New York:

Google fired 28 employees following a disruptive sit-down protest over the tech giant’s contract with the Israeli government, a Google spokesperson said Thursday.

The Tuesday demonstration was organized by the group “No Tech for Apartheid,” which has long opposed “Project Nimbus,” Google’s joint $1.2 billion contract with Amazon to provide cloud services to the government of Israel.

Video of the demonstration showed police arresting Google workers in Sunnyvale, California, in the office of Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian’s, according to a post by the advocacy group on X, formerly Twitter.

Kurian’s office was occupied for 10 hours, the advocacy group said.

Workers held signs including “Googlers against Genocide,” a reference to accusations surrounding Israel’s attacks on Gaza.

“No Tech for Apartheid,” which also held protests in New York and Seattle, pointed to an April 12 Time magazine article reporting a draft contract of Google billing the Israeli Ministry of Defense more than $1 million for consulting services.

A “small number” of employees “disrupted” a few Google locations, but the protests are “part of a longstanding campaign by a group of organizations and people who largely don’t work at Google,” a Google spokesperson said. 

“After refusing multiple requests to leave the premises, law enforcement was engaged to remove them to ensure office safety,” the Google spokesperson said. “We have so far concluded individual investigations that resulted in the termination of employment for 28 employees, and will continue to investigate and take action as needed.”

Israel is one of “numerous” governments for which Google provides cloud computing services, the Google spokesperson said.

“This work is not directed at highly sensitive, classified, or military workloads relevant to weapons or intelligence services,” the Google spokesperson said.

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California:

Alphabet-owned Google is laying off an unspecified number of employees, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday, marking the latest cuts at the technology giant as it cracks down on costs.

The Google spokesperson said the layoffs are not company-wide and that affected employees will be able to apply for internal roles, but did not specify the number of employees impacted nor the teams involved.

A small percentage of the impacted roles will move to hubs the company is investing in, including India, Chicago, Atlanta and Dublin.

The layoffs follow a slew of job cuts across Google, and the tech and media industry this year, adding to fears that layoffs may continue as companies grapple with economic uncertainty.

“Throughout the second half of 2023 and into 2024, a number of our teams made changes to become more efficient and work better, remove layers and align their resources to their biggest product priorities,” the spokesperson added.

Employees across several of Google’ teams in its real estate and finance departments have been affected, according to a Business Insider report on Wednesday. The finance teams affected include Google’s treasury, business services, and revenue cash operations, it added.

Google’s finance chief, Ruth Porat, sent an email to staff saying the restructuring includes expanding growth to Bangalore, Mexico City, and Dublin, according to the Business Insider report.

Google let go of hundreds of workers across multiple teams in January including its engineering, hardware and assistant teams as the company ramps up investment and builds its artificial intelligence offerings.

Company CEO Sundar Pichai reportedly told employees at the start of the year to expect more job cuts.

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Ted Leonard, Chief Executive Officer of Photobucket. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

At its peak in the early 2000s, Photobucket was the world’s top image-hosting site. The media backbone for once-hot services such as Myspace and Friendster, it boasted 70 million users and accounted for nearly half of the U.S. online photo market.

Today only two million people still use Photobucket, according to analytics tracker Similarweb. But the generative AI revolution may give it a new lease of life.

CEO Ted Leonard, who runs the 40-strong company out of Edwards, Colorado, said he is in talks with multiple tech companies to license Photobucket’s 13 billion photos and videos to be used to train generative AI models that can produce new content in response to text prompts.

“He has discussed rates of between five cents and $1 dollar per photo and more than $1 per video,” he said, with prices varying widely both by the buyer and the types of imagery sought. “We’ve spoken to companies that have said, ‘we need way more,’ Mr. Leonard added, with one buyer telling him they wanted over a billion videos.

Photobucket declined to identify its prospective buyers, citing commercial confidentiality. The ongoing negotiations, which haven’t been previously reported, suggest the company could be sitting on billions of dollars’ worth of content and give a glimpse into a bustling data market that’s arising in the rush to dominate generative AI technology.

Tech giants such as Google, Meta, and Microsoft-backed OpenAI initially used reams of data scraped from the internet for free to train generative AI models such as ChatGPT that can mimic human creativity. They have said that doing so is both legal and ethical, though they face lawsuits from a string of copyright holders over the practice.

At the same time, these tech companies are also quietly paying for content locked behind paywalls and login screens, giving rise to a hidden trade in everything from chat logs to long forgotten personal photos from faded social media apps.

“There is a rush right now to go for copyright holders that have private collections of stuff that is not available to be scraped,” said Edward Klaris from law firm Klaris Law, which says it’s advising content owners on deals worth tens of millions of dollars apiece to license archives of photos, movies and books for AI training.

Reuters spoke to more than 30 people with knowledge of AI data deals OpenAI, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Apple and Amazon all declined to comment. Many major market research firms say they have not even begun to estimate the size of the opaque AI data market, where companies often don’t disclose agreements. Those researchers who do, such as Business Research Insights, put the market at roughly $2.5 billion now and forecast it could grow close to $30 billion within a decade.

California:

Alphabet’s Google is considering charging for premium features on its generative AI-powered search engine, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the plan.

The tech giant is looking at a variety of options, including incorporating AI-powered search features to its premium subscription services, which already provide access to its new Gemini AI assistant in Gmail and Docs, the report said.

Alphabet’s shares dipped about 1% in extended trade.

The move would mark Google’s first time in putting any of its core products behind a paywall, as it seeks to gain ground in the fast-moving AI space. Its traditional search engine would remain free of charge and ads would continue to appear alongside search results even for subscribers, the report added.

“We’re not working on or considering an ad-free search experience. As we’ve done many times before, we’ll continue to build new premium capabilities and services to enhance our subscription offerings across Google,” the company told Reuters in an emailed statement.

Google, which invented the foundational technology for today’s AI boom, is also locked in battle with two industry players that have captured the business world’s attention – ChatGPT’s creator OpenAI and its backer Microsoft.

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New Delhi:

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday while dismissing its appeal imposed a fine of Rs one lakh on Google for representing wrong facts and for its failure to disclose the information regarding the refusal of the patent by the European Patent Office (EPO).

Justice Prathiba M Singh dismissed the appeal filed by Google against the order of Assistant Controller of Patent and Design rejecting its application.

Google had moved an application for a grant of a patent titled “Managing Instant Messaging Sessions on multiple devices.”

The High Court noted that Google’s application was dismissed due to a lack of inventive steps. However, Google claimed that the application was abandoned before EPO.

“Considering the submission made that the EPO application was abandoned and coupled with the fact that the corresponding EU application for the subject patent comprised of not one but two applications, including a divisional application, and that they both were rejected for lack of inventive step, in the present appeal costs are also liable to be imposed,” Justice Singh said.

It further said, “The Appellant in the present appeal not only presented wrong facts to the Court but also failed to disclose the information regarding the refusal of the EU parent application as also of the divisional application which was filed consequently.”

Google’s application was rejected by the Assistant Controller of Patent and Design for lack of inventive steps.

It had challenged the order before the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB). The appeal was transferred to the High Court after the abolition of IPAB.

The High Court dismissed the appeal and said, “The Controller is right when he holds that the step contemplated in the subject patent application lacks inventive step and is obvious to a person skilled in the art.”

“The sum and substance of the above discussion is that despite the submissions made on behalf of the Appellant, the subject invention is not entitled to grant of a patent given the lack of inventive step. Thus, the present appeal is not tenable and is liable to be dismissed,” the bench held.

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Google agreed to destroy billions of data records to settle a lawsuit claiming it secretly tracked the internet use of people who thought they were browsing privately.

Terms of the settlement were filed on Monday in the Oakland, California federal court, and require approval by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs valued the accord at more than $5 billion, and as high as $7.8 billion. Though users will not receive damages, they may still sue individually for damages.

The class action began in 2020, covering millions of Google users who used private browsing since June 1, 2016.

Users alleged that Google’s analytics, cookies, and apps let the Alphabet unit improperly track people who set Google’s Chrome browser to “Incognito” mode and other browsers to “private” browsing mode.

They said this turned Google into an “unaccountable trove of information” by letting it learn about their friends, favorite foods, hobbies, shopping habits, and the “most intimate and potentially embarrassing things” they hunt for online.

Under the settlement, Google will update disclosures about what it collects in “private” browsing, a process it has already begun. It will also let Incognito users block third-party cookies for five years.

“The result is that Google will collect less data from users’ private browsing sessions and that Google will make less money from the data,” the plaintiffs’ lawyers wrote.

Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

According to court papers, Google supports final approval of the settlement but disagrees with the plaintiffs’ “legal and factual characterizations.”

David Boies, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, in a statement called the settlement “a historic step in requiring honesty and accountability from dominant technology companies.”

A preliminary settlement had been reached in December, advertising a scheduled Feb. 5, 2024 trial. Terms were not disclosed at the time. The plaintiffs’ lawyers plan to later seek unspecified legal fees payable by Google.

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The Android version of the Ullu app has been cleansed of much of the content it has built its business on.
| Photo Credit: Photo Credit: X/@ULLUapp

Pressure is mounting on the Initial Public Offering-bound (IPO) streaming platform Ullu for its adult-only content, with the streaming self-regulatory body it is a member of issuing a rebuke of its catalogue and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) asking the government to take action against the firm.

Under notice from Google, the Android version of the app has been cleansed of much of the content it has built its business on, the business that led it to being the sole self-started streaming service in India that is on the brink of an IPO. Google’s action was revealed to the NCPCR in a reply obtained by The Hindu. 

As streaming platforms find their content increasingly restricted against political and religious themes — often due to self-imposed restraint — the government has set its sights on smaller players who put out mature content intended for adults. Eighteen such sites and apps were blocked earlier this month for “obscene and vulgar content”.

These sites include “Hot Shots VIP[,] Mojflix, MoodX, and Uncut Adda.” While there is no explicit ban on pornography in India, many international websites offering such content have been ordered offline by the Uttarakhand High Court, in a suo motu 2018 judgment that the government and internet providers continue to comply with.

The Digital Publishers Content Grievance Committee (DPCGC) was established under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The IT Rules regulate social media and streaming platforms, and require the latter to have self-regulatory bodies that hear appeals from viewers disturbed by OTT content they see online. 

DPCGC is one of two major self-regulatory bodies, and its members include Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. From all the appeals that DPCGC’s grievance redressal board has heard and issued orders on, only one outcome has been published on its website — a June 2023 order against Ullu finding the firm had a “solitary aim” to “depict sexual contents,” and to take down some content that fit this description. The grievance redressal board is headed by retired Supreme Court justice A. K. Sikri.

Ullu CEO Vibhu Agarwal did not respond to a message seeking comment. Last year, though, the firm defended itself to the DPCGC saying that it “offers a wide variety of genres from drama, horror, suspense, thriller to comedy and beyond which targets audience[s] above eighteen years of age,” and that it has safeguards to prevent minors from viewing its content, according to Mr. Sikri’s summary of arguments by Priyannka Chaurasiya, a lawyer for the firm.

Google told NCPCR that it found no inappropriate content featuring children on Ullu, indicating that the commission’s concern was around such content being accessible to minors, and not featuring them. The IT Rules have mandatory provisions for streaming services to provide age-restricting features for mature content, and most streaming providers are in compliance with this requirement.

An advisory by Mr. Sikri in December 2023 to streaming services, previously unreported, “strongly advises the platforms to undertake suitable measures to ensure that all the content on their respective platforms must comply with the test of obscenity and pornography as enumerated under the various laws of the land.” The advisory does not name Ullu.

Ullu had set itself apart — barely — from rival adult streaming outfits by abstaining from depicting graphic nudity or other acts that could trigger immediate backlash from authorities. The I&B Ministry’s blocking order from earlier this month, for instance, does not name Ullu. 

But the firm still found itself in the crosshairs of the NCPCR and the very self-regulatory body of which it is a member. NCPCR shot off notices to the I&B Ministry, Google and Apple. While the IT Ministry is learned to not yet have responded, Google said in its reply that the firm “reviewed the App at issue and found presence of sexual content on it, thereby, violating our Inappropriate Content Policy (specifically, the Sexual Content and Profanity policy).” 

In February, Ullu Digital Limited filed a draft red herring prospectus, signalling its intent to go public. In a mandatory risk factors disclosure, Ullu said that opposition to its content “may lead to legal claims, attempts to ban the exhibition of our shows, protests, or other forms of opposition from interest groups, political parties, religious organisations, or other entities.”

Brussels:

EU antitrust regulators on Monday opened their first investigations under the Digital Markets Act into Apple, Alphabet’s Google and Meta Platforms for potential breaches of the landmark EU tech rules.

“The (European) Commission suspects that the measures put in place by these gatekeepers fall short of effective compliance of their obligations under the DMA,” the EU executive said in a statement.

The EU competition enforcer will investigate Alphabet’s rules on steering in Google Play and self-preferencing on Google Search, Apple’s rules on steering in the App Store and the choice screen for Safari and Meta’s ‘pay or consent model’.

The Commission also launched investigatory steps relating to Apple’s new fee structure for alternative app stores and Amazon’s ranking practices on its marketplace.

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Jalon Hall, a black, deaf employee and the first of her kind hired by Google, has filed a lawsuit against the tech giant, alleging racial and disability discrimination. Ms Hall accuses Google of failing to live up to its promises of inclusivity despite celebrating her as a diversity success story.

According to Wired, Ms Hall’s lawsuit paints a contrasting picture between Google’s public image and its internal practices. While Google touted Ms Hall on social media and corporate events as an example of their inclusive work environment, the lawsuit claims she faced a hostile work environment filled with racial bias.

Ms Hall alleges that after initial promises of sign language interpreter support, Google restricted access to interpreters after assigning her to a role focused on reviewing content for YouTube’s child safety regulations. The lawsuit states that managers refused interpreters due to confidentiality concerns, despite established ethical codes for sign language interpreters.

This lack of accommodations left Ms Hall struggling to meet performance expectations. Unable to understand the video content efficiently without an interpreter, Ms Hall reportedly reviewed far fewer videos than the expected quota. This resulted in slow career progression compared to her peers.

“I felt humiliated, realising that I would not grow in my career,” Ms Hall told Wired.

Furthermore, the lawsuit details an instance where a manager referred to Ms Hall as an “aggressive black deaf woman” and suggested she take on a sales role instead. Additionally, Hall claims she was excluded from discussions and passed over for promotions due to “inaccurate evaluations.”

While Google has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on procedural grounds, they haven’t addressed the specific accusations. Ms Hall, however, is determined to see change.

“Google is using me to make them look inclusive for the Deaf community and the overall disability community,” Ms Hall told Wired. “In reality, they need to do better.”

Ms Hall’s case sheds light on the underrepresentation of black and disabled employees at Google, which is a company with nearly 183,000 workers.

Black women, specifically, have a higher departure rate than women of other races. Google’s deaf and hard-of-hearing employee group reportedly consists of only 40 members, company data showed last year.

Ms Hall’s lawsuit seeks not only personal compensation but also systemic changes. She demands reinforcement policies to ensure future hires with disabilities receive proper accommodation and equal opportunities.

Google is restricting AI chatbot Gemini from answering questions about the global elections set to happen this year, the Alphabet-owned firm said on Tuesday, as it looks to avoid potential missteps in the deployment of the technology.

The update comes at a time when advancements in generative AI, including image and video generation, have fanned concerns of misinformation and fake news among the public, prompting governments to regulate the technology.

When asked about elections such as the upcoming U.S. presidential match-up between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, Gemini responds with “I’m still learning how to answer this question. In the meantime, try Google Search”.

Google had announced restrictions within the U.S. in December, saying they would come into effect ahead of the election.

“In preparation for the many elections happening around the world in 2024 and out of an abundance of caution, we are restricting the types of election-related queries for which Gemini will return responses,” a company spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Aside from the United States, national elections are set to be held in several large countries including South Africa and India, the world’s largest democracy.

India has asked tech firms to seek government approval before the public release of AI tools that are “unreliable” or under trial, and to label them for the potential to return wrong answers.

Google’s AI products are under the scanner after inaccuracies in some historical depictions of people created by Gemini forced it to pause the chatbot’s image-generation feature late last month.

CEO Sundar Pichai had said the company was working to fix those issues and called the chatbot’s responses “biased” and “completely unacceptable”.

Facebook-parent Meta Platforms said last month it will set up a team to tackle disinformation and the abuse of generative AI in the run-up to European Parliament elections in June.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)