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Will Google Be Dismantled?

Written by Arlo Gilbert | Oct 10, 2024 12:30:00 PM

Hello all, and happy Thursday! 

One of our stories this week focuses on a potential development that would truly shake the foundation of the internet—the Department of Justice may dismantle Google’s search business from Chrome, Android, and Google Play. The court filing comes on the heels of a ruling indicating that Google’s search business is anticompetitive. By default, other tech companies present Google as their search engine of choice as a result of exclusivity contracts with Google, a practice that courts have found to be anticompetitive. 

The ramifications of this breakup would be significant, but from a data privacy perspective, there are a few potential consequences. For one, Google would lose access to a significant lead in the race for AI technologies. Given Google’s dominance in search, it has an incredible advantage in AI model development through easy access to search data for model training. 

Meanwhile, Google asserts that these changes would force it to share user search data with competitors, impacting users’ privacy. 

As momentous as this proposed antitrust action is, it’s almost certainly not going to happen anytime soon. Rather, we’re in for a long legal battle that will take quite a while to figure out. We’ll certainly be watching to see what ramifications there may be for you and your data no matter what the outcome. 

Best, 

Arlo 

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Personal Information of Entire Workforce of Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) Exposed 

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined PSNI £750,000 for exposing the personal information of its entire workforce, leaving many fearing for their safety. The ICO found that easily implemented procedures could have prevented the breach, in which hidden data on a spreadsheet released as part of a freedom of information request revealed the surnames, initials, ranks, and roles of all 9,483 PSNI officers and staff. Had a private sector organization made the same breach, the fine would have been £5.6 million. 

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US Department of Justice May Consider Breaking Up Google 

In August, a judge found that Google, which processes 90% of US internet searches, had built an illegal monopoly. The Justice Department's proposed remedies may force Google to divest parts of its business, such as its Chrome browser and Android operating system, that it says are used to maintain an illegal monopoly in online search. 

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California Governor Signs Three Bills Amending CCPA Provisions on Sensitive Information and Opt-Out Preferences in the Context of Mergers 

During the final days of the California legislative session, the California legislature passed several privacy bills that would amend the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Notably, Governor Newsom signed important bills adding neural data to the definition of sensitive data and requiring entities that acquire personal information in a merger to respect opt-out choices that consumers made with the acquiring entity. 

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ICO Launches New Data Protection Audit Framework 

Recently, the UK ICO launched a new audit framework designed to help organizations assess their own compliance with key requirements under data protection law. Review the framework in the link below. 

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China-linked Security Breach Targeted U.S. Wiretap Systems 

Recently, US broadband providers had their networks breached in a cyberattack tied to the Chinese government that targeted wiretap requests. The attack may have allowed China to gain information on the American federal government's court-authorized network wiretapping requests. It's possible the hackers had access for months or longer to networks the U.S. uses to make lawful requests for communications data. 

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