Google has announced it will shut down its ailing Google+ social network, following reports in the Wall Street Journal that the tech giant failed to inform hundreds of thousands of users of a potential data security breach in March this year.
The Journal says that Google opted not to go public with the news that it had inadvertently allowed app developers to access profile data from users that had not been marked as public “in part because of fears that doing so would draw regulatory scrutiny and cause reputational damage”.
The Washington Post reports that the decision-making process behind not disclosing the potential data breach included “briefing chief executive Sundar Pichai”, at a time when US lawmakers were scrutinising social media platforms over user data protection.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Hours after the Wall Street Journal report, Google posted a blog outlining that it has decided to shut down Google+ for consumers, saying it “has not achieved broad consumer or developer adoption, and has seen limited user interaction with apps”.
The Telegraph reports that it will take “10 months to completely close the service”, and that a “version for businesses will remain open”.
-
Why are American conservatives clashing with Pope Leo?Talking Points Comments on immigration and abortion draw backlash
-
9 haunted hotels where things definitely go bump in the nightThe Week Recommends Don’t fear these spirited spots. Embrace them.
-
Saudi comedy fest exposes free speech schism in stand-upIN THE SPOTLIGHT The decision by some of stand-up’s biggest names to attend a festival in a nation infamous for its censorship has the comedy world picking sides and settling old scores
-
Is the UK government getting too close to Big Tech?Today’s Big Question US-UK tech pact, supported by Nvidia and OpenAI, is part of Silicon Valley drive to ‘lock in’ American AI with US allies
-
Google: A monopoly past its prime?Feature Google’s antitrust case ends with a slap on the wrist as courts struggle to keep up with the tech industry’s rapid changes
-
South Korea's divide over allowing Google MapsTalking Points The country is one of few modern democracies where the app doesn't work
-
Google avoids the worst in antitrust rulingSpeed Read A federal judge rejected the government's request to break up Google
-
Tea app hack: user data stolen from women's dating safety appIn The Spotlight Data leak has led to fears users could be targeted by men angered by the app's premise
-
Is AI killing the internet?Talking Point AI-powered browsers and search engines are threatening the death of the open web
-
Unreal: A quantum leap in AI videoFeature Google's new Veo 3 is making it harder to distinguish between real videos and AI-generated ones
-
Google's new AI Mode feature hints at the next era of searchIn the Spotlight The search giant is going all in on AI, much to the chagrin of the rest of the web
