1+ mon, 3+ week ago (558+ words) The rebuff delivered in a one-sentence decision by the Supreme Court means Google will soon have to start an overhaul of its Play Store for the apps running on the Android software that powers most smartphones that compete against Apple's iPhone in the US. " AP In a filing last month, Google told the US Supreme Court that Donato's order would expose the Play Store's more than 100 million US users to "enormous security and safety risks by enabling stores that stock malicious, deceptive, or pirated content to proliferate." Google also said it faced an Oct 22 deadline to begin complying with the judge's order if the Supreme Court didn't grant its request for a stay. The Mountain View, California, company was seeking the protection while pursuing a last-ditch attempt to overturn the'December 2023 jury verdict'that condemned the Play Store as an abusive monopoly....

7+ mon, 1+ week ago (263+ words) WASHINGTON, April 17 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. federal judge ruled Thursday that Google violated antitrust law by monopolizing the open-web digital advertising markets, marking another major setback for the tech giant in its antitrust litigation. Read full story Friday, 18 Apr 2025 WASHINGTON, April 17 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. federal judge ruled Thursday that Google violated antitrust law by monopolizing the open-web digital advertising markets, marking another major setback for the tech giant in its antitrust litigation. According to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the company "harmed Google's publishing customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web." "This is a landmark victory in the ongoing fight to stop Google from monopolizing the digital public square," U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division said that Google's unlawful dominance…...

8+ mon, 2+ week ago (780+ words) Thursday, 13 Mar 2025 PARIS (Reuters) - Chess is getting ready to make its foray into Esports with teams recruiting top players ahead of this summer's Esports World Cup, hoping to attract new audiences as the game continues to grow in spectacular fashion. Sixteen players will compete for a $1.5 million prize pot in Riyadh from July 31-August 4 with world number one Magnus Carlsen and top streamer Hikaru Nakamura expected to be among the contenders. French grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, the 2021 blitz world champion, signed a one-year deal with European powerhouse Team Vitality, one of 10 Esports teams to feature at least a chess player in their roster. "I still prefer playing over-the-board chess as I've started playing like this although I quickly started playing online," Vachier-Lagrave told Reuters. "Online chess has started to grow around 2005, 2006 with chess.com and the lockdown also played a part…...

5+ mon, 2+ week ago (570+ words) MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico's antitrust watchdog is set to rule by next week on whether Google built an illegal monopoly in digital advertising in the country, a decision that could fine the tech giant 8% of its annual Mexican revenue, public documents show. Although Google does not release detailed revenue results by country, the potential fine could be among the largest ever imposed by Mexico's Federal Economic Competition Commission (Cofece). Cofece and Google declined to comment. The watchdog expects to make a decision by June 17, according to its own published timeline. Under Mexican law, 8% of annual revenue is the maximum fine for monopolistic practices. Cofece accuses the company of establishing an effective monopoly in the Mexican digital advertising market. It began its investigation into Google Mexico in 2020 and issued a summons in 2023, beginning the trial phase of the procedure. Google then…...

5+ mon, 3+ week ago (678+ words) Osterreicher says AI can provide data on aspects of football that humans cannot, such as acceleration, passing lanes, heat maps and zones of control. " Reuters PARIS: Sport has been unable to resist the surge of artificial intelligence and the biggest one of them all, football, is benefitting from data that AI can supply and the human eye cannot. Warsaw-based Re.Spo Vision, which says it is unique in gathering data by using AI, has two immediate goals "women's football and re-igniting Generation Z's interest in watching sports, their co-founder Pawel Osterreicher told AFP. The company "which numbers the South American football body CONMEBOL and their Central American counterparts CONCACAF among their clients"are able to capture data from matches from just a single camera angle. This makes gathering data much cheaper, as players do not need to wear any technology,…...

1+ mon, 2+ week ago (466+ words) WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court declined a chance to reassess the broad legal immunity tech companies have over content hosted on their platforms, turning away on Tuesday an appeal in a lawsuit against Grindr by a male plaintiff who was raped at age 15 by adult men matched to him via the gay dating app. The justices decided not to hear the plaintiff's appeal of a lower court's ruling to dismiss his lawsuit seeking monetary damages against Los Angeles-based Grindr because the company was protected from liability by a provision of federal law called Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Enacted in 1996, Section 230 allows online platforms, including social media sites and online forums, to host user-generated content without being held legally responsible as the "publisher or speaker" of that content. The provision has shielded online platforms such as TikTok and Meta…...

5+ mon, 2+ week ago (229+ words) MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico's antitrust watchdog said on Friday it had closed a case against Google, clearing the tech giant from any potential fines, after a multi-year investigation determined it did not engage in monopolistic practices in the country. Read full story Google comes out on top as years-long Mexico antitrust case closed Saturday, 14 Jun 2025 MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico's antitrust watchdog said on Friday it had closed a case against Google, clearing the tech giant from any potential fines, after a multi-year investigation determined it did not engage in monopolistic practices in the country. The investigation by Mexico's Federal Economic Competition Commission (Cofece), which began in 2020, focused on Google's digital advertising services via its search page as well as third-party websites. (Reporting by Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Kylie Madry) Google comes out on top as years-long Mexico antitrust case closed…...

3+ mon, 4+ week ago (495+ words) Friday, 01 Aug 2025 SAN FRANCISCO: A US federal court ruled Thursday that Google must open its Android operating system to rival app stores, after the internet giant lost an appeal in an antitrust case filed by Fortnite maker Epic Games. The ruling clears the way for the Epic Games shop to operate within the Google Play Store despite the latter's requirement that apps use Google's payment system, which collects commissions on transactions. US Ninth Circuit Court Judge Margaret McKeown said in an opinion that a panel of justices decided to uphold the original verdict because the initial ruling's parameters were "supported by the record and the nature of the market." Epic chief executive Tim Sweeney fired off a post on X declaring: "Total victory in the Epic v Google appeal!" Google will continue its appeal of the December 2023 verdict, with the…...

1+ mon, 2+ week ago (409+ words) PARIS (Reuters) -The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has approved a new global competition set up by Norway Chess that will crown a "World Combined Champion" across three time formats " Fast Classic, Rapid and Blitz, organisers said on Wednesday. The tournament series, called the Total Chess World Championship Tour, will feature four events a year in cities around the world, with the overall winner taking the FIDE title. A one-off pilot event is scheduled for late 2026 before the full championship season begins in 2027. "We are looking for the total chess player " a versatile, tactically intelligent and technically skilled athlete who adapts to multiple time controls," Norway Chess CEO Kjell Madland said. "It will be a game-changer, both for the players and the fans." GAMES SHORTENED TO 45 MINUTES The Fast Classicformat shortens traditional games to 45 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move…...

5+ mon, 1+ week ago (284+ words) Saturday, 21 Jun 2025 BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Alphabet's Google has proposed more changes to its search results to better showcase rivals in a bid to stave off a possible hefty EU antitrust fine, according to documents seen by Reuters. Google's latest proposal came three months after the European Commission charged the U.S. tech giant with favouring its own services such as Google Shopping, Google Hotels and Google Flights over rivals in breach of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The landmark DMA sets out a list of dos and don'ts for Big Tech aimed at reining in their power and giving rivals more room to compete and consumers more choices. Under Google's new proposal a vertical search service (VSS) selected on objective and non-discriminatory criteria would get its own box at the top of the search page with the same format, information and features as…...