My first company, Opera, was built on word of mouth. The same applies to my 2nd company, @Vivaldi. We have never had the means that Big Tech has. In the case of Vivaldi, we have even avoided investors, to not end up like Opera.

We have also made it harder for our selves. We likely could have generated more funds through adding stuff like Crypto, AI or just plain old data collection in the browser, but we choose not to. We are also not an Ad company like most of our larger competitors. Instead we have added a wealth of features and customization.

Now people are starting to understand that just going with Big Tech may be easy to start with, but ends up not being worth it. In fact we now have governments and companies thinking that they need to move away from Big Tech and quickly.

We welcome you all.

#Vivaldi #Browser #Technology #Windows #Macos #Linux #Android #Apple #Google #Microsoft

https://vivaldi.com/blog/how-can-a-dugnad-save-the-web/

#Cloudflare teams up with big browsers to help websites tell welcome from unwelcome visitors

https://www.theregister.com/software/2026/06/22/cloudflare-teams-up-with-big-browsers-to-help-websites-tell-welcome-from-unwelcome-visitors/5259782

#privacy #PACT #Chrome #Edge #Firefox #Google #Microsoft #Mozilla

Now that Google is testing websites for their use of llms.txt (and WebMCP, BTW), does anyone have ideas to create one, where the semantics is correct, but the content pure "useful garbage"?
[It seems external links are allowed...]

@davidgerard ???

#AI #Google #GoogleAI

Alt...

Agentic Browsing These checks ensure high-quality, browsable websites for Al agents and validate the correctness of WebMCP integrations. This category is still under development and subject to change.

#GDPR / #Cookies: You CAN NOT make it up: #Google, #Germany and #France are now lobbying to keep (!) the Cookie Banners in the EU, when the European Commission has proposed to replace them with a simple signal. #Lobbying against the vast majority of voters worked. Details: https://noyb.eu/en/eu-member-states-and-google-suddenly-want-keep-cookie-banners

Google's AI Overviews Feature Is Telling Users That SCP Horror Fiction Entities Are Real

https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/google-ai-overview-scp-horror-fiction-real

#google #ai

The United States sanctioned Chilean officials who were assessing a proposal to build an undersea cable between Chile and Hong Kong.

It wants to ensure South America data flows through cables owned by US companies, giving it the ability to surveil that data.

https://restofworld.org/2026/chile-china-america-google-cable/

#tech #politics #google #chile #china

Bose thinks it can be a media company for some reason

The history books are littered with the corpses of corporate record labels started by companies that had no business being in the music industry. Bose thinks it can be the exception to the rule. It thinks it can be Red …

https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/953324/bose-studios-record-label-media-company

#Tech #Technology #TechNews #AI #Gadgets #Software #Cybersecurity #Apple #Google #Microsoft #Startup #OpenSource #TheVerge [The Verge]

#Android verification is coming: #Google confirms timeline and supported app stores

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/google-shares-updated-timeline-for-rolling-out-android-developer-verification/

#sideloading #privacy #FOSS #cybersecurity

#Google told researcher 'Nice catch!' Then denied bug bounty for flaw it still hasn't fixed

https://www.theregister.com/security/2026/06/18/google-told-researcher-nice-catch-then-denied-bug-bounty-for-flaw-it-still-hasnt-fixed/5258076

#cybersecurity #Kubernetes #GCP

New post: Choosing a VoIP Service When You're Desktop-First and Don't Like Phones

https://lanie.work/technology/voip-for-desktop-first-users/

#Accessibility #Disability #Technology #Workflow #Voip #Desktop-First #Iphone #Windows #Google-Voice

#Android verification is coming: #Google confirms timeline & supported app stores

Almost 20 years ago, Google pitched Android as the more open alternative to Apple's walled garden. Last year, Google announced it would begin erecting its own walls through #developer #verification. The company has issued an update on its plans, affirming that the verification system will begin rolling out in select countries later this year. We're also learning which app stores are participating in verification & the timeline for key features like the recently revealed "advanced flow" for bypassing verification.

Google has claimed that developer verification is a necessary change to #smartphone software distribution, pointing to the increased prevalence of #scams that trick Android users into installing #malware apps. Google's solution requires verifying the identities of developers outside the Play Store just like it does for devs publishing on its platform.
#privacy #security

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/google-shares-updated-timeline-for-rolling-out-android-developer-verification/

#Google to use #UK and #EU user IP addresses for ad personalization

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/google-to-use-uk-and-eu-user-ip-addresses-for-ad-personalization/

#privacy #advertising #TargetedAds

Ok gang, we could all use a laugh, even if it is a deeply dark, we’re all going to die, kinda laugh.

#Google’s #AI thinks the #SCP is real, and is telling people that it is.

The SCP is a collaborative fictional project. Thousands of people have written entries in the SCP. Some have made it to novelization and movies. It’s an incredibly cool project with a lot of amazing writers.

It is fiction, written by people, for people. But the #LLMs have devoured everything, and have no way to discern truth from fiction, ergo…SCP’s Ed’s Head (SCP-565) is presented as a real autonomous underwater brain, and SCP-426, a toaster that can force someone to eat bread until they die.

#Futurism found lots, we’ll find more. It’s very funny to think that some of my monsters may live well beyond the boundaries I created to contain them. Of the millions of my words LLMs have stolen, this is the funniest.

https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/google-ai-overview-scp-horror-fiction-real

The SCP Foundation: https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com

#AIisTheft

Do I look like a shmuck?!

A thing people need to be saying more often.

W Social has thirteen privacy violating steps in order to join and you’ve got to do those privacy violating steps every other year.

Certain Google products want to record video of your hand doing gestures of their choosing to verify you’re a human. Certainly not a way to train “AI” to make better hands while gaining biometrics about the back of your hands.

Discord and others demanding (and then temporarily walking back demands) to let a third party see your ID. Even though their previous vendors have already leaked IDs before.

The next time some megacorp demands outrageous access to your private information, ask them:

Do I look like a shmuck?!

#WSocial #Google #Discord #Privacy

#Google to use UK and EU user IP addresses for ad personalization https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/google-to-use-uk-and-eu-user-ip-addresses-for-ad-personalization/

🚨 Google is now asking you to grant camera access and show your hands to prove you're a human?!

--> I am not a robot tests have officially gone to far.

Just when you think the Big Tech can't get more privacy-invading, it does! 🫣

#Google #verification #privacy

Alt...

Screenshot of a Reddit posted titled, "This is getting ridiculous" with a screenshot of Google's gesture with your hand verification system.

When you thought #google couldn't get any more data from you ....

How long before someone has created a "waving hand camera" feature which copies the hand movements shown? All without using a real camera, just faking one in software?

Google should know this is possible today. Next step is to require seeing blinking eyes, or by smiling a certain way, turning your face in a given direction. Then the promise to not stores images or videos will disappear along with changes in their privacy policy. Then they start adding password-less authentication during their login, based on your face.

This is just the beginning. We must flight back. We must protect our rights to privacy.

https://www.reddit.com/r/google/comments/1u0htio/this_is_getting_ridiculous/

#privacy #anonymity #intrusive

No more sharing YouTube links for me. They link to your personal account automatically. The dickfaced bastards clearly failed to contemplate the privacy and SAFETY nightmare this will cause. #google #youtube #safety #OnlineSafety #privacy

#Google #Chrome’s next update will mark the end of popular ad blockers

https://9to5google.com/2026/06/15/google-chromes-next-update-will-mark-the-end-of-popular-ad-blockers/

#AdBlocker #AdBlocking #advertising #privacy

Most people don't know Google has a free tool to remove your home address, phone number, and email from Search results. It's called Results About You (myaccount.google.com/results-about-you). It monitors for new matches and lets you request removal with one click. https://indigoprivacy.com/subscribe #privacy #Google #databrokers #infosec #indigoprivacy

RE: https://mastodon.social/@fsfe/116754296070322005

We submitted our position to the @EUCommission's public consultation on #DMA #AI #interoperability in #Android.

Among other points, we highlighted that access to interoperability should not be tied to *any kind* of verification scheme.

No registration, nor authorisation, nor any contractual relationships with #Google must be a prerequisite to access features in Android. @keepandroidopen

You can read more in our news item or in the submission itself 👇

No, #Google isn’t killing ad blockers: #AdGuard's CTO Andrey Meshkov on the #ManifestV2 panic

https://adguard.com/en/blog/no-google-isnt-killing-ad-blockers-adguard-cto-andrey-meshkov-on-the-manifest-v2-panic.html

#AdBlocker #advertising #Chrome #ManifestV3 #manifest #privacy #cybersecurity

Android 17 is here 🚀

Android shifts toward an “intelligence system” with AI-driven AppFunctions, mandatory adaptive layouts, and Compose-first development.

Big changes: bubbles, multitasking upgrades, stronger privacy + major performance boosts.

More: https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2026/06/Android-17.html?m=1

#Android17 #AndroidDev #Google #JetpackCompose #AI

Google Chrome update will close the door on ad blockers

https://9to5google.com/2026/06/15/google-chromes-next-update-will-mark-the-end-of-popular-ad-blockers/

#HackerNews #Google #Chrome #adblockers #update #adtech #privacy #changes

Google just called its new AI Search the "biggest upgrade in 25 years" but really, it's killing the open web.  😡

The open web was built by millions of people sharing knowledge freely → Now, Google who owns the monopoly on Search is ruining it. 

We wrote about what's really happening, and what you can do about it 👉 https://tuta.com/blog/why-google-ai-search-is-bad

#AI #AISearch #Google 

Alt...

Image of old Google with the title "How it started" and an image of the new Google with AI titled, "How it's going" and a text with an arrow pointing at Google's new AI search saying, "This is killing the open web"

Bra at noen fører det videre. Jeg har klaget til vipps for noen år siden men fikk bare til svar at det er pga. "sikkerheten" og de ikke kan gjøre noe med det.

#bankid #vipps #betaling #Norge #google #android

A growing number of young consumers are turning to analog and single-purpose devices like cyberdecks and e-readers as a form of resistance to AI-first platforms and increasingly automated digital systems. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/06/15/world/gen-z-tech-trend-anti-ai/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #ai #analogartificialintelligence #ai #cyberdeck #alphabet #google #ebay #siliconvalley #microsoft #siliconvalley #genz

Oh, my. Well, this is awkward. Here I thought I'd become a daddy, all-knowing AI.

From Google:

You may have recently received an email from us with the subject line "Your child’s new privacy settings for Search services."

This email may have been sent to you in error. This communication was intended only for parents who manage their child’s Google Account. If you do not manage a child's account, no action is required on your part.

Thank you for your understanding, and we apologize for any confusion or concern this may have caused.

#Google #AI

A #German Court Has Ruled That #Google Is Liable for False Statements Generated by #AIOverviews

The ruling holds that a company that designs, trains, operates, and manages an #AI system must assume legal #liability for any damages caused by the responses it generates.

https://www.wired.com/story/a-court-has-ruled-that-google-is-liable-for-false-statements-generated-by-ai-overviews/

#Google sues Chinese #cybercrime network that used #Gemini to automate scams

https://arstechnica.com/google/2026/06/google-sues-chinese-cybercrime-network-that-used-gemini-to-automate-scams/

#AI #cybersecurity

According to the court, correcting misinformation is not the responsibility of third parties. Google is the only entity with the ability to modify the technology underpinning its AI-generated summaries and, therefore, “must be held accountable.” Furthermore, the court found that Google's line of defense lacked merit, since the challenged summary “contains statements that do not appear at all in the search results.”

https://www.wired.com/story/a-court-has-ruled-that-google-is-liable-for-false-statements-generated-by-ai-overviews/

#google #ai #germany #court

#Authoritarian tech policy:

- #ChatControl,
- #Ageverification,
- #Google / #Apple #control,
- #Digital #app use etc

RE: https://mastodon.social/@Pettet8/116742131579090788

“Google was a different company 9 years ago.”

Hmm… was it, though? 🤔

https://ar.al/talks/#free-is-a-lie

#google #BigTech #peopleFarming #SiliconValley #surveillance #capitalism #meaCulpa

This week in #FDroid (TWIF) is live:

* 2.0 is as ready as possible, test now!
* #Google spreading FUD about #Android #FLOSS apps
* #Fedilab #Mastodon 'Collections'
* more #ReFra gallery goodies
* more categories
+ 34 new apps
& 293 updates

Grab all your devices from the drawers: https://f-droid.org/2026/06/12/twif.html

#KeepAndroidOpen

Several police officers arrested for using controversial Flock AI license plate reader system to stalk romantic partners, says report — investig…

Tens of officers have been fired, and some even arrested, for abuse of the Flock license plate reader system used by police departments throughout the US, according to a new report.

https://www.tomshardware.com/software/security-software/several-police-officers-arrested-for-using-controversial-flock-ai-license-plate-reader-system-to-stalk-romantic-partners-says-report-investigators-have-unearthed-at-least-18-such-cases-in-the-us-over-recent-years

#Tech #Technology #TechNews #AI #Gadgets #Software #Cybersecurity #Apple #Google #Microsoft #Startup #OpenSource #TomsHardware [Tom's Hardware]

Massachusetts lawmakers advanced a privacy bill to Gov. Maura Healey requiring tech firms to delete sensitive personal data and stop selling location data. 🔒
The Senate-backed measure would limit data brokerage and targeted ads by firms including Meta and Google for 7 million residents. 🏛️

🔗 https://www.inc.com/moses-jeanfrancois/tech-giants-may-soon-be-forced-to-wipe-your-data-if-you-live-in-this-state-heres-why/91357761

#TechNews #Massachusetts #DataPrivacy #Meta #Google #Location #Data #Privacy #DataProtection #Surveillance #Transparency #DigitalRights #Security #Technology #Policy #Law