Tech Weekly Roundup: Top 5 News from the Week You Can’t Miss

If you had a busy week and couldn’t keep up with the latest happenings in the tech and business industry, we’ve got you covered. Here’s a quick recap of the top 5 news from the week.

Google Blocked a Number of Chinese Propaganda Websites

Google’s Threat Intelligence Group recently revealed that it blocked over 1,000 news sites from Google Discover and Google News since 2022. 

These sites were backed by four small Chinese PR firms that spread pro-Chinese propaganda news at the order of an anonymous “client”:

• Times Newswire

• Shanghai Haixun Technology
• Durinbridge
• Shenzhen Bowen Media

Out of these 4, Shanghai Haixun Technology dominated with more than 600 domains in its name, all of which were spreading the same propaganda content. All the 600 domains have now been removed by Google. 

These sites managed to stay in hiding for this long by pretending to be local news sites. They even published localized news content along with their propaganda campaign, which ranged from press releases to conspiracy theories, to appear genuine.

According to Google, these PR firms pretended to be working independently. But in reality, they were all in this together. The tech giant has named this network of PR firms “Glassbridge” but they are yet to identify its leader (or if there’s one at all).

This isn’t the first time that Google has caught illegitimate websites spreading pro-China content and it certainly won’t be the last. For instance, another similar group known as Dragonbridge was also recently discovered, spreading similar pro-China content. 

Apple and Google’s Mobile Browsers May Soon Be Under Probe from UK Regulators

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) might consider launching a probe into Google and Apple’s mobile browser market. 

On Friday, the regulator published a report based on the findings of an independent inquiry group which was asked by the CMA to carry out an in-depth review of the mobile browser market in the UK. 

Based on its findings, the group suggested that the CMA should take a closer look at Apple and Google and investigate their activities under the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC).

What Exactly Did Apple & Google Do To Provoke This Decision?

The DMCC is an anti-competitive law that prevents companies from gaining an unfair advantage in the market. 

As per the group’s report, Apple’s stringent Apple Store rules make it difficult for app developers to deliver new features to users. Some of the app developers also complained that they would like to be able to offer their apps outside of the Apple App Store. But there’s no such provision on iOS devices right now.

As for Google, the group found its revenue-sharing agreement with Apple to be problematic. As per this deal, the iPhone maker would make Google the default search engine on all its devices. 

Apple reacted to this news and denied all the findings by the group. It even added that the intervention of DMCC might hamper user privacy and make it difficult for Apple to continue creating the type of technology that sets it apart from others. 

Read More: Google Has Illegal Monopoly over Internet Search, US Judge Rules

Amazon Decides to Invest Another $4 Billion In Anthropic

On Friday, Amazon announced that it has decided to invest another $4 billion in the AI startup Anthropic, bringing its total investment in the company to $8 billion.

The company will start by making an initial transfer of $1.3 billion and the rest will follow soon.

In addition to that, Amazon also decided to make AWS the primary cloud and training partner of Anthropic. This means from now on, most Anthropic models will be trained on AWS Trainium and Inferentia chips.

This is a win-win deal for both companies. For Anthropic, the benefit is pretty clear. The artificial intelligence industry is fiercely competitive with big leaders like OpenAI and Google dominating the market. At a time like this, startups like Anthropic could use all the help they get. 

As for Amazon, this partnership will allow AWS customers early access to an interesting Anthropic feature that will allow them to tune up their data using Claude (Anthropic’s AI chatbot). 

It’s important to note that despite this $8 billion investment, Amazon is still a minority investor in the company and doesn’t have a seat on the board and we don’t know if this status quo will change anytime soon. 

Especially because it looks like Google is also interested in Anthropic. Just last year, it confirmed that it has a 10% stake in the startup and has decided to invest an additional $2 billion in it.

Thousands of Amazon Workers Have Decided to Go On Strike on Black Friday

Black Friday is the busiest day of the year for every retail company. But unfortunately for Amazon, at a time when it would need extra hands to manage the rush, thousands of workers have decided to go on strike instead. 

This includes warehouse workers and delivery drivers from over 20+ countries such as the UK, the US, and Germany.

The protest is being led by the Swiss-based UNI Global Union and Progressive International. It has three main purposes:

Amazon’s relentless pursuit of profit comes at a cost to workers, the environment, and democracy. – Christy Hoffman, the general secretary of UNI Global Union

A spokesperson from Amazon UK has addressed this news and said that they are already taking multiple green initiatives to promote sustainability. For instance, the company is now the largest buyer of renewable energy. 

The spokesperson also added that while they are always open to feedback and willing to adapt, the company remains proud of what they are already offering their workers i.e. competitive pay, comprehensive benefits, and a safe working environment for all.

UK Seeks Collaboration with NATO Allies to Fight Against Rising Cyber Threat from Russia

UK’s Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden has announced that Britain is planning to counter the rising cyber threat from Russia with a dedicated AI security lab. 

For that, it is seeking collaboration with its NATO allies as well as the Five Eyes countries  (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.K., and the U.S.). The laboratory will receive an initial funding of £8.22 million ($10.3 million) from the government itself.

In the future, they are hoping that other organizations (and hopefully its allies) might contribute to it. As for its purpose, it’ll be responsible for developing advanced cyber defense tools and improving intelligence sharing among its NATO allies.

In the official release, McFadden said that the threat of AI in international warfare is no longer a concern of the distant future. In fact, it’s a “daily reality” that needs urgent attention from NATO members. 

This announcement follows in the footsteps of the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill which was introduced by the UK government in July to protect public services, especially critical infrastructure, from cyber attacks.