FILE PHOTO: Apple is seeking to defend in Google’s ongoing U.S. antitrust trial over their search business. | Photo Credit: Reuters
Apple to defend Google in search case
Apple is seeking to defend in Google’s ongoing U.S. antitrust trial over their search business about their agreement under which the Sundar Pichai-led company pays the hardware giant billions of dollars each year to make it the default search engine on its Safari browser. Apple’s lawyers said court papers that were filed that they do not intend to build their own search engine to compete with Google Search. Just in 2022, Google paid Apple $20 billion for their search engine.
Google could be forced to sell their Chrome web browser business and even their Android operating system and kept competition healthy in online search. The company has also said that it could loosen its default agreements with browser developers, mobile manufacturers and wireless carriers, but not to end agreements that share its ad revenue from search.
Iran lifts ban on WhatsApp
Iran’s top cyberspace council for the internet has voted to lift its ban on direct messaging app, WhatsApp and Google Play which had been implemented for over two years. The council is headed by the President and include the parliament speaker, the judiciary head and several ministers. It isn’t clear when the decision will come into force. The restrictions were criticised for not being in interest of the people and the country and instead “added costs to people’s lives,” presidential adviser, Ali Rabiei said on X.
Iranians have been using VPNs to bypass internet restrictions. Other social media platforms including Facebook, X and YouTube were blocked in 2009. In 2018, Telegram was also banned post which Instagram and WhatsApp were blocked in 2022 after the custody death of Mahsa Amini following which there were violent protests across. Since then, Iran has launched their own apps to replace the foreign ones including navigation apps like Neshan and Balad.
Musk’s X lifts price for premium-plus tier
Elon Musk’s X has pushed up the price of its premium-plus plan in multiple markets from December 21 to boost payments for creators on their platform. The premium-plus tier plan now costs $22 a month in the U.S., more than the $16 it was charging earlier. The basic tier and premium subscriptions will stick to its original rates of $3 and $8 each. The platform has changed its revenue-sharing plans in October so that subscription fees can go directly to creator revenue. Creators are now paid on content quality and engagement instead of their ad views.
The new pricing structure will apply to new subscribers while existing members will retain their current rates until January 20. The platform offers premium-plus subscribers ad-free browsing and features like more access to the Grok AI chatbot and real-time analytics on new trends.
Published – December 26, 2024 12:49 pm IST