Trump selects longtime adviser Keith Kellogg as special envoy for Ukraine and RussiaOpinion The US Justice Department's proposed remedies to address Google's monopoly control of the search services and search text advertising markets should be reconsidered in light of the broader problems with technology platforms. The floated fixes should also be evaluated for how they will affect other aspects of Google's business that face unresolved legal challenges, like the government's ad tech antitrust case. Something needs to be done to rein in Google's unlawful behavior , but the fixes proposed by the Justice Department will create collateral damage while leaving competitors, alleged monopolists among them, free to continue engaging in similar self-serving behavior. The DOJ has proposed [PDF]: disallowing exclusionary contracts, such as those that make Google Search the default in Apple's Safari, so rivals won't be frozen out; forcing Google to sell off its Chrome browser and preventing investments in rival search-ad-AI tech as a way to kill competition; requiring Google to make its search index available to rivals at nominal cost; and providing advertisers with more visibility into Google's data. Android divestiture is also a possible ask, if self-preferencing mechanisms designed to prevent Google from favoring its search and text ads services fall short. But if the Justice Department gets its way years from now, once Google has exhausted its appeals, it won't just be Google that pays the price. That's evident from the statement issued by Mozilla, which warned that a blanket prohibition on search agreements – like the one Mozilla has with Google to make Google Search the default in Firefox – "will negatively impact independent browsers like Firefox and have knock-on effects for an open and accessible internet." If Chrome were to be sold to a private equity group, it is highly likely they would prioritize cost-cutting measures Alex Moore, executive director of Open Web Advocacy, told The Register , "The primary concern of OWA is that the vast majority of research and development supporting the web platform currently takes place within the Chromium project, driven predominantly by Google engineers. "If Chrome were to be sold to a private equity group, it is highly likely they would prioritize cost-cutting measures. This could significantly hinder the future development of the web platform, creating a ripple effect that ultimately strengthens Apple’s and Google’s native ecosystems at the expense of the open web. We advocate for implementing measures that strike a careful balance between addressing Google's dominance in search and safeguarding the health and future development of the open web." Moore said the potential impact on Mozilla, one of only three remaining browser engine developers, needs to be considered, and voiced support for allowing it to retain the ability to establish a non-exclusive search engine deal with Google. "Despite its relatively small market share, Mozilla plays a crucial role in contributing to the health and diversity of the web ecosystem," said Moore. "A sudden loss of its primary revenue source would leave it without a viable alternative, threatening its ability to continue its vital work." It seems highly likely that Google's largess will diminish if it has to part ways with Chrome, and the search biz could be further constrained if the government wins its separate antitrust case against Google's ad auction business. The other major mobile device platform owner, Apple, is more focused on maintaining its App Store ecosystem. The iBiz has also faced scrutiny and allegations of monopolistic practices in the US and has been forced to make competition concessions in the EU. A lighter-touch regulatory option would be to force Google to put the open source Chromium project under the control of an independent foundation while also disallowing self-preferencing mechanisms within the browser. This might include, for example, a ban on steering people to sign in to their Google Accounts in Chrome, which would reduce the ad-relevant data Google can gather that its rivals cannot. But limiting Google's ability to extract monopoly revenue will have less impact if competitors like Apple and Microsoft, which are also facing potential antitrust scrutiny, can keep doing business as usual. A Google-focused remedy will just tilt the playing field in a different direction. What's needed is a comprehensive set of rules that forbid self-preferencing and establish a uniform set of platform rights for third-party developers and privacy rights consumers across all tech platforms. Instead of forcing Google to share data gained through privileged access, give consumers the ability to prevent any company from gaining that data. Require all browser makers to offer users a choice of search engine through a randomized menu free of dark patterns, rather than relying on paid defaults. Ensure that in-app browsers reflect the settings and modifications of third-party default browsers. Every setting should be opt-in rather than opt-out. Addressing bad behavior on a piecemeal basis either invites workarounds or replaces one platform tyrant with another. While the Justice Department can't seek remedies for companies that are not found to be in violation of the law, its proposals should be crafted with an eye toward a more coherent vision of platform behavior and responsibilities. ®
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy took part in some light throwing on Monday after missing his first career game because of an injury and the 49ers are hoping he can return this week. Purdy hurt his throwing shoulder during a loss to Seattle on Nov. 17. Purdy underwent two MRIs last week that showed no structural damage. But Purdy he felt discomfort after making a few throws at practice on Thursday and was shut down for the game at Green Bay on Sunday that San Francisco lost 38-10 . Coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday that Purdy made it through the session without pain and will rest on Tuesday and hopefully be able to return to practice on Wednesday as the Niners prepare to play at Buffalo this coming week. “We rested it throughout the weekend hoping that would help,” Shanahan said. “He threw lighter today to see if that rest helps and the rest did help him. So we’ll see again, going through the same things we did last week. We’re going to let him rest all the way up to Wednesday. We’ll see how it feels on Wednesday and then we’ll take the exact same course throughout the week. Hopefully it responds better this week than it did last week with the rest.” Brandon Allen went 17 for 29 for 199 yards with a touchdown, an interception and a lost fumble in his first start since the 2021 season. Allen would play once again if Purdy is unable to go on Sunday at Buffalo. Purdy wasn't the only star player missing for the 49ers on Sunday with defensive end Nick Bosa missing the game with injuries to his left hip and oblique and left tackle Trent Williams out with an ankle injury. “Just waiting to see how they respond,” Shanahan said. “They didn’t respond great last week. That’s why they weren’t able to go. Nick and Trent are both in the same boat. ... We’ll evaluate as this week progresses and hopefully it turns a better corner than it did last week.” In other injury news, linebacker Dre Greenlaw will return to practice this week for the first time since tearing his Achilles tendon in the Super Bowl last season. Greenlaw will likely need at least a couple of weeks of practice before being able to return to play. Offensive lineman Jon Feliciano will be shut down for the rest of the season after his knee injury didn't fully heal. Feliciano's three-week practice window ended Monday and the Niners decided to keep him on injured reserve instead of activating him. Left guard Aaron Banks, defensive tackle Jordan Elliott and receiver Jacob Cowing all remain in concussion protocol to start this week and their status is unknown. Right guard Dominick Puni (shoulder) and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir (knee) underwent MRIs on Monday and the team is waiting for results. Cornerback Renardo Green (neck) and linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (knee) are day to day. Defensive tackle Kevin Givens is expected to return to practice this week after missing the past four games with a groin injury. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Nittany Lions share the holiday with parents, teammates and coachesSelf-regulation is the only way to avoid government interference in regulating news media, two industry bodies representing news channels, magazines and newspapers told the parliamentary standing committee on communication and information technology on Thursday. The Editors Guild of India (EGI) and the News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDA), along with senior officials from the ministry of information and broadcasting, deposed before the committee led by BJP Lok Sabha MP Nishikant Dubey. The discussion centered on weaponisation of laws to curb press freedom, functioning of the government’s fact-check unit, and issues with communal and fake news on news channels. EGI, NBDA and the ministry have been given 10 days to submit written responses to the Lok Sabha secretariat addressing questions raised by committee members. EGI said various laws, including the Information Technology Act, were being weaponised to curb press freedom. The guild highlighted section 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita that carries up to three years in jail and/or a fine for publishing false information with intent to create enmity. The EGI said the definitions under the law are vague and prone to abuse. The guild also noted that in September 2024, the Bombay high court had struck down the central government’s attempt to establish a state-run fact-check unit through a 2023 amendment to the IT Rules as unconstitutional. Ministry officials, including joint secretary C Senthil Rajan, said since the amendment was struck down, the Press Information Bureau’s fact-check unit could only label misleading content related to the central government but couldn’t issue takedown notices. To be sure, the amendment did not clarify whether the government’s FCU would have had takedown powers, a point of confusion that was argued at length during the court proceedings in Bombay HC. In the meeting, Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale cited two instances where false information was spread by government officials themselves but was not fact checked by the PIB FCU. First, when Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson for the ministry of external affairs, in a public statement said that the blocking of the social media handles of Australia Today in Canada after it carried an interview with foreign minister S Jaishankar “highlights the hypocrisy of Canada towards freedom of speech” even though the handles had been blocked by Meta because of the platform’s May 2023 decision to end the availability of news content on its platforms in Canada. Second, when Jaishankar and defence minister Rajnath Singh claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had got the Ukraine-Russia war paused. Gokhale asked whether the government of India and its ministers and officials were exempted from being fact checked by the PIB FCU even as the unit fact checks individuals on social media and news organisations. He also asked for details about the FCU’s methodology and for information about how many misleading or false claims by the central government itself had been fact checked by the PIB FCU. MIB officials said that the PIB FCU did not take suo motu cognisance of content to fact check through its social media handles; it relied on complaints being made to it and no complaints had been made about false claims by government officials. The parliamentarians asked for a written submission to that effect. Dubey, in the meeting, said that PIB was set up to spread information about the central government and was responsible for and answerable to the government, not to the people. Gokhale asked MIB officials about the watermarked version of the Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill that was circulated among select stakeholders in July which was ultimately withdrawn. Regulating news channels NBDA chairperson Rajat Sharma told the committee that the news broadcasters who are members of the NBDA do not interfere with the functioning of its adjudicatory arm, the News Broadcasting & Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA), which is chaired by retired Supreme Court judge Justice AK Sikri. Sharma told the committee that a number of media houses become members of the NBDA but when the NBDSA issues orders against them, they leave the self-regulatory body so that they do not have to comply. He said that the NBDA cannot force people to join as it is a voluntary exercise. Anuradha Prasad, honorary treasurer of the NBDA (chairperson and MD of News24), suggested to the committee that the government should make registering with a self-regulatory body an obligatory licence condition for news channels, a suggestion that Dubey echoed to MIB officials. Gokhale said that penalty amounts imposed by NBDSA are restricted to a maximum of ₹ 5 lacs, a paltry amount for shows such as Sharma’s whose advertising revenue for an hour-long show runs in high double digit lacs. The TMC MP asked how such small amounts could act as effective deterrent. Sharma informed the committee that the NBDA was considering revising the penalty to ₹ 25 lacs. Gokhale also said that there was no separate mechanism for channels that repeatedly flouted standards and instead, each offence was treated as the first offence. Sharma said that that would be placed before the board. Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also alleged that NBDA/NBDSA was not acting against repeat offenders such as News18 that routinely broadcast “communally-charged, misleading and false news”. She cited independent fact checker AltNews’s data as per which despite there being more than 300 instances of News18 broadcasting communal programming, NBDA/NBDSA took action in only five instances. Lok Sabha MPs Devesh Shakya (Samajwadi Party, Uttar Pradesh) and Rajesh Verma (Lok Jan Shakti Party (Ram Vilas), Bihar) raised the issue of local cable news channel operators and YouTubers who ran “extortion rackets” where they blackmail politicians into paying them money for not running false and damaging stories about them. MIB officials said local cable operators were regulated by the district collector or magistrate. Dubey said that it was unfair of the MIB to hold the district collector or the magistrate responsible for this when they were already burdened by other duties. He told the MIB that the ministry couldn’t absolve itself of responsibility. Gokhale also raised the question of how social media posts from personal accounts and public appearances from channel editors and owners were regulated by the NBDA. AI generated false news Sharma said that he himself had been a target of deepfakes where deepfakes of him selling some medicines for diabetes were being shared on social media. Chaturvedi raised the issue of news channels broadcasting the AI generated voice notes posted by the BJP on the eve of the Maharashtra assembly elections on Tuesday. She said that all channels continued to run the synthetic voice notes as fact without comparing them to their existing archives with the voices of the public personalities. It is only on Wednesday, after independent fact checker Boom said that three of the four voice notes were definitely fake, that some news channels started fact checking the BJP’s tweets, she said in the meeting. She asked the NBDA if it circulated any advisories to its members, telling them to fact check if one of the members had done so, and how the agenda for prime time debate shows was set. In response, Prasad, in the meeting, said that political parties also had to take responsibility for the amount of fake news being put out as they had entire ecosystems (referring to ‘troll armies’ and ‘IT cells’) spreading misinformation. Issues with the Press Council of India The EGI also raised concerns about the Press Council of India, especially about the selection of its chairperson. The EGI said that the PCI had become partisan and instead of being accountable to the Parliament, as required under the Press Council of Act, 1978, it had been cornered by the executive. Dubey said that the rules around the selection of the PCI chairperson had remained unchanged since 1978 to which EGI said that it was not just the current government but each successive government that had made the PCI toothless. The guild offered to submit a written submission about the problems with the selection of the PCI chair, an offer that was accepted by Dubey. Under the PCI Act, the PCI chair is nominated by a committee made up of the Rajya Sabha chairperson, the Lok Sabha Speaker and a person elected by a Council that is nominated by the central government.