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☆ Four Google execs got 200% stock payouts for 2023 after strong company performance
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Shubhangi Goel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Four Google executives will receive 200% performance-based stock payouts in 2023. Google's senior VP and chief business officer each got $35 million in stock for 2023. AdvertisementGoogle parent company Alphabet paid four of its executives tens of millions of dollars in stock payouts for 2023, based on the company's public-markets performance. AdvertisementA 200% stock payout raised the total stock value for Porat and Walker's 2023 compensation to $23 million each. The executives' compensation was approved in early February after a tumultuous year for the company.

Persons: Google's, —, Ruth Porat, Prabhakar Raghavan, Philipp Schindler, Kent Walker, Raghavan, Schindler, Sundar Pichai Organizations: Google, Service, Twitter

☆ The future of Google — and Big Tech — hangs in the balance at trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Geoff Weiss | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Google's landmark antitrust trial is wrapping up this week in DC with closing arguments, capping off a yearslong saga. AdvertisementIn the end, Judge Mehta could clear Google or find it liable, which could result in changes to its search engine contracts. Mehta could even bar Google from making future deals around its search engine. In his testimony, Google SVP Prabhakar Raghavan noted the search giant is referred to as "Grandpa Google" in some circles and cited execs' fears that its influence might be dwindling.

Persons: —, Amit Mehta, Satya Nadella, Sundar Pichai, Google's, Kent Walker, Judge Mehta, Mehta, Prabhakar Raghavan, Google Organizations: Service, Apple, Business, US, Microsoft, Justice, Google, The New York Times, DOJ, FTC, Amazon, Meta, Big Tech, AP

☆ Microsoft, Google, Amazon and tech peers sign pact to combat election-related deepfakes
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A group of 20 leading tech companies on Friday announced a joint commitment to combat AI misinformation in 2024 elections. The industry is specifically targeting deepfakes, which use deceptive audio, video and images to mimic key stakeholders in democratic elections or to provide false voting information. Microsoft , Meta , Google , Amazon , IBM , Adobe and chip designer Arm all signed the accord. News of the accord comes a day after ChatGPT creator OpenAI announced Sora, its new model for AI-generated video. The accord reflects the industry's effort to take on "AI-generated election misinformation that erodes trust," he said.

Persons: Sam Altman, OpenAI, Sora, Kent Walker, Christina Montgomery Organizations: Economic, Microsoft, Meta, Google, IBM, Adobe, Tech Locations: Davos, Switzerland

At 1 p.m. on a Friday shortly before Christmas last year, Kent Walker, Google’s top lawyer, summoned four of his employees and ruined their weekend. The group worked in SL1001, a bland building with a blue glass facade betraying no sign that dozens of lawyers inside were toiling to protect the interests of one of the world’s most influential companies. For weeks they had been prepping for a meeting of powerful executives to discuss the safety of Google’s products. The deck was done. But that afternoon Mr. Walker told his team the agenda had changed, and they would have to spend the next few days preparing new slides and graphs.

Persons: Kent Walker, Google’s, Walker Locations: SL1001

The proposal to classify AI systems by four levels of risk — from minimal to unacceptable — was essentially intended as product safety legislation. That changed with the boom in generative AI, which sparked wonder by composing music, creating images and writing essays resembling human work. Foundation models give generative AI systems such as ChatGPT the ability to create something new, unlike traditional AI, which processes data and completes tasks using predetermined rules. Resistance to government rules for these AI systems came from an unlikely place: France, Germany and Italy. “The race should be for the best AI regulations, not the first AI regulations."

Persons: —, Bard chatbot, “ Rather, won’t, ”, Nick Reiners, “ there’s, Reiners, Sam Altman, Thierry Breton, ” Reiners, Kent Walker, Iverna McGowan, McGowan, Altman, OpenAI, Alpha, it's, ” Dragos, “, “ We’re Organizations: European Union, Eurasia Group, European Commission, Microsoft, Mistral, Elon, Center for Democracy and Technology, EU Locations: European, U.S, China, Brussels, France, Germany, Italy, Europe, German, Romanian

TORONTO (AP) — Canada's government said Wednesday it reached a deal with Google for the company to contribute $100 million Canadian dollars annually to the country's news industry to comply with a new Canadian law requiring tech companies to pay publishers for their content. The agreement removes a threat by Google to block the ability to search for Canadian news on Google in Canada. Canada in late June passed the Online News Act to require tech giants to pay publishers for linking to or otherwise repurposing their content online. Kent Walker, president of global affairs at Google and Alphabet, thanked the minister in a statement and said Google would continue sending valuable traffic to Canadian publishers. In 2021, it briefly blocked news from its platform in Australia after the country passed legislation that would compel tech companies to pay publishers for using their news stories.

Persons: —, Justin Trudeau, Meta, ” Pascale, Onge, ”, Kent Walker, Canada’s, Trudeau Organizations: TORONTO, Google, Facebook, Meta, Canadian Locations: Canada, St, Australia

☆ Google reaches deal with Canada to keep news content on its platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Google has agreed to pay Canadian publishers for their news content, backing down from a high-stakes threat to block all news content produced in the country on its platforms after the tech giant and the Canadian government announced a deal Wednesday to avert the looming crisis. The agreement resolves tensions between Google and Canada over a controversial law known as C-18 requiring digital platforms to compensate news publishers for their work. The Google agreement marks a departure from the path taken by Instagram-parent Meta, which opted to pull news content from its platforms in Canada in response to C-18. The option for Google to negotiate with a single collective helps address one of the tech giant’s main objections to the law. But how the agreement with Google plays out could potentially shape the course of those policies.

Persons: ”, Pascale St, Onge didn’t, Bill C, Global Affairs Kent Walker, Andy Stone, Meta Organizations: CNN, Google, Canadian, Canadian Heritage, St, of, Global Affairs, Meta Locations: Canada, of Canada

[1/2] An illuminated Google logo is seen inside an office building in Zurich, Switzerland December 5, 2018. Walker said Europe should aim for the best AI rules, not the first AI rules. "We've long said that AI is too important not to regulate, and too important not to regulate well. The race should be for the best AI regulations, not the first AI regulations." Business group DigitalEurope and 32 European digital associations last week warned the EU against over-regulating foundation models.

Persons: Arnd, Kent Walker, Walker, Foo Yun Chee, Josie Kao Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, European Union, European Commission, Technological, Business, Thomson Locations: Zurich, Switzerland, Rights BRUSSELS, Europe

☆ Google reportedly paid Apple a whopping $18 billion in one year to keep its search engine the default on iPhones
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Haley Tenore | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Google paid Apple $18 billion in 2021 to remain the default search engine on iPhone, NYT reports. And we now know just how much Google has been paying Apple and other device makers to ensure its search engine remains the default on many devices, including the iPhone. In 2021, Google paid Apple about $18 billion to stay as Apple's top search engine, according to The New York Times, which cites two sources familiar with the deal. Back in 2014, Google paid Apple $1 billion to stay on iOS devices, court documents revealed in a separate case involving Oracle. Still, Kent Walker, general counsel of Google's parent company Alphabet, said in a response letter that people use the Google search engine because it is superior to its competition, not because they are pushed to use it.

Persons: it's, —, Apple —, Bernstein, Kent Walker, Walker, Eddy Cue Organizations: Apple, Google, US Justice Department, Service, Justice Department, The New York Times, Bloomberg, Oracle, of Justice, DOJ

☆ Insider Today: Apple's new iPhone is here
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter. But the show's real stars were the new versions of Apple's iPhone and Apple Watch. But if you were hoping a new iPhone will send Apple's stock soaring, think again. Prior to Tuesday's event, Apple's shares fell an average of 0.2% on days a new iPhone was announced, according to Barron's. The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, senior editor and anchor, in New York City.

Persons: Bond, Elon Musk's, Justin Sullivan, Octavia Spencer, Tim Cook, Max, Insider's Sarah Jackson, Jordan Hart, Lakshmi, iPhones, Gary Coronado, Jamie Dimon, — Warren Buffett —, Bill Gross, DoubleLine's Jeffrey Gundlach, Pimco, DoubleLine's, Gross, Anna Moneymaker, Thomas Trutschel, isn't, Sundar Pichai, Elon, Walter Isaacson, Read, Kent Walker, Chelsea Jia Feng, Patreon, Naomi Osaka, Shaquille O'Neal, Allegra, Dayquil, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Yelp, Dan DeFrancesco, Naga Siu, Hallam Bullock, Lisa Ryan Organizations: Service, Jets, Apple, Apple Watch, Getty, Bloomberg, JPMorgan, Wall, Google, Software, Amazon, FDA, North American, Detroit Auto, GMC, Bourbon Locations: Wall, Silicon, Milwaukee, Lakshmi Varanasi, ., China, that's, Latvia, Estonia, Chelsea, Colorado, Arizona, Morocco, New York City, San Diego, London, New York

☆ Read the email Google's top lawyer sent employees asking them to 'refrain from speculating or commenting' as a blockbuster antitrust case heads to trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In an email to staff, Google's top lawyer told employees to "refrain from speculating or commenting." Google's top lawyer has asked employees not to speculate on its blockbuster antitrust court battle with the Justice Department, which goes to trial Tuesday. "Please refrain from speculating or commenting on this (or any legal case), internally or externally," Walker wrote. Today we go to trial in Washington DC to defend ourselves against a lawsuit focused on how we distribute Google Search. Please refrain from speculating or commenting on this (or any legal case), internally or externally.

Persons: Kent Walker, Walker, we've, We've, – Kent Organizations: Justice Department, DOJ, Google, Washington DC Locations: Washington

☆ Google engaged in a monopolistic feedback loop to maintain search dominance, DOJ alleges in first day of trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

That popularity, the company says, is why browser and phone makers have chosen Google as their default search engine through revenue sharing agreements. It will also hear from Apple's Senior Vice President of Services Eddy Cue and Mozilla CEO Mitchell Baker, Google's lawyer said. Following opening statements, the DOJ lawyer questioned its first witness, as it begins what's known as its "case-in-chief." But it's important browsers pick the right search default, Schmidtlein said, as Mozilla learned when it switched its default from Google to Yahoo in 2014. WATCH: DOJ takes on Google in antitrust lawsuit over Google Search

Persons: Jonathan Kanter, Kevin Dietsch, Sundar Pichai, Services Eddy, Mitchell Baker, Google's, Sridhar Ramaswamy, Neeva, Hal Varian, Ting Shen, Varian, Kenneth Dintzer, Dintzer, Ditzner, Patterson Belknap Webb, William Cavanaugh, Joan Braddi, Braddi, Siri, Cavanaugh, Kent Walker, Williams, Connolly's John Schmidtlein, Schmidtlein, Denelle Dixon, Apple Organizations: Antitrust, Department of Justice, Getty, Google, Colorado, Washington , D.C, Apple's, Services, Mozilla, DOJ, AGs, Google Inc, Bloomberg, Microsoft, Federal Trade Commission, Apple, Samsung, Branch, Global Affairs, Inc, Yahoo, TechCrunch, CNBC, YouTube Locations: Washington , DC, Washington ,, Snowflake, Colorado, Siri

☆ Landmark Google trial opens with sweeping DOJ accusations of illegal monopolization
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Also being called anticompetitive are Google’s contracts to ensure that Android devices come with Google apps and services — including Google search — preinstalled, the Justice Department claimed. For Google’s opening statement, attorney John Schmidtlein said that Apple’s decision to make Google the default search engine in its Safari browser demonstrates how Google’s search engine is the superior product consumers prefer. The Google case “could not be more different” from the historic Microsoft litigation at the turn of the millennium, Schmidtlein continued. Google has previously said that consumers choose Google’s search engine because it is the best and that they prefer it, not because of anticompetitive practices. Google’s search business provides more than half of the $283 billion in revenue and $76 billion in net income Google’s parent company, Alphabet, recorded in 2022.

Persons: Sundar Pichai, Google’s, Kenneth Dintzer, ” Dintzer, John Schmidtlein, Apple, ”, Schmidtlein, Bing, General Merrick Garland, Anna Moneymaker, ” Schmidtlein, “, Kent Walker, Ken Buck, Trump, Global Affairs Kent Walker, Biden, Amit Mehta, Mehta Organizations: CNN, Google, Justice Department, Microsoft, Apple, Samsung, DOJ, Netscape, Gmail, U.S, The Justice Department, Global Affairs, Court, District of Columbia, Eastern, of Locations: United States, Washington, Apple . WASHINGTON, DC, Washington ,, California , New York , Colorado, Virginia, Colorado, of Virginia

☆ Insider Today: Big Tech goes on trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Speaking of Big Tech, it's a big day for the industry as the DOJ's antitrust trial against Google starts today. It's also a strategy the Department of Justice argues is "anticompetitive and exclusionary" in a landmark trial for Big Tech kicking off today. The trial is the biggest to hit the tech industry since the government sued Microsoft in the late 1990s. AdvertisementAdvertisementMore broadly, the case is a bellwether for how the government could argue future cases against Big Tech companies in the modern era. Each case is unique, but their focus on monopolistic behavior means the Google trial could set precedents followed by both sides.

Persons: Tayfun, it's, there's, you'll, It's, Hugh Langley, Kent Walker, Hugh, Walker, Chelsea Jia Feng, Henry Farrell, Abraham Newman's, Walter Wriston's, Gil Perez, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan doesn't, Dimon, Elon, Franz von Holzhausen, Musk, Walter Isaacson, Yossakorn Kaewwannarat, VCs, they're, Nicki Minaj, Shakira, Beyoncé, Karol G, Frances Tiafoe, Austin Krajicek, Mackenzie McDonald, Tommy Paul, Rajeev Ram, Dan DeFrancesco, Naga Siu, Hallam Bullock, Lisa Ryan Organizations: Service, Big Tech, Google, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Department of Justice, DOJ, Microsoft, Apple, Federal Trade Commission, Amazon, Meta, Deutsche, JPMorgan, Street, Workers, Gallup, Startup, MTV, Team, Amtrak Locations: Wall, Silicon, Chelsea, New York City, San Diego, London, New York

☆ Google heads to court in a landmark trial that puts its search business in the crosshairs. Here's what's at stake.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

It revolves around how Google pays partners to promote its search engine on their products. A law expert said the DOJ has a "pretty strong" case but has big hurdles to prove Google is liable. Much of the trial's outcome will be predicated on whether the deals Google made to promote its search engine excluded healthy competition. It's easy to switch your default search engine – we're long past the era of dial-up internet and CD-ROMs," Google's Walker said in a statement. It could also mirror a European Union decision to make Google give Android users a choice of search engine when they first set up their devices.

Persons: Harry First, Global Affairs Kent Walker, Amit Mehta, Google's Walker, William E, Kovacic, David Olson, Bing, Judge Mehta, Eddy, John Giannandrea, Adrian Perica, Sundar Pichai, Olson Organizations: Google, Department of Justice, DOJ, Service, Apple, Microsoft, NYU Law School, Global Affairs, George Washington University, Boston College, Reuters, Union, Street Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ What to expect when Google faces the DOJ in the first major tech monopoly trial in decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

While the trial marks the tech sector's first major anti-monopoly proceeding in decades, Google is squarely in the middle of its antitrust battles. What the trial is aboutA key focus of the trial will be on two kinds of agreements Google has made with other companies. "The cases have very compatible theories, and the core message from both is that Google's monopoly power has been abused, harming competition and hurting consumers," Weiser said. Walker wrote that the abundance of places where consumers can use online search shows that Google hasn't foreclosed competition. In addition to experts like economists, expect to see Google executives called to the stand, potentially including CEO Sundar Pichai.

Persons: Sundar Pichai, Jonathan Kanter, It's, it's, Google's, Microsoft's Bing, Phil Weiser, Weiser, Elijah McClain, Aaron Ontiveroz, Bing, Global Affairs Kent Walker, Walker, Rebecca Haw Allensworth, Bill Kovacic, Tim Cook, Joe Biden, Anna Moneymaker, Allensworth, conscientiously, What's, Google's Walker, Lee Hepner, Matt Schruers, Bard, OpenAI, Schruers Organizations: US Department of Justice, Getty, Department of Justice, Microsoft, DOJ, Google, of, Apple, Microsoft's, CNBC, Aurora, MediaNews, Denver, Global Affairs, Insider Intelligence, Amazon, Vanderbilt Law School, George Washington University Law School, FTC, White House, Mozilla, American Economic Liberties, Computer & Communications Industry Association Locations: U.S, Europe, Eastern, of Virginia, Colorado, Washington , DC

☆ Google stands trial against US government officials in antitrust lawsuit over the company's accused search monopoly
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Google’s search business provides more than half of the $283 billion in revenue and $76 billion in net income Google’s parent company, Alphabet, recorded in 2022. Now, the company is set to defend itself in a multiweek trial that could upend the way Google distributes its search engine to users. WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 24: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during a news conference on a new antitrust lawsuit against Google at the Justice Department on January 24, 2023 in Washington, DC. The Justice Department and states including California, New York, Colorado and Virginia, have filed a lawsuit against Google over the company's monopolization of the market for online ads. Despite that ruling, the trial represents the US government’s furthest progress in challenging Google to date.

Persons: Trump, Eddy, ”, Global Affairs Kent Walker, Biden, General Merrick Garland, Anna Moneymaker, Amit Mehta, Mehta Organizations: CNN, Google, Microsoft, Justice Department, Samsung, Apple, Global Affairs, U.S, The Justice Department, LG, Motorola, Mozilla, Opera, Court, District of Columbia, Eastern, of Locations: Washington, WASHINGTON, DC, Washington ,, California , New York , Colorado, Virginia, United States, Colorado, of Virginia

☆ Here's how Google plans to fight the DOJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

He pointed to Apple CEO Tim Cook's comments in 2018 that Google's search engine is the "best." Google isn't the only company that pays for prominent placement on browsers, Walker wrote. Consumers can easily change search engine defaults on their devices if they prefer another service. Walker wrote that consumers showed a willingness to do this in 2014 when many Mozilla users switched their default from Yahoo to Google. The DOJ and the Colorado state AG's office, which is leading the states' case, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Persons: Microsoft's Bing, Kent Walker, Walker, Tim Cook's, Bing Organizations: Google, District of, Court, Department of Justice, Microsoft, DOJ, Apple, Microsoft's, Yahoo, Mozilla, Big Tech Locations: District, District of Columbia, U.S, Colorado

☆ Judge narrows case in Google antitrust suits brought by states and DOJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

A federal judge narrowed the case that states and the Department of Justice can make in the antitrust trial against Google beginning in September, according to a newly-released decision. The cases both alleged that Google illegally maintained a monopoly by cutting off rivals from search distribution channels. The DOJ and a bipartisan group of AGs from 38 states and territories, led by Colorado and Nebraska, filed similar but separate antitrust suits against Google in 2020. In addition to the allegedly exclusionary contracts for search distribution, the states alleged that Google also violated antitrust law through its product to buy search ads and the way it designed its search results pages. But they will no longer be able to bring the claim that Google harmed competition by designing its search results to push down search engine competitors' results, the judge decided.

Persons: Sundar Pichai, It's, Amit Mehta, Mehta, Google's, Kent Walker, Phil Weiser Organizations: Department, Justice, Google, D.C, Department of Justice, DOJ, AGs, Colorado and, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Street Locations: Rayburn, Washington ,, Colorado, Colorado and Nebraska

☆ Judge narrows Trump-era Google antitrust case brought by states and the Justice Department
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Mehta’s decision is an 11th-hour victory for Google in a case brought jointly by state attorneys general and the federal government. The Justice Department sued the company during the Trump administration over its dominant position in online search. The lawsuit by the states, which followed two months later, had been consolidated with the US government’s case. The effects of being the default search provider on browsers and smartphones “is a hotly disputed issue in this case,” Mehta wrote. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, who led the charge on the states’ initial lawsuit, said he was pleased the case will still proceed to trial.

Persons: Judge Amit Mehta, Trump, Biden, Yelp, Mehta, ” Mehta, ”, Kent Walker, Department didn’t, Phil Weiser, “, ” Weiser Organizations: Washington CNN, Google, Court, District of, The Justice Department, Microsoft, Facebook, Justice Department, Department Locations: District of Columbia, Colorado

☆ White House secures voluntary pledges from Microsoft, Google to ensure A.I. tools are secure
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

President Joe Biden speaks as he meets with AI experts and researchers at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, June 20, 2023. The seven companies each agreed Friday to a set of voluntary commitments in developing AI technology. Top tech companies and investors are pumping billions of dollars into the large language models behind so-called generative AI. The latest commitments are part of an effort by President Biden to ensure AI is developed with appropriate safeguards, while not hindering innovation. Vice President Kamala Harris previously hosted AI CEOs and labor and civil liberties experts to weigh in on the challenges that come with AI.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Adam Selipsky, Dario Amodei, Kent Walker, Mustafa Suleyman, Nick Clegg, Brad Smith, Greg Brockman, it's, Kamala Harris Organizations: Google, Microsoft, White, Web, CNBC, YouTube Locations: San Francisco, coders, India

☆ Google will block Canadian news outlets from search results in the country
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Google told the Canadian government it would block articles from Canada-based news outlets from appearing in search results and other products in the country after the passage of a new bill that would require Google to pay a fee to news companies. The bill would have brought in $329 million for Canadian newsrooms annually, Canada's Parliamentary Budget Officer estimated, a revenue stream that now seems unlikely to materialize. It requires companies such as Meta and Google to pay media outlets when they link to news in search or feeds. From 2008 to 2018, 216 Canadian newsrooms closed their doors, according to researchers. Meta already said it would begin blocking Canadian news outlets from appearing on Facebook or Instagram after the bill's passage.

Persons: Sundar Pichai, Pablo Rodriguez, Mercier, Kent Walker, Meta, It's, Justin Trudeau, We're, Walker Organizations: Americas, U.S . Chamber, Commerce, Google, Google's News, Discover, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, newsrooms, Honoré, Twitter, Facebook Locations: Los Angeles , California, Canada, Australia

☆ Google to block news in Canada over law on paying publishers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Ismail Shakil | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Paresh Dave/File PhotoOTTAWA, June 29 (Reuters) - Google said on Thursday it plans to block Canadian news on its platform in Canada, joining Facebook in escalating a campaign against a new law requiring payments to local news publishers. Alphabet-owned (GOOGL.O) Google will remove links to Canadian news from search results and other products in Canada when the law takes effect in about six months. Google will also end a voluntary news program in Canada operated under agreements with 150 news publications across the country. The law forces online platforms to negotiate with news publishers and pay for their content. A similar law passed in Australia in 2021 prompted threats from Google and Facebook to curtail their services.

Persons: Paresh Dave, Bill C, Pablo Rodriguez, Justin Trudeau, Rodriguez, Kent Walker, Walker, Ismail Shakil, Steve Scherer, Richard Chang Organizations: Google, REUTERS, OTTAWA, Facebook, Meta, Inc, Heritage, Thomson Locations: New York City , New York, U.S, Canada, Australia, Europe, Ottawa

Google and OpenAI, two U.S. leaders in artificial intelligence, have opposing ideas about how the technology should be regulated by the government, a new filing reveals. Google is one of the leading developers of generative AI with its chatbot Bard, alongside Microsoft -backed OpenAI with its ChatGPT bot. While OpenAI CEO Sam Altman touted the idea of a new government agency focused on AI to deal with its complexities and license the technology, Google in its filing said it preferred a "multi-layered, multi-stakeholder approach to AI governance." "At the national level, we support a hub-and-spoke approach—with a central agency like the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) informing sectoral regulators overseeing AI implementation—rather than a 'Department of AI,'" Google wrote in its filing. "There is this question of should there be a new agency specifically for AI or not?"

Persons: Bard, Sam Altman, Emily M, Bender, Brad Smith, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, execs, Global Affairs Kent Walker, he's, Helen Toner, OpenAI Organizations: Google, National Telecommunications, Washington Post, Microsoft, National Institute of Standards, Technology, NIST, AI, FDA, University of Washington's Computational, Laboratory, Twitter, International Atomic Energy Agency, Post, Global Affairs, Georgetown's Center for Security, Emerging Technology, CNBC

☆ Microsoft leaps into the AI regulation debate, calling for a new US agency and executive order
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

For decades, “the rule of law and a commitment to democracy has kept technology in its proper place,” Smith said. Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith speaks at the Semafor World Economic Summit on April 12, 2023 in Washington, DC. That framework, which Congress first ordered with legislation in 2020, covers ways that companies can use AI responsibly and ethically. Such an order would leverage the US government’s immense purchasing power to shape the AI industry and encourage the voluntary adoption of best practices, Smith said. Smith’s remarks, and a related policy paper, come a week after Google released its own proposals calling for global cooperation and common standards for artificial intelligence.

Persons: Biden, Brad Smith, Smith, ”, ” Smith, “, OpenAI, Drew Angerer, Joe Biden, Smith’s, ” Kent Walker Organizations: CNN, Microsoft, IBM, National Institute of Standards, Technology, NIST, Google Locations: Washington, China, Europe, United States, —, Washington ,

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