Google

Google has admitted it tracked the location of cellphone users even when they had location services switched off. It says it's now stopped an 11-month program designed to improve "message delivery." Having location services switched on allows an ... Android phone to collect information about a user's location, commonly combining GPS data, details of nearby WiFi networks, and the location of nearby cellphone towers - all of which can be detected by a phone. Google - and third party app makers - use this data for tools such as mapping, navigation and finding nearby outlets of a particular chain of ... (view more)

Google has been locking users out of their online documents in what appears to be a glitch. The problem has raised questions over how and why Google scans the contents of documents. The problem is with Google Docs, a service that lets users store, ... edit and share documents online, rather than them having to be stored on a specific computer (and shared by physical media such as USB sticks if necessary). Multiple users are reporting that they've been unable to access files, instead seeing a message saying "This item has been flagged as inappropriate and can no longer be shared" or "We're sorry. ... (view more)

Gmail users can now add third-party tools to merge email messages with other programs - without the need to manually load a specific app, then copy and paste data. The idea is similar to using browser extensions on a web browser, but will likely ... raise privacy and security concerns. Google already has its own tools that connect Gmail with other services. For example, users who receive a message confirming a flight booking or restaurant reservation can often add the relevant information to their Google Calendar tool with a single click. The Google Translate tool is also built in to Gmail. Now ... (view more)

Google's sister company is to build a mini-city in Toronto that includes a range of technologies built into the infrastructure. It's designed partly to help locals and partly as a test bed for new technology. The 68-acre project on the Lake Toronto ... waterfront is led by Sidewalk Labs - a spin-off company that's owned by Google's parent company Alphabet. It's a partnership with the city and won't involve Google owning any land or acting as a landlord, though Google will move its Canadian headquarters to the area. It'll be part of a wider regeneration project covering 800 acres. Free Public WiFi ... (view more)

The US government and court system asked Google to provide information about more than 33,000 people in the first half of the year. The figure was a new record. The numbers come from Google's twice-yearly "Transparency Report", which is designed to ... track trends in the number of requests and prompt debate about the balance between privacy and security. For the US alone, Google received 16,823 requests for data about 33,709 users (though it's possible this may include the same user being counted twice for multiple accounts. That compared with a total of 48,941 requests about 83,485 from ... (view more)

Google says its artificial intelligence system is better at identifying guideline-breaking videos than human moderators. The claim is somewhat subjective, however. The company, which runs YouTube, made the claim as part of an update on how it deals ... with 'questionable' videos. Last month, Google said it was refining its use of computerized systems for examining videos and checking whether they breach content guidelines. It says that as a result of the improvements, three-quarters of removed videos are now caught automatically before the company receives a complaint from a human viewer ... (view more)

Google has been fined $2.7 billion for unfairly favoring its own shopping services in search results. It's also got 90 days to stop the practice. The decision comes from the European Commission, the body that oversees competition law in 28 European ... countries. At the end of an investigation that started back in 2010, it now says Google did breach antitrust rules. The case relates to shopping comparison services, which let users see prices from multiple retailers. When people search Google for a particular product, the list of results will often include links to the relevant pages on such ... (view more)

Google is to stop scanning Gmail messages for advertising purposes. The move was driven largely by a need to satisfy business customers. The company announced that "Consumer Gmail content will not be used or scanned for any ads personalization after ... this change." A company spokesman said this would bring the consumer service into line with the G Suite service for businesses. Business Users 'Put Off' By Scanning Diane Greene said that although business customers "have never had their messages scanned for use in advertising, many potential customers were nonetheless put ... (view more)

Google says it will use a combination of artificial intelligence and human expertise to combat online videos promoting hatred and terrorism. It's also going to tackle videos that follow the letter but not the spirit of its rules and will ... intentionally promote videos that can counter terrorist recruitment. The four steps are part of what Google and YouTube calls an ongoing program to enforce the principle that "there should be no place for terrorist content on our services." Step one is to improve the way Google's systems automatically spot videos that promote terrorism and ... (view more)

Google has apologized to businesses whose ads appeared next to extremist videos on YouTube. It follows several major brands and the British government dropping Google advertising over the affair. The Times newspaper reported that videos from ... extremist groups had appeared beside advertising from many a host of big businesses and government agencies. That not only meant embarrassment but could mean that the advertisers were unwittingly -- if indirectly -- contributing to extremist groups. Content Classification Confusing Google's Matt Brittin told a conference that he wanted to " ... (view more)