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Simply put: There's little — if any — legal challenges to the power Twitter and other tech companies wield over online speech. The First Amendment protects speech from intrusion by the government, while antitrust law was written to address issues like competition and consumer prices. Those moves were met with backlash from some conservatives and free-speech activists who argued that tech companies were unfairly censoring speech, and that their power in the digital realm had grown too great. And while tech companies are facing antitrust scrutiny for their size and market power, answers to the question of what the government can do about their control of online speech are vague at best. A key tenet of existing antitrust law is related to protecting competition.

Persons: Donald Trump, ”, Mark Grady, It’s, we’ve, aren’t, ” Grady, Aaron Edlin, ” Edlin, Sinan Aral, Aral, “ Organizations: Twitter, UCLA School of Law, Facebook, Google, Apple, Capitol, Communications, University of California, Berkeley School of Law, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Initiative, “, NBC Locations: U.S

☆ Google, French publishers sign copyright news payment deal
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-21 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com sentiment -1.00 time to read: +1 min

Google has signed a deal with a group of French publishers paving the way for the internet giant to make digital copyright payments for online news content. After months of talks, Google France and the Alliance de la Presse d’Information Generale said Thursday that they agreed to set up a framework under which the U.S. company will negotiate individual licensing deals with publishers. Google has already negotiated a few individual payment deals with some French news publishers such as national daily paper Le Monde and weekly magazine l’Obs. Google had initially balked at paying for news, saying new companies benefited from the millions of readers it sends to their websites. But last year an appeals court ordered the company to open talks with publishers.

Organizations: Google, Alliance, Presse d’Information Generale, Union Locations: Google France, U.S, France

☆ Google and French publishers sign agreement over copyrights
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-21 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com sentiment -0.99 time to read: 1 min

FILE PHOTO: A sign is pictured outs a Google offcie near the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California, U.S., May 8, 2019. REUTERS/Paresh DavePARIS (Reuters) - Alphabet’s Google and French publishers said on Thursday they had concluded an agreement over copyrights, the first in Europe under which the U.S. tech giant will sign a general framework to pay publishers for content. Google has only signed individual agreements with a few publications so far, including national dailies Le Monde and Le Figaro.

Persons: Paresh Dave PARIS, Le Figaro Organizations: REUTERS, Google, Le Locations: Mountain View , California, U.S, Europe

☆ Google and French publishers sign agreement over copyright
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-21 | by ( Mathieu Rosemain | ) www.reuters.com sentiment -1.00 time to read: +1 min

FILE PHOTO: A sign is pictured outs a Google offcie near the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California, U.S., May 8, 2019. REUTERS/Paresh DavePARIS (Reuters) - In a first in Europe, Alphabet’s Google and a group of French publishers said on Thursday they had agreed a general framework over copyrights under which the U.S. tech giant will pay publishers for content online. Google has only signed individual agreements with a few publications so far, including national dailies Le Monde and Le Figaro. Google and APIG did not say how much money could be distributed under the agreement to APIG members, which include national and local publishers. The announcement follows months of bargaining between Google, French publishers and news agencies over how to apply revamped EU copyright rules, which allow publishers to demand a fee from online platforms showing extracts of their news.

Persons: Paresh Dave PARIS, Le Figaro, ” Organizations: REUTERS, Google, Le, de, presse Locations: Mountain View , California, U.S, Europe

☆ Google seals content payment deal with French news publishers
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-21 | by ( Mathieu Rosemain | ) www.reuters.com sentiment -1.00 time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Paresh DavePARIS (Reuters) - Google and a French publishers’ lobby said on Thursday they had agreed a copyright framework under which the U.S. tech giant will pay news publishers for content online, in a first for Europe. Google’s vehicle for paying news publishers, called Google News Showcase, is another new product it has developed which allows publishers to curate their own content online. Google and APIG did not say how much money could be distributed to APIG’s members, who include most French national and local publishers. The deal follows months of bargaining between Google, French publishers and news agencies over how to apply revamped EU copyright rules, which allow publishers to demand a fee from online platforms showing extracts of their news. The world’s biggest search engine initially fought against the idea of paying publishers for content, saying their websites benefited from greater traffic brought by Google.

Persons: Paresh Dave PARIS, Le Figaro Organizations: REUTERS, Google, Europe, Facebook, Alliance, presse, Le, APIG Locations: Mountain View , California, U.S, France, Brazil, Germany

☆ Tariffs, Morón, Rota, Venezuela or the Google tax: how the new Biden government will impact Spain
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-21 | by ( Alberto R. Aguiar | Business Insider España | ) www.businessinsider.com + 0.00 time to read: +10 min

On its last day in office, the Trump Administration accused China of "genocide" against the Uighurs, and even spoke of crimes against humanity. Google tax, new taxation and regulations for technologyMark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook ReutersSpain already has its tax on certain digital services in force. The so-called Google tax will not be settled until July, however, following a recent delay by the Ministry of Finance. Spain's intentions to implement this Google tax have been public knowledge since mid-2018. The debate on the Google tax is being held, primarily, in the OECD.

Persons: Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, Steve Mnuchin, Trump, Harris, Biden, Tobin, Tom Brenner, Margarita Robles, Juan Guaidó, Josep Borrell, Jake Sullivan, Enric Juliana, Juliana, Pedro Sánchez's, Mark Zuckerberg, María Jesús Montero, La Información, Pedro Sanchez Organizations: European Union, OECD, Treasury, Biden, Trump Administration, New York Times, Capitol, Trump, United, United States REUTERS, Boeing, Airbus, Bloomberg, Trump Trade Office, Defense Ministry, U.S, Administration, Chamber, EU, Biden's National Security, Huawei, Vanguardia, Russian, NATO, US Department of Defense, Facebook Reuters, Ministry of Finance, Finance, European Commission, U.S . Trade, Giants, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, U.S . Trade Representative, Biden Administration, Google Locations: China, Madrid, Europe, Spain, United States, Trump, Brussels, Morón, Rota, Venezuela, U.S, Spanish, Andalusian, Robles, Beijing, Italy, La Vanguardia, Cuba, Russia, Andorra, Russian, Facebook Reuters Spain, France

☆ Online child sex abuse spiked by 31% in 2020, with at least 13 million disturbing images on Facebook and Instagram
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-21 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com + 0.00 time to read: +9 min

There was a sharp increase in child sexual abuse imagery online in 2020, data shows. Figures from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) showed a 31% increase in the number of images of child sexual abuse reported to them in 2020. In 2019, Facebook recorded more child sexual abuse material than any other tech company, and was responsible for around 99% of all reports to the NCMEC. The company uses technology that scans its platforms for known child sexual abuse images, which are then removed, the source said. The findings confirm trends reported by the UK's Internet Watch Foundation, which logs reports of online child sexual abuse content in the UK.

Persons: Coronavirus, Yiota Souras, Souras, it's, Nicholas Kristof, Pornhub, you've, Sen, Lindsey Graham, Toby Tyler Organizations: Facebook, National Center for, Google, Sky, New York Times, Internet Watch Foundation, Guardian, Trump Locations: livestreaming, Philippines, Southeast Asia

☆ Artificial intelligence researchers rank the top A.I. labs worldwide
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-21 | by ( Sam Shead | ) www.cnbc.com + 0.00 time to read: +3 min

Google Deepmind head Demis Hassabis speaks during a press conference ahead of the Google DeepMind Challenge Match in Seoul on March 8, 2016. Jung Yeon-Je | AFP |Getty Images | Getty ImagesLONDON — Artificial intelligence researchers don't like it when you ask them to name the top AI labs in the world, possibly because it's so hard to answer. U.S. Big Tech — Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft — have all set up dedicated AI labs over the last decade. There's also DeepMind, which is owned by Google parent company Alphabet, and OpenAI, which counts Elon Musk as a founding investor. "Reputationally, there is a good argument to say DeepMind, OpenAI, and FAIR (Facebook AI research]) are the top three," Riedl said.

Persons: Demis Hassabis, Jung Yeon, There's, Elon Musk, Mark Riedl, Riedl, Nathan Benaich, Benaich, Lee Sedol, it's, Microsft, DeepMind Organizations: Google, AFP, Getty, U.S, Big Tech, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Georgia Tech School of Interactive Computing, CNBC, FAIR, Air Street Capital, IBM, OpenAI, Netflix, South, Amazon Locations: Seoul, NeurIPS, ICML

☆ Big Tech rejoiced over Biden's inauguration day promises on immigration and climate change — but Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk were notably silent
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-21 | by ( Isobel Asher Hamilton | ) www.businessinsider.com + 0.87 time to read: +1 min

Joe Biden was sworn in as President of the United States on Wednesday. Big Tech leaders gave public statements congratulating Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. They welcomed Biden's policies on climate change and immigration, in particular. As Biden was sworn in as President of the United States, Big Tech rejoiced. Here is how the giants of the tech world reacted to Biden's inauguration:

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, Read, Mark Zuckerberg Organizations: Big Tech, Apple, Google, America's, COVID Tech Locations: United States

☆ Google's new union is outraged as the firm investigates a second AI ethicist: 'Being targeted by one of the world's largest corporations is terrifying.'
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-21 | by ( Martin Coulter | ) www.businessinsider.com + 0.00 time to read: +3 min

Google's new union has hit out against the firm's investigation of another AI ethicist. The Alphabet Workers Union sided with Mitchell and hit out at Google for 'directly attacking' her. The newly formed Alphabet Workers Union has hit out at Google after the firm confirmed it was investigating another senior AI ethicist within its ranks. The Alphabet Workers Union has sided with Mitchell. Several other members of Google's AI team publicly expressed support of Timnit Gebru and criticized company AI chief Jeff Dean for the handling of her departure.

Persons: Margaret Mitchell, exfiltrated, Mitchell, Timnit Gebru, they've, Gebru, Margaret, Jeff Dean Organizations: Alphabet Workers, Google, Alphabet Workers Union, Twitter, Union, Mitchell, Business

☆ Bet on these record-breaking stocks to rally further, Oppenheimer analyst says
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-21 | by ( Keris Lahiff | ) www.cnbc.com + 0.00 time to read: +2 min

Stocks such as Alphabet, Netflix, Activision Blizzard, General Motors and Etsy led the way and hit their own all-time highs. Stocks that make it to new highs, that's a good thing," Wald told CNBC's "Trading Nation" on Wednesday. "Stocks that make new highs are usually stocks that continue to make new highs." He noted that several of those stocks reside in the communications services sector – namely, Netflix, Google parent Alphabet and Activision. I think that's going to be the real litmus test for Netflix," said Sanchez.

Persons: Joe Biden, Etsy, Ari Wald, Oppenheimer, You've, Wald, CNBC's, Gina Sanchez, Sanchez, they're Organizations: Netflix, Activision Blizzard, General Motors, Google, Activision, Chantico Global, Lido Advisors Locations: Washington, United States

Among other things, Mr. Biden named an official Covid-19 response coordinator, shielded “Dreamers” from deportation, revoked the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline and rejoined the Paris climate accord. Marty Durbin of the Chamber of Commerce also opposed the move, calling it “a politically motivated decision that is not grounded in science.”Wall Street seemed pleased. Driven by expectations of a hefty economic stimulus, the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq all ended in record territory. What happens next: Mr. Biden will take more unilateral action today, using his executive authority to ramp up the manufacturing of coronavirus test kits, vaccines and supplies. Jen Psaki, the new White House press secretary, said Mr. Biden “absolutely remains committed” to invoking the Defense Production Act to bolster these supplies.

Persons: Biden, Sundar Pichai, Bill Gates, ” Jay Timmons, Marty Durbin, Jen Psaki, Mr, ”, Carl Hulse, ” — Seth Polevoy, ” — Julia Thomson, Let’s, ” — Andrew David, ” — Jan Hise Organizations: Keystone XL, Business, Paris Climate Accord, Google, National Association of Manufacturers, Chamber of Commerce, Dow, Nasdaq, White House Locations: Paris, U.S, Cresskill, N.J, Phoenix, Sherman Oaks, Calif, Indianapolis

☆ Here's what Intel's new CEO must do to turn the company's fortunes around
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-21 | by ( Clare Duffy | Cnn Business | ) edition.cnn.com + 0.00 time to read: +9 min

Investors are counting on Gelsinger — Intel's former chief technology officer and current CEO of software giant— to bring that kind of vision back to Intel. Investors and customers expect Gelsinger to articulate a plan to address Intel's manufacturing issues. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company TSM Samsung SSNLF Meanwhile, rivalsandcontinue moving ahead with developing even smaller, more powerful chips. In addition to the threat AMD poses to its PC business, Intel is also losing business from Apple. Some experts are hopeful that Gelsinger's experience running companies reliant on Intel technology will provide important insight as to what customers want and need.

Persons: Pat Gelsinger, Gelsinger, Young Sohn, —, Hans Mosesmann, Dan Loeb, Bob Swan, He'll, Alan Priestley, rivalsandcontinue, Swan, Wayne Lam, Apple, Gartner's Priestley, Priestley, Point's Loeb, whichhas, Rosenblatt's Mosesmann, Pat, Ambuj Kumar, I'm Organizations: CNN, Intel, Samsung, Nvidia, Rosenblatt Securities, Wall Street, Gartner, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, AMD, CCS, Investors, Bank of America, Apple, CNN Business, Linux, Mac, Oregonian, ARM, Google, VMware Locations: York, —, Cupertino

☆ Scientist-investor Elad Gil is making a big bet that business travel will rebound after Covid
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-21 | by ( Ari Levy | ) www.cnbc.com + 0.00 time to read: +5 min

Elad Gil Patrick T. Fallon | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesIn 13 years as a start-up investor, Elad Gil has backed some of the era's biggest tech breakouts, such as Airbnb, Instacart, Stripe and Square. Other than Airbnb, which was already in his portfolio, the next best bet he found was TripActions, a developer of travel and expense management software. Gil connected with TripActions CEO Ariel Cohen through ex-Twitter COO Adam Bain, an investor in the company. Now, Gil is co-leading a $155 million financing, investing alongside Andreessen Horowitz and Addition, Lee Fixel's venture firm. Cohen said travel is only at about 20% of pre-Covid levels, but growth in other expense categories is offsetting some of those declines.

Persons: Elad Gil Patrick T, Elad Gil, Gil, Ariel Cohen, Adam Bain, Cohen, Andreessen Horowitz, Lee, bullishness, Ariel Cohen TripActions Cohen, TripActions, it's, headcount Organizations: Fallon, Bloomberg, Getty, Pfizer, Moderna, Google, Twitter, Revenue, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, American Express Locations: San Francisco, California, Silicon Valley, Amsterdam, Sydney, London

☆ How a media startup is using animated influencers on Instagram and TikTok to drive millions of dollars in toy and apparel sales
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-21 | by ( Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com + 0.00 time to read: +7 min

The media company Superplastic is using its Instagram and TikTok accounts to drive millions in toy and apparel sales. The upstart toy company Superplastic is using Instagram and TikTok to promote its high-end toy and apparel line with a set of virtual social-media stars. Other companies in the influencer industry have succeeded in conquering traditional media, toy sales, and social media all at once. Its long-term vision is to expand from toy sales and Instagram and TikTok skits into traditional media platforms like TV and movies. "The way product and especially social media and traditional media interact are usually siloed at these big studios.

Persons: Gucci, Red Bull, Hollywood's, —, — Janky, Staxx —, Paul Budnitz, that's, Brent Rivera, MrBeast, Addison Rae Easterling, Superplastic, Ryan Kaji, Budnitz, Justin Timberlake, Bill Lee, Salvador Dalí, Lee, Superplastic's, he's, Mickey, Donald Duck, Brent Rivera's Organizations: YouTube, Nickelodeon, Google Ventures, Craft Ventures, Disney, Boys, Paramount Pictures, Marvel, Disney Channel Locations: Instagram

☆ How Google spinoff Cityblock built a $1 billion business
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-21 | by ( Zachary Tracer | ) www.businessinsider.com sentiment -0.54 time to read: +1 min

Hello,Today in healthcare news: Inside Cityblock's meteoric rise, Biden's pandemic plans, and Amazon wants to help the Biden administration vaccinate Americans. Cityblock HealthCityblock Health in December reached a $1 billion valuation and is on track to earn $1 billion in revenue. Saul Loeb/Pool Photo via APPresident Joe Biden issued three coronavirus-related executive orders on his first day in office. Over 100 days, Biden plans to reopen most K-8 schools and administer at least 100 million shots. Read the full story from Aria Bendix here>>Amazon SVP of WW ops Dave Clark REUTERS/Lindsey WassonAmazon exec Dave Clark is offering to help President Joe Biden with the vaccination effort.

Persons: Biden, Iyah Romm, Toyin, Blake Dodge, Joe Biden, John Roberts, Saul Loeb, Aria Bendix, Dave Clark, Lindsey Wasson, Clark, Avery Hartmans, Lydia Organizations: Health Cityblock Health, WHO, Dave Clark REUTERS Locations: United States

☆ Inside Cityblock's meteoric rise: How a Google spinoff built a $1 billion business and convinced Silicon Valley to bet on healthcare for the sickest patients
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-21 | by ( Blake Dodge | ) www.businessinsider.com + 0.00 time to read: +12 min

Cityblock Health in December reached a $1 billion valuation and is on track to earn $1 billion in revenue. Romm and Ajayi were recruited to lead a health bet later named Cityblock Health. The other key piece of Cityblock's business is the Alphabet-backed technology that keeps track of everything. That's unlike traditional healthcare business models, in which providers are paid based on how many visits and procedures they do. Cityblock HealthSilicon Valley is obsessed with CityblockOn the one hand, Cityblock's business success allows it to carry out the mission.

Persons: Iyah Romm, Toyin Ajayi, Romm, Read, Ajayi, Bay Gross, Gross, haven't, Ambar Bhattacharyya, Cityblock, Lisa Suennen, who's, Mark Crane, we'll, it's, Goldman Sachs, Catalyst, Catalyst's Crane, General Catalyst, Manatt's Suennen, isn't Organizations: Health, Visit, Commonwealth Care Alliance, Ajayi, Sidewalk Labs, Labs, Google, Cityblock, Maverick Ventures, Morgan Healthcare Conference, Manatt Ventures, JPMorgan, EmblemHealth, D.C, Catalyst, Workers, Walmart, Microsoft, General, Venture, Rock Health, California Healthcare Foundation Locations: Boston, New York, New York City, topline, Brooklyn, Massachusetts, East, Central Brooklyn, New York , Massachusetts, Washington, Connecticut, North Carolina, Ohio, Silicon Valley, California, Cityblock, Silicon, America

☆ Interior designers behind Google and Microsoft's headquarters imagine what satellite offices might look like for companies eager to return to a safe, collaborative workplace
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-21 | by ( Jack Riewe | ) www.businessinsider.com + 0.00 time to read: +7 min

Interior designers and architects Clive Wilkinson and Robert Mankin, who've worked with companies like Google and Microsoft, outlined their plans for 'satellite offices.' Heads-down work, meanwhile, will remain a remote activity — satellite offices will be about community and innovation. With the pandemic disrupting the traditional centralized office model, less dense workspaces may take on a new design formula than previous offices. Currently, he told Insider, he's discussing plans with a couple of companies to create a "distributed 'necklace' of smaller hubs encircling the city" — otherwise known as satellite offices. "New satellite offices will offer new 'weak links' and serendipitous connections with a high degree of diversity in skill sets.

Persons: Clive Wilkinson, Robert Mankin, who've, Coinbase, REI, Wilkinson, they've, Mankin Organizations: Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Facebook, Puget, Clive Wilkinson Architects, Technology, Intuit Locations: Finland, Seattle, Mountain View , California, COVID

☆ 11 top marketers from General Mills, Pepsi, P&G and others reveal how advertising will change in 2021
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-21 | by ( Tanya Dua | ) www.businessinsider.com + 0.00 time to read: +8 min

11 CMOs from companies like General Mills and Procter & Gamble discussed how the changes will continue into 2021. They're emphasizing e-commerce, flexible ad production, and increasing their focus on purpose. E-commerce has become a mainstayL'Oréal's chief digital officer Lubomira Rochet L'Oreal People spending more time indoors has boosted online shopping, making it a growing priority for marketers. "E-commerce will have dramatic consequences on marketing overall," said L'Oréal's chief digital officer Lubomira Rochet. Verizon CMO Diego Scotti and General Mills chief brand officer Brad Hiranaga made similar points.

Persons: Mills, Gamble, Brad Hiranaga, G's Marc Pritchard, Verizon's Diego Scotti, Marc Pritchard VCG, Chipotle, FaceTime, Read, Chris Brandt, Brandt, Pritchard, Dara, Greg Lyons, Patrick McLean, Dara Treseder, Lubomira Rochet, General Mills, L'Oréal, It's, it's, Hershey, Jill Baskin, Brand, George Floyd, Jonathan Mildenhall, Dave, General, Carla Hassan, Diego Scotti, Betty Crocker Organizations: Procter, Getty, Hulu, Brands, Digital, Pepsi, Walgreens, Lubomira Rochet L'Oreal, Technologies, Amazon, YouTube, Google, Read, influencers, Brand, General Mills, Citi, Verizon, Diego, Mills Locations: Newport Beach, Calif

Amazon paid a marketing specialist $95,000, and Apple paid a creative director $300,000. Some current salaries:Growth marketing manager, marketing technology: $150,000$150,000 Creative director, growth and traffic: $215,000$215,000 Global search engine marketing lead: $250,000$250,000 Director, marketing financial planning and analysis: $280,000Amazon paid a creative services specialist $118,500Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. These are salaries and ranges from across the company's marketing division:Associate product marketing manager: $101,000$101,000 Marketing associate: $104,000$104,000 Marketing events manager: $123,900$123,900 Product marketing manager: $133,000$133,000 Marketing analyst: $144,000$144,000 Agency business development lead: $150,000$150,000 Marketing and analytics lead: $156,000$156,000 Product marketing manager: $164,000$164,000 Creative technologist: $191,000$191,000 Account marketing manager: $201,000$201,000 Creative lead: $260,000$260,000 Creative director: $290,000$290,000 Director, product marketing management: $315,000LinkedIn paid a product marketing group manager between $186,989 and $238,000LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky. Here are some current salaries:Client account manager: $94,806$94,806 Lead, marketing manager: $180,000$180,000 Communications director: $250,000$250,000 Senior director, global growth and product marketing: $347,000Uber paid a senior marketing manager $185,000Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Here's a snapshot of how much the ride-hailing company paid for marketing roles:

Persons: Airbnb, Brian Chesky, Mike Segar, Jeff Bezos, Bezos, Twitch, Tim Cook, Apple, Mark Zuckerberg, Charles Platiau, Here's, Sundar Pichai, Yves Herman, Ryan Roslansky, Kelly Sullivan, Satya Nadella, Satya Nadella's, Jack Dorsey, Drew Angerer, Dara Khosrowshahi, Saul Loeb, Jill Hazelbaker, Mike Strickman, Thomas Ranese Organizations: Tech, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Procter, Gamble, Business, of Foreign, Apple, Technology, Facebook, Twitter, US Department of Labor's, Foreign Labor, Department of Labor, Reuters, Global, Getty, Media, Lab, Brand, Super, Agency, Reuters Microsoft, Software Locations: America, California

☆ New Google union ‘concerned’ after a senior A.I. ethics researcher is reportedly locked out of her account
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-21 | by ( Sam Shead | ) www.cnbc.com sentiment -1.00 time to read: +1 min

Google employee's newly-formed union, known as the Alphabet Workers Union, said it is concerned over Google's decision to lock Margaret Mitchell, a senior AI ethics researcher, out of her account. Google locked Mitchell out of her account after it found she was downloading material related to Timnit Gebru, another AI ethics researcher who was forced to leave the company early last month. Mitchell was reportedly using automated scripts to look through her messages to find examples of discriminatory treatment of Gebru before she was locked out of her account. "The Alphabet Workers Union (AWU) is concerned by the suspension of the corporate access of Margaret Mitchell, AWU member and lead of the Ethical AI team," the union wrote in a statement. They added: "In this instance, yesterday our systems detected that an account had exfiltrated thousands of files and shared them with multiple external accounts.

Persons: Margaret Mitchell, Mitchell, Gebru, Axios Organizations: Google, Alphabet Workers, Axios, CNBC

☆ Trump's outgoing antitrust enforcer Delrahim explains the government's push against Big Tech
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-21 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com + 0.00 time to read: +4 min

Over more than three years at the helm of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division, Makan Delrahim has ventured to define antitrust enforcement as much by what it is not as by what it is. During his time at the DOJ, antitrust enforcement became an unusually fashionable topic outside of tight-knit academic circles as progressives and conservatives alike called for the break-up of Big Tech companies including Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google. The bipartisan push for vigorous antitrust enforcement put pressure on federal agencies to take on the tech companies. Still, Delrahim rejects notions even from his own party that certain issues with the tech platforms can be dealt with through antitrust enforcement. "There are some people who think any enforcement of the antitrust laws is interfering with the marketplace, and they claim to be conservatives.

Persons: Makan Delrahim, It's, they're, Delrahim, Parler, Trump, Robert Bork Organizations: Street, Tech, Justice Department's Antitrust, Antitrust, Google, Time Warner, Visa, Plaid, Federal Trade Commission, DOJ, Big Tech, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, CNBC, Mobile, Sprint, Democratic Locations: U.S, Laguna Beach , California, Parler

☆ Google Cloud is rolling out shopping by image search, as retailers look to AI and personalization to compete in the crowded e-commerce landscape
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-21 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com + 0.00 time to read: +6 min

Google Cloud introduced a set of new services meant to help retailers improve their websites' search and recommendations functionalities. Google Cloud wants to help retailers like Sephora connect shoppers with the products they actually want. Google Cloud is rolling out a new suite of services that partner retailers can use to make it easier for customers to find their products. Recommendations AI and Vision API Product Search are now available to any retailer that wants to sign up and integrate them into their websites, while Google Cloud Search for Retail is in preview. Kathrin Ziegler/Getty Images"That's a big part of what Google Cloud helps with," she said.

Persons: Carrie Tharp, Tharp, Kathrin Ziegler Organizations: Google, Solutions, Retail, Unilever, Shoppers, Getty, Retailers, Amazon, Microsoft Google

☆ Google agrees to pay French publishers for news
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-21 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com + 0.86 time to read: +1 min

The logos of Google and several of its applications are displayed on a computer screen. LONDON — Google said Thursday it will pay French publishers for news content in a major digital copyright deal. The agreement comes after several months of talks between Google France and the media groups, which are represented by France's Alliance de la Presse d'Information Generale lobby. Google said it would negotiate individual licenses with members of the alliance that cover related rights and open access to a new mobile service from Google called News Showcase. Newspapers would be remunerated based on contributions to political and general information, daily volume of publications and monthly internet audience, Google said.

Persons: Pierre Louette Organizations: Google, France's Alliance, Presse d'Information Generale, Les Locations: Google France

☆ Asian stocks set for strong start after day of gains on Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-20 | by ( Jessica Dinapoli | ) www.reuters.com sentiment -0.99 time to read: +2 min

“That’s all pointing to a positive day in Asia.”The Biden administration is expected to push through a nearly $2 trillion U.S. fiscal stimulus plan. The Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.38% on Wednesday, and the futures contract is up 0.74% from that close. Along with Netflix, the rest of the FAANG group, scheduled to report results in the coming weeks, jumped. Oil prices rose on the hopes that Biden delivers on the economic stimulus, a move that will increase demand for oil. U.S. Treasuries did not move much on Wednesday, with the market looking past the inauguration at this point.

Persons: Joe Biden, Kim Kyung, ”, Ryan Felsman, “, Biden, Felsman, Hong, Treasuries Organizations: YORK, Nikkei, REUTERS, Netflix Inc, Netflix, Google, Inc Locations: U.S, Tokyo, Japan, Sydney, Asia

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