Tag: Google
Tech Digest daily roundup: Fitbit devices will require Google account from 2023
Google completed its acquisition of Fitbit last year and rebranded it "Fitbit by Google," but Fitbit continued to launch wearables as it used to before getting acquired. And while customers can currently use Fitbit accounts for new devices and services, things will change from 2023 onwards. Fitbit has updated its support page to reveal that after the launch…
Tech Digest daily roundup: Google loses challenge against EU antitrust decision
An EU court has largely upheld a record fine against Google for using the Android platform to cement its search engine's dominance. The €4.125bn (£3.5bn) penalty is the largest anti-trust fine ever handed down by the European Commission. It said Google had breached its laws with by forcing Android phone-makers to carry its search and…
Tech Digest daily roundup: Google sued for over £20 billion by publishers
Google is being sued for up to €25bn (£21.6bn) over claims it has deprived newspapers and internet bloggers of billions of pounds in advertising revenues. The Big Tech giant is facing class action complaints in the UK and the Netherlands that it used its advertising technology to unfairly sideline publishers while hoovering up ad revenues. …
Tech Digest daily roundup: WhatsApp says it will not ‘lower security’
The boss of WhatsApp says it will not "lower the security" of its messenger service. If asked by the government to weaken encryption, it would be "very foolish" to accept, Will Cathcart told the BBC. Government plans to detect child sex-abuse images include the possible scanning of private messages. The NSPCC has criticised WhatsApp's position,…
Online platforms failing to weed out fake reviews, claims study
Facebook, Google and Trustpilot can be easily infiltrated with fake reviews with unscrupulous brokers selling them for as little as £4 each, a Which? investigation suggests. The consumer watchdog's latest investigation involved setting up a fake business and approaching brokers to boost its pages on the three platforms using bogus five-star reviews – which revealed…
Tech Digest daily roundup: ‘Gaming has little effect on short term mental health’ – study
The short-term mental-health impact of playing video games "is probably too small" to be noticeable, according to a major study by the University of Oxford published Wednesday. "Our study finds little to no evidence of connections between gameplay and well-being," said Andrew K. Przybylski, a researcher at the university's Oxford Internet Institute. The study surveyed…
Google and UK Power Networks develop digital versions of cable maps
Google’s artificial intelligence division is hoping to revolutionise hand-drawn maps of electricity cables in a move that could benefit the global utility industry. Google’s DeepMind engineers have partnered with UK Power Networks which delivers electricity across London, the East and South East, to create digital versions of maps covering more than 180,000km of electricity cables.…
Tech Digest daily roundup: Huawei Mate Xs 2 foldable phone comes to Europe
In a livestream yesterday, Huawei announced the global availability of their newest flagship foldable smartphone and a multitude of wearables. The company first launched these devices in China earlier this year, but now they're coming to western markets, starting with Europe. The Mate Xs 2 is Huawei's first new foldable since the P50 Pocket. It packs a…
Smart speaker sales plateau in US, claims research
The smart speaker revolution is coming to an end in North America as sales numbers plateau. However, growth elsewhere in the world suggests that the revolution lives on elsewhere, says new research from Omdia. According to the latest smart speaker report from Omdia, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for smart speaker annual shipments in North…
Tech Digest daily roundup: Google sued for using NHS data of 1.6 million Brits ‘without consent’
Google is being sued over its use of confidential medical records belonging to 1.6 million individuals in the UK. The company's artificial intelligence arm, DeepMind, received the data in 2015 from the Royal Free NHS Trust in London for the purpose of testing a smartphone app called Streams. The claim is being brought by Andrew…
