‘It’s just the beginning’: Covid push to digital boosts big tech profits

Apple, Google owner Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft raked in money in first quarter

Big tech is on a roll. In every minute of the first three months of 2021, Apple, Google owner Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft sold products and services worth about $2.5m (£1.8m) combined. Profits before tax for the period came in at $88bn – more than $1bn of profit for every working day.

After a year of shifting to online work and leisure across the global economy, financial results published this week by most of US tech’s biggest names were bound to be strong. But even more bullish analysts on Wall Street were surprised by how fast they raked in money in the quarter, auguring even greater profits in the years ahead.

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Alphabet: revenue soared for Google owner as Covid brought more people online

Company exceeded Wall Street’s expectations with $55bn in revenue, even as it continued to face landmark antitrust lawsuits

Revenue for Google’s parent company, Alphabet, jumped by 34% on the previous year in the first quarter of 2021, the company announced on Tuesday, fueled in part by a sustained surge in ad sales during a pandemic that has seen people spending more time online.

The robust announcement provides the latest sign that advertisers are expecting the economy to roar back to life as more people get vaccinated, emerge from global lockdowns, and resume travel and spending. Google’s vast digital ad empire is now benefiting from that recovery.

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Looking up health symptoms online less harmful than thought, study says

Results show increase in self-diagnosis accuracy after participants searched for advice online

That throbbing headache just won’t go away and your mind is racing about what may be wrong. But Googling your symptoms may not be as ill-advised as previously thought.

Although some doctors often advise against turning to the internet before making the trudge up to the clinic, a new study suggests that using online resources to research symptoms may not be harmful after all – and could even lead to modest improvements in diagnosis.

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Tech CEOs grilled over role in Capitol attack as protesters mock them with giant cutouts

Protesters outside the Capitol denounced the platforms as Facebook, Twitter and Google heads questioned by Congress

The CEOs of America’s biggest technology companies faced a grilling on Thursday from Congress about the 6 January insurrection at the Capitol, as protesters outside the hearing denounced the platforms for playing a role in fueling the violence.

The marathon, six-hour hearing saw the three most powerful men in tech – Sundar Pichai of Google, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Jack Dorsey of Twitter – testify before two committees of the House of Representatives on social media’s role in promoting extremism and misinformation.

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Naomi Klein: how big tech helps India target climate activists

Companies such as Google and Facebook appear to be aiding and abetting a vicious government campaign against Indian environmental campaigners

The bank of cameras camped outside Delhi’s sprawling Tihar jail was the sort of media frenzy you would expect to await a prime minister caught in an embezzlement scandal, or a Bollywood star caught in the wrong bed. Instead, the cameras were waiting for Disha Ravi, a nature-loving 22-year-old vegan climate activist who against all odds has found herself ensnared in an Orwellian legal saga that includes accusations of sedition, incitement and involvement in an international conspiracy whose elements include (but are not limited to): Indian farmers in revolt, the global pop star Rihanna, supposed plots against yoga and chai, Sikh separatism and Greta Thunberg.

If you think that sounds far-fetched, well, so did the judge who released Ravi after nine days in jail under police interrogation. Judge Dharmender Rana was supposed to rule on whether Ravi, one of the founders of the Indian chapter of Fridays for Future, the youth climate group started by Thunberg, should continue to be denied bail. He ruled that there was no reason for bail to be denied, which cleared the way for Ravi’s return to her home in Bengaluru that night.

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Facebook reverses Australia news ban after government makes media code amendments

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announces a compromise has been reached at the 11th hour as the legislation is debated in the Senate

Facebook will restore news to Australian pages in the next few days after the government agreed to change its landmark media bargaining code that would force the social network and Google to pay for displaying news content.

Last week, Facebook blocked all news on its platform in Australia, and inadvertently blocked information and government pages, including health and emergency services.

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Facebook is ‘schoolyard bully’ in Australia news row, says UK media boss

Trade group chairman says robust regulation is needed to rein in monopolistic tech firms

Facebook’s move to block all media content in Australia shows why countries need robust regulation to stop tech firms behaving like a “schoolyard bully”, the head of the UK’s news media trade group has said.

Henry Faure Walker, the chair of the News Media Association, said Facebook’s ban during a pandemic was “a classic example of a monopoly power being the schoolyard bully, trying to protect its dominant position with scant regard for the citizens and customers it supposedly serves”.

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Google and Facebook: the landmark Australian law that will make them pay for news content

Despite protestations from both companies, the Australian parliament is set to pass legislation it says is needed to boost public interest journalism

The Australian parliament is poised to pass a landmark media law that would make Google and Facebook pay news publishers for displaying their content.

The Australian law is separate to a deal Facebook made to pay mainstream UK news outlets millions of pounds a year to license their articles, but has a similar motivation.

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Microsoft urges US and EU to follow Australian digital news code

Firm stood against Facebook and Google over plan to make tech giants pay news organisations

Microsoft is calling for the US and the EU to follow Australia in introducing rules that require technology companies to share revenue with news organisations and support journalism.

The company, which stood against Facebook and Google in supporting the proposal, argues that it is necessary to impose such a levy to create a level playing field between large tech firms and independent media organisations.

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Is big tech now just too big to stomach?

The Covid crisis has turbo-charged profits and share prices. But are the big six now too powerful for regulators to ignore?

The coronavirus pandemic has wrought economic disruption on a global scale, but one sector has marched on throughout the chaos: big tech.

Further evidence of the industry’s relentless progress has come in recent weeks with the news that Apple and Amazon both raked in sales of $100bn (£72bn) over the past three months – 25% more than Tesco brings in over a full year.

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Important stories hidden in Google’s ‘experiment’ blocking Australian news sites

The search giant’s experiments see sources of questionable quality being promoted over mainstream websites in some cases

Google’s “experiment” in Australia to remove major news sites from search results is hiding important news stories from hundreds of thousands of Australians.

In some cases filtering out mainstream news publications from search results is also resulting in lower-quality publications being promoted, including a news website known for spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories.

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‘Inevitable’ Google and Facebook will pay for Australian news, treasurer says

Josh Frydenberg says tech companies’ threats to pull services out of Australia did them a ‘big disservice’

Josh Frydenberg has warned the internet giants it is “inevitable” they will pay for news content and their threats to shut down core functions in Australia do them a “big disservice”.

At a doorstop on Sunday, the treasurer said the Morrison’s government intended to become a “world leader” in regulating social media and search companies, who he accused of shifting the goalposts in their opposition to the proposed bargaining code of conduct.

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After Covid, will digital learning be the new normal?

Schools have embraced apps and remote classes in the past year. Some see benefits in virtual learning but others fear the impact on disadvantaged children and privatisation by stealth

History is likely to record that Britain’s teachers were better prepared for Covid-19 than government ministers. With cases rising in Europe, 14 schools in England had already closed their gates by the end of February 2020. When senior staff at Barham primary school began drawing up contingency plans on 26 February, they realised they needed to up their use of digital technology.

They decided to upload work daily to ClassDojo, a popular app they were already using to communicate with parents. The problem was some parents, many of whom do not speak English as a first language, didn’t have the app. When, three weeks later, it was announced that UK schools would close to most pupils with just two days’ notice, Barham’s staff, especially the Gujarati, Tamil and Hindi speakers, took to the playground, digital devices in hand, to help parents get connected.

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What are my options if Google shuts down search in Australia?

Losing Google search might be a shock. But there are plenty of alternatives to choose from

Google has threatened to “stop providing search” in Australia if the federal government continues with a new code to force big digital platforms to pay for displaying local news content. Google has confirmed that this wouldn’t affect any of the company’s other services, such as YouTube, Gmail or Google drive.

The threat came as Google’s Australian managing director, Mel Silva, told a Senate committee the new code would “would set an untenable precedent” and create an “unmanageable financial and operational risk” if it were to become law.

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Google threatens to leave Australia – but its poker face is slipping

Analysis: tech firm’s refusal to pay news publishers comes as it agrees to do exactly that in France

The biggest companies in technology love an ultimatum but rarely do they spell out their threats. This week, however, Google has done exactly that, telling an Australian parliamentary hearing that a proposed law forcing the company to pay news publishers for the right to link to their content “would give us no real choice but to stop making Google Search available in Australia”.

The threat, from the company’s Australian managing director, Mel Silva, is the latest escalation in a war of words over the proposal, which seeks to undo some of the damage online business models have dealt to the country’s publishing industry.

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Google threatens to shut down search in Australia if digital news code goes ahead

Google and Facebook are fighting legislation that would force them to enter into negotiations with news media companies for payment for content

Google has threatened to remove its search engine from Australia and Facebook has threatened to remove news from its feed for all Australian users if a code forcing the companies to negotiate payments to news media companies goes ahead.

The move would mean the 19 million Australians who use Google every month would no longer be able to use Google Search, and 17 million Australians who log into Facebook every month would not be able to see or post any news articles on the social media site.

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Engineer who stole trade secrets from Google among those pardoned by Trump

Anthony Levandowski’s pardon had the support of billionaire Peter Thiel, who donated to Trump’s 2016 campaign

In his final hours of office, Donald Trump pardoned a former Google engineer who was convicted of stealing trade secrets from the company before taking up a new role with competitor Uber.

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Tech platforms vowed to address racial equity: how have they fared?

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google and Amazon issued statements in response to Black Lives Matter this year but did they follow through?

Following the death of George Floyd and nationwide protests against police brutality and racial inequality, some of the largest technology corporations waded into the anti-racism movement with slickly worded corporate declarations that “Black Lives Matter”.

Those tech platforms are now facing increased pressure to back those promises with action – both on and off their platforms.

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Google faces $400m fine over Fitbit takeover if it doesn’t wait for competition watchdog’s approval

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission concerned tech giant could harm competitors in wake of deal

Google faces a fine of up to $400m if it takes over Fitbit before the Australian competition regulator completes an investigation into the transaction.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on Tuesday rejected an offer from Google to enter into a court-enforceable undertaking limiting the way it would use data gleaned from the wrist-worn fitness tracking devices.

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Texas and other states sue Google for abusing ‘monopolistic power’

Lawsuit accusing company of ‘tremendous violation of justice’ is latest bid to rein in big tech

Google is facing a new multi-state lawsuit, led by Texas, that accuses the company of abusing its “monopolistic power”, the latest in a slew of major legal efforts to rein in big tech.

In a video announcing the suit on Wednesday, the Texas attorney generalcharged Google with engaging in anticompetitive behavior, particularly in the online advertising market. Texas argues that the company dominates the pathways by which an advertisement gets from the agency that produces it on to a web page or mobile app.

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