Lawyers, leading voices weigh in on Epic antitrust win over Google

Saints Row is today's free PC game available on the Epic Games Store. This will remain the last game made by Volition since the 30-year-old Illinois-based game developer was closed down earlier this year by owner Embracer Group as part of their restructuring plans.

Google has agreed to settle a consumer privacy lawsuit seeking at least $5 billion in damages over allegations it tracked the data of users who thought they were browsing the internet privately. The object of the lawsuit was the "incognito" mode on Google's Chrome browser that the plaintiffs said gave users a false sense that what they were surfing online was not being tracked by the Silicon Valley tech firm. But internal Google emails brought forward in the lawsuit demonstrated that users using incognito mode were being followed by the search and advertising behemoth for measuring web traffic and selling ads.

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The Epic Games Store will allow blockchain games rated Adults-Only back on the PC marketplace after a new exception to its content policy.

Alphabet Inc.'s agreement to pay $700 million to consumers and states and open the Google Play Store to competition will leave intact the heavily-criticized commissions the technology giant charges mobile app developers.

Google has agreed to pay $700 million in an antitrust settlement with US state attorney generals.

If you're a podcast lover and use Google Podcasts to enjoy the latest episodes of your favorite shows, then there is bad news for you. Google has announced that its app will soon be discontinued, and after mid-2024, you will not even be able to migrate your shows and episodes to another app. So, if you do not want to start over with a different app and manually add all your shows and episodes, then this is the time for you to be proactive and move your RSS feed to a different platform. The good thing here is that Google is allowing you to easily migrate to YouTube Music, in case you prefer that app. So, check out how to migrate Google Podcasts data to YouTube Music or a third-party app.

Activision Blizzard has agreed to pay more than $54 million (and an additional $47 million for affected employees) to settle a lawsuit filed by California’s Civil Rights Department in 2021. The lawsuit was filed over accusations of sexual and gender harassment, along with discrimination, including pay disparities.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been the buzzword of 2023, with developments taking place at the speed of light, seemingly. From AI chatbots to AI tools that can be used for various purposes including image generation, code interpretation, multi-modal search, and more, the incorporation of AI has been quite expeditious. However, it has not been all smooth sailing so far. Various debates have taken place about the ills of AI, with deepfakes rising at an alarming rate. As such, the need for its regulation is necessary. Thus, the passing of the EU AI Act could not have come at a better time. But it is not just deepfakes where AI is posing a danger. A new report has shed light on its implications in the news sector, with publishers saying that Google's new AI Search tool, Search Generative Experience, could potentially be at the forefront of the top traffic-destroying elements.

Epic Games came out victorious in the monumental legal battle against Google over the company's monopoly over the Android app marketplace and alleged the company used off-handed tactics to keep its control over the space thereby denying a fair chance for others to participate in the business on an equal footing. The San Francisco jury on Monday, December 11 unanimously delivered the decision in the Google antitrust case, deciding Google's tie between the Google Play app store and its Google Play Billing payment services was illegal, and Project Hug deals with game developers and OEMs, which dictated the distribution agreement were all noncompetitive. Now, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has given an interview explaining the details of the lawsuit and the main reason why the company lost against Apple but managed to win against Google.

Google's legal defeat at the hands of Fortnite maker Epic Games Inc. threatens to roil an app store duopoly with Apple Inc. that generates close to $200 billion a year and dictates how billions of consumers use mobile devices. 

It wasn't long ago that Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney had to announce a significant reduction in the company's workforce, firing 16% of the employees (around 830 in total). The news caught everyone by surprise, as the company's pockets had been filled by loads of revenue generated by Fortnite as well as the increasingly successful Unreal Engine licensing program.