testify before US Senate panel after US election</a>

The scrutiny of the pact, which was first inked 15 years ago and has rarely been discussed by either company, has highlighted the special relationship between Silicon Valley’s two most valuable companies — an unlikely union of rivals that regulators say is unfairly preventing smaller companies from flourishing.

“We have this sort of strange term in Silicon Valley: co-optation,” said Bruce Sewell, Apple’s general counsel from 2009 to 2017. “You have brutal competition, but at the same time, you have necessary cooperation.”

Apple and Google are joined at the hip, even though Cook has said internet advertising, Google’s bread and butter, engages in “surveillance” of consumers and even though Steve Jobs, Apple’s co-founder, once promised “thermonuclear war” on his Silicon Valley neighbor when he learned it was working on a rival to the iPhone.

Apple and Google’s parent company, Alphabet, worth more than $3 trillion combined, do compete on plenty of fronts, like smartphones, digital maps and laptops. But they also know how to make nice when it suits their interests. And few deals have been nicer to both sides of the table than the iPhone search deal.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trumps-loss-joe-biden-breaks-television-spending-record-week-before-us-election-2020-337663">Also read|&nbsp;Trump's loss: Joe Biden breaks television spending record week before US Election 2020</a>

Nearly half of Google’s search traffic now comes from Apple devices, according to the Justice Department, and the prospect of losing the Apple deal has been described as a “code red” scenario inside the company. When iPhone users search on Google, they see the search ads that drive Google’s business. They can also find their way to other Google products, like YouTube.

A former Google executive, who asked not to be identified because he was not permitted to talk about the deal, said the prospect of losing Apple’s traffic was “terrifying” to the company.

The Justice Department, which is asking for a court injunction preventing Google from entering into deals like the one it made with Apple, argues that the arrangement has unfairly helped make Google, which handles 92% of the world’s internet searches, the center of consumers’ online lives.

Online businesses like Yelp and Expedia as well as companies ranging from noodle shops to news organizations often complain that Google’s search domination enables it to charge advertising fees when people simply look up their names, as well as to steer consumers toward its own products, like Google Maps. Microsoft, which had its own antitrust battle two decades ago, has told British regulators that if it were the default option on iPhones and iPads, it would make more advertising money for every search on its rival search engine, Bing.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/selena-gomez-calls-out-mark-zuckerberg-asks-to-stop-spreading-misinformation-328628">Also read|&nbsp;Selena Gomez calls out Mark Zuckerberg, asks to stop spreading misinformation</a>

What’s more, competitors like DuckDuckGo, a small search engine that sells itself as a privacy-focused alternative to Google, could never match Google’s tab with Apple.

Apple now receives an estimated $8 billion to $12 billion in annual payments — up from $1 billion a year in 2014 — in exchange for building Google’s search engine into its products. It is probably the single biggest payment that Google makes to anyone and accounts for 14% to 21% of Apple’s annual profits. That’s not money Apple would be eager to walk away from.

In fact, Cook and Pichai met again in 2018 to discuss how they could increase revenue from search. After the meeting, a senior Apple employee wrote to a Google counterpart that “our vision is that we work as if we are one company,” according to the Justice Department’s complaint.

A forced breakup could mean the loss of easy money to Apple. But it would be a more significant threat to Google, which would have no obvious way to replace the lost traffic. It could also push Apple to acquire or build its own search engine. Within Google, people believe that Apple is one of the few companies in the world that could offer a formidable alternative, according to one former executive. Google has also worried that without the agreement, Apple could make it more difficult for iPhone users to get to the Google search engine.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/streaming-service-quibi-to-wind-down-operations-six-months-after-launch-337040">Also read|&nbsp;Streaming service Quibi to wind down operations six months after launch</a>

A spokesperson for Apple declined to comment on the partnership, while a Google spokesperson pointed to a blog post in which the company defended the relationship.

Even though its bill with Apple keeps going up, Google has said again and again that it dominates internet search because consumers prefer it, not because it is buying customers. The company argues that the Justice Department is painting an incomplete picture; its partnership with Apple, it says, is no different than Coca-Cola paying a supermarket for prominent shelf space.

Other search engines like Microsoft’s Bing also have revenue-sharing agreements with Apple to appear as secondary search options on iPhones, Google says in its defense. It adds that Apple allows people to change their default search engine from Google — though few probably do because people typically don’t tinker with such settings and many prefer Google anyway.

Apple has rarely, if ever, publicly acknowledged its deal with Google and, according to Bernstein Research, has mentioned its so-called licensing revenue in an earnings call for the first time this year.

According to a former senior executive who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of confidentiality contracts, Apple’s leaders have made the same calculation about Google as much of the general public: The utility of its search engine is worth the cost of its invasive practices.

“Their search engine is the best,” Cook said when asked by Axios in late 2018 why he partnered with a company he also implicitly criticized. He added that Apple had also created ways to blunt Google’s collection of data, such as a private-browsing mode on Apple’s internet browser.

The deal is not limited to searches in Apple’s Safari browser; it extends to virtually all searches done on Apple devices, including with Apple’s virtual assistant, Siri, and on Google’s iPhone app and Chrome browser.

The relationship between the companies has swung from friendly to contentious to today’s “co-optation.” In the early years of Google, the company’s co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, saw Jobs as a mentor, and they would take long walks with him to discuss the future of technology.

In 2005, Apple and Google inked what at the time seemed like a modest deal: Google would be the default search engine on Apple’s Safari browser on Mac computers.

Quickly, Cook, then still a deputy to Jobs, saw the arrangement’s lucrative potential, according to another former senior Apple executive who asked not to be named. Google’s payments were pure profit, and all Apple had to do was feature a search engine its users already wanted.

Apple expanded the deal for its big upcoming product: the iPhone. When Jobs unveiled the iPhone in 2007, he invited Eric Schmidt, Google’s then chief executive, to join him onstage for the first of Apple’s many famous iPhone events.

“If we just sort of merged the two companies, we could just call them AppleGoo,” joked Schmidt, who was also on Apple’s board of directors. With Google search on the iPhone, he added, “you can actually merge without merging.”

Then the relationship soured. Google had quietly been developing a competitor to the iPhone: smartphone software called Android that any phone-maker could use. Jobs was furious. In 2010, Apple sued a phone-maker that used Android. “I’m going to destroy Android,” Jobs told his biographer, Walter Isaacson. “I will spend my last dying breath if I need to.”

A year later, Apple introduced Siri. Instead of Google underpinning the virtual assistant, it was Microsoft’s Bing.

Yet the companies’ partnership on iPhones continued — too lucrative for either side to blow it up. Apple had arranged the deal to require periodic renegotiations, according to a former senior executive, and each time, it extracted more money from Google.

“You have to be able to maintain those relationships and not burn a bridge,” said Sewell, Apple’s former general counsel, who declined to discuss specifics of the deal. “At the same time, when you’re negotiating on behalf of your company and you’re trying to get the best deal, then, you know, the gloves come off.”

Around 2017, the deal was up for renewal. Google was facing a squeeze, with clicks on its mobile ads not growing fast enough. Apple was not satisfied with Bing’s performance for Siri. And Cook had just announced that Apple aimed to double its services revenue to $50 billion by 2020, an ambitious goal that would be possible only with Google’s payments.

By the fall of 2017, Apple announced that Google was now helping Siri answer questions, and Google disclosed that its payments for search traffic had jumped. The company offered an anodyne explanation to part of the reason it was suddenly paying some unnamed company hundreds of millions of dollars more: “changes in partner agreements.”

When Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai, the chief executives of Apple and Google, were photographed eating dinner together in 2017 at an upscale Vietnamese restaurant called Tamarine, the picture set off a tabloid-worthy frenzy about the relationship between the two most powerful companies in Silicon Valley.

When Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai, the chief executives of Apple and Google, were photographed eating dinner together in 2017 at an upscale Vietnamese restaurant called Tamarine, the picture set off a tabloid-worthy frenzy about the relationship between the two most powerful companies in Silicon Valley. As the two men sipped red wine at a window table inside the restaurant in Palo Alto, their companies were in tense negotiations to renew one of the most lucrative business deals in history: an agreement to feature Google’s search engine as the preselected choice on Apple’s iPhone and other devices. The updated deal was worth billions of dollars to both companies and cemented their status at the top of the tech industry’s pecking order. Now the partnership is in jeopardy. Last Tuesday, the Justice Department filed a landmark lawsuit against Google — the U.S. government’s biggest antitrust case in two decades — and homed in on the alliance as a prime example of what prosecutors say are the company’s illegal tactics to protect its monopoly and choke off competition in web search. Also read| Facebook's Zuckerberg, Twitter's Dorsey to testify before US Senate panel after US election The scrutiny of the pact, which was first inked 15 years ago and has rarely been discussed by either company, has highlighted the special relationship between Silicon Valley’s two most valuable companies — an unlikely union of rivals that regulators say is unfairly preventing smaller companies from flourishing. “We have this sort of strange term in Silicon Valley: co-optation,” said Bruce Sewell, Apple’s general counsel from 2009 to 2017. “You have brutal competition, but at the same time, you have necessary cooperation.” Apple and Google are joined at the hip, even though Cook has said internet advertising, Google’s bread and butter, engages in “surveillance” of consumers and even though Steve Jobs, Apple’s co-founder, once promised “thermonuclear war” on his Silicon Valley neighbor when he learned it was working on a rival to the iPhone. Apple and Google’s parent company, Alphabet, worth more than $3 trillion combined, do compete on plenty of fronts, like smartphones, digital maps and laptops. But they also know how to make nice when it suits their interests. And few deals have been nicer to both sides of the table than the iPhone search deal. Also read| Trump's loss: Joe Biden breaks television spending record week before US Election 2020 Nearly half of Google’s search traffic now comes from Apple devices, according to the Justice Department, and the prospect of losing the Apple deal has been described as a “code red” scenario inside the company. When iPhone users search on Google, they see the search ads that drive Google’s business. They can also find their way to other Google products, like YouTube. A former Google executive, who asked not to be identified because he was not permitted to talk about the deal, said the prospect of losing Apple’s traffic was “terrifying” to the company. The Justice Department, which is asking for a court injunction preventing Google from entering into deals like the one it made with Apple, argues that the arrangement has unfairly helped make Google, which handles 92% of the world’s internet searches, the center of consumers’ online lives. Online businesses like Yelp and Expedia as well as companies ranging from noodle shops to news organizations often complain that Google’s search domination enables it to charge advertising fees when people simply look up their names, as well as to steer consumers toward its own products, like Google Maps. Microsoft, which had its own antitrust battle two decades ago, has told British regulators that if it were the default option on iPhones and iPads, it would make more advertising money for every search on its rival search engine, Bing. Also read| Selena Gomez calls out Mark Zuckerberg, asks to stop spreading misinformation What’s more, competitors like DuckDuckGo, a small search engine that sells itself as a privacy-focused alternative to Google, could never match Google’s tab with Apple. Apple now receives an estimated $8 billion to $12 billion in annual payments — up from $1 billion a year in 2014 — in exchange for building Google’s search engine into its products. It is probably the single biggest payment that Google makes to anyone and accounts for 14% to 21% of Apple’s annual profits. That’s not money Apple would be eager to walk away from. In fact, Cook and Pichai met again in 2018 to discuss how they could increase revenue from search. After the meeting, a senior Apple employee wrote to a Google counterpart that “our vision is that we work as if we are one company,” according to the Justice Department’s complaint. A forced breakup could mean the loss of easy money to Apple. But it would be a more significant threat to Google, which would have no obvious way to replace the lost traffic. It could also push Apple to acquire or build its own search engine. Within Google, people believe that Apple is one of the few companies in the world that could offer a formidable alternative, according to one former executive. Google has also worried that without the agreement, Apple could make it more difficult for iPhone users to get to the Google search engine. Also read| Streaming service Quibi to wind down operations six months after launch A spokesperson for Apple declined to comment on the partnership, while a Google spokesperson pointed to a blog post in which the company defended the relationship. Even though its bill with Apple keeps going up, Google has said again and again that it dominates internet search because consumers prefer it, not because it is buying customers. The company argues that the Justice Department is painting an incomplete picture; its partnership with Apple, it says, is no different than Coca-Cola paying a supermarket for prominent shelf space. Other search engines like Microsoft’s Bing also have revenue-sharing agreements with Apple to appear as secondary search options on iPhones, Google says in its defense. It adds that Apple allows people to change their default search engine from Google — though few probably do because people typically don’t tinker with such settings and many prefer Google anyway. Apple has rarely, if ever, publicly acknowledged its deal with Google and, according to Bernstein Research, has mentioned its so-called licensing revenue in an earnings call for the first time this year. According to a former senior executive who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of confidentiality contracts, Apple’s leaders have made the same calculation about Google as much of the general public: The utility of its search engine is worth the cost of its invasive practices. “Their search engine is the best,” Cook said when asked by Axios in late 2018 why he partnered with a company he also implicitly criticized. He added that Apple had also created ways to blunt Google’s collection of data, such as a private-browsing mode on Apple’s internet browser. The deal is not limited to searches in Apple’s Safari browser; it extends to virtually all searches done on Apple devices, including with Apple’s virtual assistant, Siri, and on Google’s iPhone app and Chrome browser. The relationship between the companies has swung from friendly to contentious to today’s “co-optation.” In the early years of Google, the company’s co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, saw Jobs as a mentor, and they would take long walks with him to discuss the future of technology. In 2005, Apple and Google inked what at the time seemed like a modest deal: Google would be the default search engine on Apple’s Safari browser on Mac computers. Quickly, Cook, then still a deputy to Jobs, saw the arrangement’s lucrative potential, according to another former senior Apple executive who asked not to be named. Google’s payments were pure profit, and all Apple had to do was feature a search engine its users already wanted. Apple expanded the deal for its big upcoming product: the iPhone. When Jobs unveiled the iPhone in 2007, he invited Eric Schmidt, Google’s then chief executive, to join him onstage for the first of Apple’s many famous iPhone events. “If we just sort of merged the two companies, we could just call them AppleGoo,” joked Schmidt, who was also on Apple’s board of directors. With Google search on the iPhone, he added, “you can actually merge without merging.” Then the relationship soured. Google had quietly been developing a competitor to the iPhone: smartphone software called Android that any phone-maker could use. Jobs was furious. In 2010, Apple sued a phone-maker that used Android. “I’m going to destroy Android,” Jobs told his biographer, Walter Isaacson. “I will spend my last dying breath if I need to.” A year later, Apple introduced Siri. Instead of Google underpinning the virtual assistant, it was Microsoft’s Bing. Yet the companies’ partnership on iPhones continued — too lucrative for either side to blow it up. Apple had arranged the deal to require periodic renegotiations, according to a former senior executive, and each time, it extracted more money from Google. “You have to be able to maintain those relationships and not burn a bridge,” said Sewell, Apple’s former general counsel, who declined to discuss specifics of the deal. “At the same time, when you’re negotiating on behalf of your company and you’re trying to get the best deal, then, you know, the gloves come off.” Around 2017, the deal was up for renewal. Google was facing a squeeze, with clicks on its mobile ads not growing fast enough. Apple was not satisfied with Bing’s performance for Siri. And Cook had just announced that Apple aimed to double its services revenue to $50 billion by 2020, an ambitious goal that would be possible only with Google’s payments. By the fall of 2017, Apple announced that Google was now helping Siri answer questions, and Google disclosed that its payments for search traffic had jumped. The company offered an anodyne explanation to part of the reason it was suddenly paying some unnamed company hundreds of millions of dollars more: “changes in partner agreements.”

Apple, Google and a deal that controls the internet

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