Google settles Google Assistant privacy lawsuit for $68 million

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Google has agreed to pay $68 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that its Google Assistant voice service improperly recorded private conversations, violating users’ privacy. The proposed class action settlement was filed in federal court in San Jose, California, and awaits approval from a U.S. district judge.

The lawsuit accused Google, a unit of Alphabet, of recording and sharing conversations when Google Assistant was unintentionally activated, a phenomenon known as “false accepts.” Plaintiffs said these recordings were later used to deliver targeted advertising, even though users had not deliberately triggered the assistant with hot words such as “Hey Google” or “Okay Google.”

Google denied any wrongdoing but chose to settle to avoid prolonged litigation and associated costs, according to court documents. The settlement applies to users who purchased Google devices or experienced false activations dating back to May 18, 2016. Attorneys for the plaintiffs may seek up to one-third of the settlement amount for legal fees.

Nike says it is investigating possible data breach

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Nike said it is investigating a potential data breach after a cybercrime group claimed to have leaked a large volume of data linked to the company’s business operations. The sportswear giant said consumer privacy and data security remain a priority as it assesses the situation and works to understand the scope of the incident.

The ransomware group World Leaks alleged it had published around 1.4 terabytes of Nike-related data. The claim could not be independently verified, and the company declined to comment on whether any ransom demand had been made or paid. It was also unclear whether the incident affected data connected to Nike’s wholesale partners.

The investigation comes at a sensitive time for Nike, which has been working to regain market share lost to smaller rivals. Data breaches have increasingly disrupted major corporations in recent years, often leading to heavy financial losses and operational damage.

Microsoft rolls out next generation of its AI chips, takes aim at Nvidia’s software

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Microsoft has unveiled the second generation of its in-house artificial intelligence chip, Maia 200, alongside new software tools designed to challenge Nvidia’s dominance among AI developers. The chip is going live this week at a Microsoft data center in Iowa, with a second deployment planned in Arizona, marking a key step in the company’s effort to reduce reliance on external chip suppliers.

The Maia 200 follows Microsoft’s first Maia chip introduced in 2023 and arrives as major cloud providers increasingly develop their own AI hardware. Companies such as Google and Amazon Web Services, traditionally large Nvidia customers, are now rolling out custom chips that compete directly with Nvidia’s offerings. The shift reflects growing demand for tailored AI infrastructure optimized for large-scale cloud workloads.

Alongside the new chip, Microsoft announced a suite of software tools to support developers, including Triton, an open-source programming framework that performs similar functions to Nvidia’s widely used Cuda software. By strengthening its software ecosystem, Microsoft is targeting what many analysts view as Nvidia’s most significant competitive advantage.

The Maia 200 is manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company using advanced 3-nanometer technology and incorporates high-bandwidth memory. Microsoft has also emphasized the use of SRAM, a fast memory type that can improve performance for AI systems handling large volumes of user requests, a design choice increasingly favored by Nvidia’s emerging competitors.