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In a significant roundtable meeting of prominent CEOs of Tech Companies with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Google CEO Sundar Pichai praised the Indian leader's vision for a digitally empowered nation.

Speaking after the meeting, Pichai emphasized PM Modi's dedication to the #DigitalIndia initiative, stating, "The Prime Minister has been focused on transforming India, with his vision for a digital future."

Pichai expressed pride in Google's decision to manufacture its Pixel phones in India, highlighting the PM's push for more domestic production and design innovation. 

"The PM has been focused on transforming India," Pichai stated, emphasizing Modi's vision for leveraging artificial intelligence to improve various sectors, including healthcare, education, and agriculture. He noted that the Prime Minister is also concerned with bolstering India's infrastructure, mentioning initiatives related to data centers and energy.

Pichai revealed that Google is heavily investing in AI in India, establishing several programs and partnerships aimed at maximizing the technology's benefits for the Indian populace. "He has always challenged all of us to do more for India," Pichai remarked, referring to Modi's call for increased contributions to the country's technological landscape.

As the dialogue around AI continues to evolve, Pichai's comments reflect a strong commitment to ensuring that technological advancements serve the people of India. "The Prime Minister has a clear vision for the opportunities that AI will create," he concluded, reiterating the importance of aligning technological progress with the welfare of the nation.

PM Modi always challenged us to do more: Sundar Pichai

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in their study, has claimed that nine companies, including Meta, YouTube, and TikTok, engaged in extensive surveillance of consumers, including minors, collecting and sharing more personal information than most users realised.

The report states that the sites, which mostly offer free services, profited from the data by using it for advertising that targets specific users based on demographics. The companies also failed to adequately protect users, especially children and teenagers.

The FTC said it began its study nearly four years ago to provide the first comprehensive look into the opaque business practices of some of the biggest online platforms that have built multibillion-dollar advertising businesses using consumer data. “Surveillance practices can endanger people’s privacy, threaten their freedoms, and expose them to a host of harms, from identity theft to stalking,” said Lina Kahn, the FTC’s chair, in a statement.

Efforts by the companies to regulate themselves have also failed, the FTC concluded in its report. “Self-regulation has been a failure,” it added.

According to a New York Times report, Google, which owns YouTube, stated, “We have the strictest privacy policy in our industry. We never sell people’s personal information, and we don’t use sensitive information to serve ads,” said José Castañeda, a spokesman for Google. He added, “We prohibit ad personalisation for users under 18, and we don’t personalise ads to anyone watching ‘made for kid content’ on YouTube.”

In December 2020, the agency opened its inquiry into the nine companies that operate 13 platforms. The FTC requested data from each company for operations between 2019 and 2020 and then studied how the companies had collected, used, and retained that data.

The FTC found that the companies voraciously consumed data about users and often purchased information about people who weren’t users through data brokers. They also gathered information from accounts linked to other services.

Most of the companies collected users' age, gender, and the language they spoke. Many platforms also obtained information on education, income, and marital status. The companies didn’t provide users with easy ways to opt out of data collection and often retained sensitive information for much longer than consumers would expect, the agency said.

The companies used data to create profiles of users, often merging the information they gathered with details about habits collected on other sites, to serve targeted advertisements.

The agency also found that many sites claimed they restricted access to users under the age of 13, yet many children remained on the platforms. Teenagers were also treated like adults on many of the apps, subjecting them to the same data collection as adults. Many of the companies couldn’t tell the FTC how much data they were collecting, according to the study.

'Meta, YouTube and TikTok engaged in vast surveillance', says FTC

Google won a court case on Wednesday against a 1.49 billion euro ($1.66 billion) European Union antitrust fine imposed in 2019 that targeted its online advertising business. The EU's General Court said it was throwing out the 2019 penalty imposed by the European Commission, which is the 27-nation bloc's top antitrust enforcer. 

Regulators had alleged that Google — as a dominant online ad broker — illegally prevented rivals such as Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. from placing ads on third-party websites. 

"The General Court annuls the Commission's decision in its entirety," the court said in a press release. The commission's ruling applied to a narrow portion of Google's ad business: ads that the U.S. tech giant sold next to Google search results on third-party websites.

Regulators had accused Google of inserting exclusivity clauses in its contracts that barred these websites from running similarly placed ads sold by Google's rivals. The commission said when it issued the penalty that Google's behavior resulted in advertisers and website owners having less choice and likely facing higher prices that would be passed on to consumers.

But the General Court said the commission "committed errors" when it assessed those clauses. The commission failed to demonstrate that Google's contracts deterred innovation, harmed consumers or helped the company hold on to and strengthen its dominant position in national online search advertising markets, it said.

This ruling can still be appealed at the bloc’s top tribunal, the Court of Justice.

Google wins court case against $1.66 billion EU antitrust fine

European Union privacy regulator has now opened an inquiry into Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) model, Pathways Language Model 2 (PaLM2). The regulator is probing whether the search engine of the tech giant is has adequately protected European Union users' personal data before using it to help develop its foundational AI Model.

Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC), the lead EU regulator for most of the top U.S. internet firms said that the probe concerned the Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), opens new tab unit's Pathways Language Model 2 (PaLM 2).

As Google's European operations are headquartered in Dublin, the Irish DPC serves as the tech giant's lead authority under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the EU's strict data privacy framework. The commission stated that the investigation will focus on whether Google properly evaluated whether PaLM2’s data processing presents a “high risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals” in the EU.

Similarly, Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, suspended plans to use content from European users to train its latest language model. This move followed extensive discussions with Irish regulators, highlighting the pressure tech giants face in ensuring compliance with EU data laws. 

Other countries in the EU have also taken action. Italy’s data privacy regulator temporarily banned ChatGPT in 2022 due to privacy violations, only allowing its return after OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, agreed to implement measures addressing the regulator's concerns.

EU regulators to probe Google over its AI model, raises privacy concerns

One month after a judge declared Google’s search engine an illegal monopoly, the tech giant is facing another antitrust lawsuit, this time focused on its advertising technology. This latest lawsuit, filed by the Joe Biden administration, has the potential to reshape the global Adtech industry.

In court, the Department of Justice, joined by several states, argued that Google has built and maintains a monopoly over online advertising technology. Regulators claim that Google controls both the buying and selling sides of online ads, allowing the company to keep up to 36 cents for every dollar spent. They also allege that Google dominates the ad exchange market, which connects advertisers with publishers.

“It’s worth saying the quiet part out loud,” said Justice Department attorney Julia Tarver Wood. “One monopoly is bad enough, but what we have here is a trifecta of monopolies,” she added, as quoted by the Associated Press.

Google, however, argues that the lawsuit is based on outdated technology. Google’s attorney, Karen Dunn, likened the government’s case to “a time capsule with a Blackberry, an iPod, and a Blockbuster video card.” She cautioned that actions taken against Google may not help small businesses and could instead benefit other large tech companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and TikTok.

Notably, Google’s revenue from its ad tech division has actually decreased in recent years, dropping from $31.7 billion in 2021 to $31.3 billion in 2023, according to its annual reports.

The trial, which began on Monday in Alexandria, Virginia, is being overseen by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema.

This case follows a recent ruling that declared Google’s search engine a monopoly, along with another case where its Android app store was found to be monopolistic. The government has yet to propose specific remedies for the search engine ruling.

In the Virginia trial, witnesses for the government are expected to include executives from major newspaper publishers and online news sites. They argue that Google’s practices harm publishers by imposing high fees, which forces them to place more ads on their sites or put content behind paywalls.

Tim Wolfe, an executive at Gannett Co., testified that despite the high fees, Gannett feels compelled to use Google’s ad tech products because they provide access to a large pool of advertisers.

In a 2023 blog post, Google stated, “No one is forced to use our advertising technologies—they choose to use them because they work.” The company also highlighted increasing competition in the ad industry as evidence that the market is still dynamic and not solely dominated by Google.

Google disputes the claims of excessive fees and argues that its integrated technology ensures faster ad delivery and improved security. Additionally, the company asserts that the government’s case fails to account for the rise of mobile and social media advertising.

Google faces new antitrust battle over advertising tech monopoly

In an advisory issued on September 3, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) urged all intermediaries to promptly and proactively remove fake content, following a Bombay High Court directive. 

The HC required Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, and Telegram to delete all false information, including altered videos and profiles related to the National Stock Exchange (NSE), within 10 hours of receiving a complaint.

"The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology wishes to remind intermediaries of their duty to swiftly remove any prohibited material at the earliest opportunity. Intermediaries are advised to complete the takedown process, where necessary, as proactively as possible without waiting for the time limits set in the Rules, which serve only as an upper threshold.”

The advisory referred to the Information Technology Act and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. Under the IT Act, IT Rules 2021, and the 2015 Supreme Court ruling in the Shreya Singhal case, intermediaries are required to take down "unlawful information" within 36 hours of receiving "actual knowledge," either via a court order or a notice from the "Appropriate Government".

In July this year, India’s National Stock Exchange (NSE) warned investors about deepfake videos falsely featuring its CEO, Ashishkumar Chauhan, in some investment and stock advisory videos. 

Recently, the Mumbai police filed a case against the Maharashtra Youth Congress’ social media account and 16 others for allegedly sharing a deepfake video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Multiple well-known personalities, including Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Elon Musk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Tom Cruise, Scarlett Johansson, and Emma Watson, have also fallen victim to deepfake videos on the internet. Similar such cases have been reported widely across the country.


MeitY issues advisory to intermediaries, urges to remove fake content swiftly

As state governments in India increasingly rely on the popularity of influencers, a key question arises: Will these state governments reduce their spending on traditional media platforms in favor of targeting younger audiences on digital platforms like Meta and Google? Experts believe that the state governments will reduce its Print budget and allocate it to influencer marketing. 

Recently, the Karnataka state government introduced the Karnataka Digital Advertising Guidelines-2024, which allows digital media entities, including social media influencers, to receive government advertisements. Similarly, the Uttar Pradesh Government announced the Social Media Policy 2024, enabling social media influencers to earn up to Rs 8 lakh per month by promoting state government schemes.

Experts believe that the funds allocated to these schemes and policies will impact the state governments' spending on traditional media. Anup Sharma, a PR & Strategic Communications Consultant, stated, "Various reports and trends show that Generation Z and millennials are gravitating towards social, user-generated video content because it's free, convenient, and they can endlessly scroll through content that is algorithmically targeted to their interests."

Sharma further noted, "This highlights the effectiveness of social media algorithms and the influence of content creators and influencers. Like businesses, the government has also recognized this trend and is increasingly using social media to engage with citizens, share information, and deliver services more quickly and effectively."

Elaborating further, Sharma added, "This will lead to a shift in advertising budgets, with content creators and influencers taking a significant share from print media, such as newspapers and magazines. TV will continue to hold a larger share due to higher rates, followed closely by print and social media. While the budget allocation may be small now, it wouldn't be surprising to see advertising on content creator- and influencer-led social media platforms increasing at a faster rate than on other platforms."

The Union government spent Rs 967.46 crore through the Central Bureau of Communication on awareness/publicity campaigns about Indian government schemes and programs through print media from 2019-20 to 2023-24 (as of 12.12.2023). TV still receives 60 percent of the budget, followed by print and outdoor media.

Shudeep Majumdar, Co-founder and CEO of Zefmo, commented, "Regarding the potential decrease in spending on traditional media due to state governments investing in influencers, it's plausible to anticipate some shift in budget allocation. As digital platforms increasingly become the primary source of information and entertainment for a large segment of the population, especially among younger demographics, governments are recognizing the value of leveraging these channels for broader reach and engagement."

Majumdar also mentioned, "The impact on traditional media sectors like print and television will likely vary. Television may experience a lesser impact compared to print, given that it still captures a significant share of advertising spend and audience engagement, especially in contexts like live sports, local news, and entertainment. Print media, however, might face greater challenges as it has been on a declining trend with respect to advertising revenue and circulation, exacerbated by the digital shift."

Discussing the paradigm shift, Majumdar said, "From an agency perspective, the increasing government investment in the influencer marketing sector opens up a myriad of new opportunities while also introducing challenges and potential shifts in both operational and ethical paradigms that influencers and their partners must navigate."

Speaking about the impact of these policies on the influencer ecosystem in the country, Rohit Agarwal, Founder and Director of Alpha Zegus, stated, "While the opportunity offered by state governments is very lucrative, influencers will have to navigate the social dilemma of balancing content freedom with monetary gain. They will also need to consider that if they are asked to endorse a particular political party, they will need to align their morals and beliefs with that party."

According to Google's transparency report for the period between October 3 and November 1, total spending on political advertising amounted to Rs 69,15,500. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led the chart with an expenditure of Rs 33,60,000. Other notable contributors included the Directorate of Public Relations, Madhya Pradesh at Rs 5,04,000; the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) at Rs 2,30,000; Indian Pac Consulting Private Limited at Rs 2,19,000; and the Indian National Congress at Rs 1,39,000.

According to Meta’s ad library report, the BJP and its known affiliates spent Rs 2.5 crore on political ads in Maharashtra, a figure higher than in Uttar Pradesh.

Influencers likely to take a pie from State governments’ traditional media budget

Amidst ongoing debate on Meta’s policy for alcohol and gambling ads in India, Kerala Police has sent a notice to Google and Meta over apps and ads that are linked to gambling websites and apps. The victims of the scam received messages from gambling operators on WhatsApp. Storyboard18 broke the news on Tuesday about Meta's policy to allow alcohol and gambling advertisements on their platform. 

Kerala state police has asked Google to remove 60 fake lottery and gambling apps from its Google Play Store. A similar notice has been sent to Meta to remove advertisements of such fake lotteries and gambling platforms from social media platforms such as Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram managed by it.

Kerala’s State Police Media Centre (SPMC) said that fake advertisements in the name of 'Kerala Megamillion Lottery' and 'Kerala Summer Season Dhamaka' have been circulating on social media platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram and Instagram for some time stating that lotteries run by the state government can be bought online.

“After a cyber patrolling, we discovered 60 apps, 25 fake Facebook profiles and 20 websites that are connected to the scam”, the SPMC officer said. 

A senior leader from Real Money Gaming industry said, “These scam advertisements are taking place on the Meta and Google platforms. Imagine once these betting and gambling are legitimized, these scams will grow in large numbers. This will affect crores of people in India and they might get scammed.” 

According to police, victims of the scam received messages via WhatsApp which claimed that the Kerala government has started an online lottery and on spending Rs 40 rupees there is a chance to win up to Rs 12 crore. Victims who send Rs 40 on the number mentioned in the message get a fake lottery ticket image via WhatsApp.

The fraudsters then send artificially fabricated results to make the victim believe that the ticket has won a prize of Rs 5 lakh. From here, a scammer posing as a government representative calls the 'ticket holder' and asks them to transfer a certain amount to a bank account towards 'GST' and 'stamp duty' to receive the prize money.

The Kerala police have urged the public to be careful not to fall prey to such online lottery and gambling scams and to immediately call on the number 1930 if they suspect that a financial fraud is taking place.


Kerala police issues notice to Google, Meta over gambling advertisements

On Thursday, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced that Google-owned YouTube will establish an academy in Amaravati. The academy will focus on artificial intelligence, content development, and skill development, to turn Andhra Pradesh into India's digital epicentre.

Naidu wrote on X: “Delighted to connect with @YouTube Global CEO, Mr @nealmohan, and @Google APAC Head, Mr Sanjay Gupta online today. We discussed setting up a YouTube Academy in Andhra Pradesh, in collaboration with local partners, to foster AI, content development, skill development and certification programmes. Furthermore, we explored avenues for providing technical support for the Media City initiative in our capital, Amaravati.”

The virtual meeting with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YouTube’s CEO Neal Mohan and Google’s president of the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, Sanjay Gupta, YouTube vice president Leslie Miller, Google India's managing director for government affairs and public policy Sreenivasa Reddy and Union Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu will now lead to formally signing of an MoU. 

Naidu has also revealed plans for a comprehensive partnership with Google under the 'AI for Andhra Pradesh, Powered by Google' initiative.

This comprehensive partnership will encompass AI applications in agriculture, healthcare, and sustainability, as well as skill development, startup ecosystems, AI workforce cultivation, MSME support through digital credit and AI-driven governance," the government said.

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/youtube-keeps-a-close-watch-on-broadcasting-bill-analysing-it-says-neal-mohan-ceo-39113.htm">Read more: YouTube keeps a close watch on Broadcasting Bill, ‘analysing it’, says Neal Mohan, CEO</a>


Google leadership discusses setting up YouTube Academy in Andhra Pradesh

The Supreme Court will hear the cross pleas of Google and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) challenging a verdict of National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) against the tech giant. Last year, NCLAT had upheld a fine of Rs 1,338 crore against Google for allegedly exploiting its dominant position. 

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took up the appeals and said the pleas can be taken up later.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, appeared for Google, said the plea may be kept for final disposal later. The bench then said the cross-pleas can be listed for final disposal in the second week of September. On July 7 last year, the top court had taken up the appeals for the first time.

Earlier, the bench had appointed lawyer Sameer Bansal as the nodal counsel for preparing common digital pleadings with the help of lawyers from both sides for easy adjudication of the matter.

On March 29 last year, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) had handed out a verdict on Google’s alleged anti-competitive practices in the case — upholding a fine of ₹1,338 crore but scrapping conditions like allowing hosting of third-party app stores on its Play Store.

While upholding the fine imposed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for exploiting its dominant position in Android, the NCLAT had struck down an anti-trust regulator order that had said Google will not restrict the removal of its pre-installed apps by the users.

The NCLAT in its 189-page order, upheld CCI’s six directions, including one in which Google was asked to allow the users during the initial device setup to choose their default search engine, and another that made it clear that OEMs cannot be forced to pre-install a bouquet of apps.

The appellate tribunal had asked Google to implement the direction and deposit the amount in 30 days.

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