Google told to sell Chrome and stop search engine deals
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) isn’t letting Google off lightly in its anti-competition ruling. On Thursday, it demanded the tech giant sell Chrome and stop striking multi-billion deals to make its search engine the default on iPhones and browsers.
Lawyers for the DOJ said: "Restoring competition to the markets for general search and search text advertising as they exist today will require reactivating the competitive process that Google has long stifled.”
Google obviously isn’t happy. The corporation’s president, Kent Walker, said the proposals were “wildly overbroad” and are likely to “break” its products.
Google is now set to deliver counter-proposals before the end of the year, ahead of a final decision in summer 2025.
Keir Starmer shuns Bluesky despite growth surge
It’s all about Bluesky at the moment as the X exodus continues. Bluesky surged to a 20m user milestone this week and, perhaps more importantly, edged ahead of Threads for active users in the US.
The new decentralised social media platform certainly has momentum after tripling its user base since the summer. Scores of brands and celebs have signed up recently, including Stephen King.
However, there are no plans for the British Prime Minister to join just yet. Starmer says the government is “still using Twitter (X)” to reach “as many people as possible.”
Bluesky chief fumbles age limit question
Bluesky chief executive Jay Graber had a moment to forget during an interview with the BBC on Thursday.
Graber said that users must be 18 years old to sign up for the service when talking on the Breakfast programme on Radio 5 Live. The actual minimum age is 13—the same as on other social media platforms, including Instagram and TikTok.
Bluesky also doesn’t verify a user’s details, with Graber suggesting the platform isn’t ready to handle a mass of private user data.
Threads testing custom feeds
Meta’s X alternative, Threads, has largely been overshadowed in recent weeks. In an effort to kickstart its popularity, CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed this week that custom feeds for certain topics and profiles are now being tested.
A Threads spokesperson said: “Custom feeds will display a combination of posts from the profiles you’ve added and the search results for the selected topic.”
Jaguar’s big rebrand mocked online
Luxury British car manufacturer Jaguar’s attempts to reinvigorate the brand didn’t get off to the best start this week after its new logo was mocked online.
Jaguar is typically renowned for selling vehicles to an older, more conservative demographic. However, its rebrand and promo videos flipped the script with a modern, colourful, and minimalistic tone.
Its new marketing materials state: “We're here to delete the ordinary. To go bold. To copy nothing.”
The use of colourful fashion models and a stripped-back logo didn’t go down well with Elon Musk or Nigel Farage (unsurprisingly). The latter released a tweet and video stating the manufacturer “will go bust.”
Jaguar sold fewer than 10,000 vehicles in the US last year and needs a notable uplift in its performance to survive.
