Technology

USA Today parent Gannett sued Google on Tuesday, alleging the tech giant has used anticompetitive business practices to gain an illegal monopoly over the digital advertising market. Gannett, the largest US newspaper publisher, argued in Manhattan federal court that Google and its parent company, Alphabet, have “carried out a sophisticated, anticompetitive and deceptive scheme for well over a decade.” “Google …

Alibaba co-founder Joe Tsai, the billionaire owner of the Brooklyn Net, will take over as chairman of the Chinese e-commerce giant, the company said Tuesday. Tsai, a Taiwanese-Canadian billionaire with a reported net worth of $7.7 billion, replaces Daniel Zhang, who stepped down to focus on Alibaba’s “crown jewel” cloud division. Tsai, a Yale graduate, helped launch the company in …

A chatbot “version” of Jesus Christ called “Ask_Jesus” is streaming on the gaming platform Twitch — and it stands ready to answer questions from humans on anything from morality issues to the video game Fortnite to super-powered rodents. Shown with wavy, brown hair and a beatific expression, accompanied by a calm, well-modulated voice, “AI Jesus” calls users on the platform by name — and …

Not quite a “panic at the disco” — but there was panic at Bonnaroo last weekend. A new iPhone feature caused chaos on the first day of the Tennessee festival on Thursday, June 15, placing multiple accidental calls to emergency services. Police in Manchester shared details on Twitter, explaining that the calls were due to a malfunction with the iPhone’s …

Neo-Nazi propaganda continues to find a home on Twitter and is adjacent to ads from major companies as advertisers slowly slowly return to Elon Musk’s social media platform, according to a report. Civil rights attorney and Harvard Law School clinical instructor Alejandra Caraballo said she has witnessed an increase in ads since Musk tapped NBCUniversal’s advertising superstar Linda Yaccarino to …

Elon Musk’s filmmaking baby sister said she has been overcharged by predators who “assumes my eldest brother pays for everything,” she told the Daily Mail. “But he does not,” added Tosca Musk, the 48-year-old sibling of the world’s richest person. Tosca, who works as a filmmaker and executive producer, said she recently got hit with a bill inflated by $20,000 …

A federal judge will decide whether President Joe Biden’s administration violated the First Amendment by censoring users on social media over topics like COVID and election security — and if so, what to do about it. Republican attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana brought the lawsuit last year, alleging that the Biden administration fostered a sprawling “federal censorship enterprise” that …

It will be a space virgin no more. Virgin Galactic is set to launch its first-ever commercial spaceflight — which has a hefty $450,000 ticket price — later this month, the company announced. Part of billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, the company will launch its debut mission, “Galactic 01,” sometime between June 27 and 30, depending on weather conditions. A …

Wireless carrier said Friday it would close its flagship store in downtown San Francisco, deepening the real estate pain in the once-booming tech hub that has been particularly hard hit by the pandemic. Stores in San Francisco have been closing their doors as they try to cut down on real estate space in the face of declining customer visits, occupancy and sales. Office buildings lie empty …

Hold the (gramo)phone: Artificial intelligence-generated music is eligible for Grammy Awards — err, kind of. The Recording Academy announced sweeping changes Friday to music’s biggest night, including that it will allow entries that use AI, as long as there is a “meaningful” and “relevant” human component. “The GRAMMY Award recognizes creative excellence,” reads the guidelines for the 66th annual Grammy Awards, …