September 3, 2026 11:38 AM

Google escapes ad tech breakup in third Big Tech antitrust loss for US

Alphabet's Google escaped a breakup of its advertising technology business on Wednesday, marking the third time in recent years that U.S. antitrust enforcers have tried to force a Big Tech breakup and lost. U.S. Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, declined to make Google sell AdX, where publishers pay Google a 20% fee to sell ads in auctions that happen instantly when users load websites. The Department of Justice had argued Google could not be trusted to run the online advertising e...

July 22, 2026 12:52 PM

Google updates lightweight Gemini models, but flagship still delayed

Alphabet’s  Google on Tuesday released a trio of cheaper versions of its Gemini AI model, but shared no timing updates for the flagship Pro model that has already seen its launch delayed by several weeks. The new model lineup includes Gemini 3.6 Flash and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite, updated versions of its lightweight offerings, designed for use cases that do not require the most cutting-edge technology. Google also unveiled a new lightweight variant, Gemini 3.5 Flash Cyber, which is tailored tow...

July 2, 2026 3:16 PM

Google loses fight against record €4.1 billion EU antitrust fine

Alphabet's Google on Thursday lost its fight against a record fine imposed by EU antitrust regulators eight years ago for using its Android mobile operating system to block rivals, a court ruling likely to boost Europe's crackdown on Big Tech. The European Commission had originally handed out a €4.34 billion fine to Google in 2018 for its agreements which forced phone manufacturers to pre-install Google Search, the Chrome browser and the Google Play app store on their Android devices and prev...