Google suggests fixes to its search monopoly
Alphabet's Google proposed new limits to revenue-sharing agreements with companies including Apple which make Google's search engine the default on their devices and browsers.
The suggestions stem from the US search giant's ongoing antitrust battle over its online search business.
In August, US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google illegally crushed its competition in search - a decision the company vowed to appeal.
In a legal filing submitted Friday, Google said it should be allowed to continue entering into those contracts with other companies while widening the options it offers.
These options include allowing different default search engines to be assigned to different platforms and browsing modes.
Google's suggested remedies also call for the ability for partners to change their default search provider at least every 12 months.
The proposals stand in stark contrast to the sweeping remedies suggested last month by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), which recommended that Judge Mehta force the firm to stop entering into revenue-sharing contracts.
DOJ lawyers also demanded that Google sell Chrome, the world's most popular web browser.
Google's search engine accounts for about 90% of all online searches globally, according to web traffic analysis platform Statcounter.
In a statement, Google called DOJ's remedies "overbroad" and said even its own counterproposals, which were filed in response to a court-mandated deadline, would come at a cost to their partners.
Judge Mehta is expected to issue a decision in the remedies phase of the landmark case by August, after a trial.
Google Street View image helps police unlock murder case
A Google Street View image of a man loading a large white plastic bag into the boot of his car has helped unravel a murder case in a northern Spanish town, police say.
The Google app allows users to see images of streets around the world - filmed by cars mounted with cameras.
It captured the exact moment the body of the victim was allegedly being removed.
Two people were arrested last month, accused of being responsible for the disappearance and murder of a man in October last year. His dismembered remains were found in a cemetery last week.
This was the first time in 15 years that the Google car had been to the town of Tajueco, in the northern province of Soria.
Officials say another photo sequence shows the blurred silhouette of someone transporting a large white bundle in a wheelbarrow.
However, police said the images were not "decisive" in solving the case.
The male victim, said by El Pais newspaper to be a 33-year-old Cuban national, was reported missing in October 2023 after a relative received text messages from the victim's phone which he found suspicious.
The relative told police they said the victim had met a woman, was leaving Spain and would be getting rid of his phone.
On 12 November this year, police arrested a woman said to be the missing man's partner and a man said to be her ex-partner.
Earlier this month, a severely decomposed torso, thought to be the victim's, was dug up in a nearby cemetery.
The accused have been remanded in custody and the investigation continues.