Google

Alphabet was one of the first companies to mandate remote work back in March and is continually pushing back office reopening. As a free benefit, Google is now letting employees request weekly, home COVID-19 tests.

After over a year in the works, Google has finally won EU approval for its acquisition of Fitbit that was originally announced in late 2019, on just one major condition.

Google’s homepage is iconic, simple, and one of the most-visited websites on the planet. It’s also often used to promote new products, some of the company’s achievements, and various doodles. Today, the Google homepage is celebrating the company’s carbon-neutral efforts with a falling leaf, but it’s hilariously confusing some users.

Alphabet today announced Q3 2020 earnings with $46.2 billion in revenue. These numbers range from July to September, and includes the continuing impact of COVID-19.

As environmental issues continue to cause more and more issues on this planet, some tech companies have been making a point of improving sustainability efforts. Google has big plans as a company for the next few years, and today, the hardware division is announcing its own goals including completely eliminating plastic packaging.

Back in June, Google announced that the summer wave of incoming engineering interns would focus on open source projects. With COVID-19 conditions mostly unchanged, Google announced today that internships will remain virtual in 2021.

Following the US Justice Department filing its antitrust case over Google’s search dominance, the company quickly said that the lawsuit was “deeply flawed.” Google has since published a longer defense that challenges the facts laid out by the government and argues that end users choose Search naturally.

Following reports and rumors for several weeks, the US Justice Department has officially announced an antitrust lawsuit against Google and its search dominance in the United States. The suit is supported by 11 States.

Following an over year-long investigation and Congressional testimony from CEOs in July, the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday published a report on “Competition in Digital Markets.” Google is one of the four companies facing scrutiny for its dominance and antitrust concerns.

Google announced nearly a year ago that it would purchase Fitbit to strengthen its wearable catalog, but the deal has been subject to scrutiny by regulatory authorities. As the investigation continues, a new report from Reuters claims that Google will be given the green light in its deal to purchase Fitbit by the EU.

Google has long considered sustainability a “core value” and has spurred its industry peers to adopt green commitments. The company today announced its “third decade of climate action” with an ambitious pledge to go carbon-free.

According to the New York Times, the US Justice Department is planning to file the federal government’s antitrust case against Google as soon as this month. Today’s report notably reveals a rushed approach that’s criticized for being political.

Back in May, Apple and Google rolled out a system to help trace who has COVID-19. The two companies today announced “Exposure Notifications Express” to hopefully boost adoption by doing most of the hard technical work. As such, local health agencies no longer have to create individual apps, but rather can rely on Apple and Google.

Google has requested authorization from the FCC to test in the 6 GHz band. Related to “providing reliable broadband connections,” the specifics are being kept under wraps as the company asks for “confidential treatment” as part of a New Experimental Radio Service License.

This afternoon has been an interesting one for fans of Apple, Google, and Fortnite alike, as the three companies have become intermingled in a pair of lawsuits. Epic Games, the creators of Fortnite, have now filed a lawsuit against Google for anticompetitive practices between Android and the Google Play Store.

Samsung is one of the biggest chipset manufacturers in the world, and according to a report from Korea the company is getting two big new orders, and one of them comes from Google for a chip that tracks body movement.