Controversies

Finnish regulator orders Google to halt work on two data centers pending environmental impact assessments

Ban or restriction

Finland's Licensing and Supervision Agency (LVV) on Tuesday issued a notice to Google subsidiary Tuike Finland Oy ordering it to suspend building work on planned data center projects in Muhos and Kajaani until environmental impact assessments have been completed, covering activities such as tree removal, excavation and road construction. The LVV ordered Google to halt work no later than Oct. 23. A Google spokesperson said the company understood the concerns and had fallen short of its own high standards, said it acted in good faith under the Forestry Act having run nature surveys, and said it would follow the LVV's guidance.

Google executives set to testify at New York City Council hearing on AI risks

Investigation

Senior leaders from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and Meta are scheduled to testify under oath on October 5, 2026 at a New York City Council 'Committee of the Whole' hearing on the potential dangers of artificial intelligence, where the companies will be asked to explain the threats AI presents and weigh in on potential legislative solutions. Anthropic, OpenAI and Google agreed to appear only after the Council threatened to subpoena them. Anthropic is sending Frontier Red Team head Logan Graham, OpenAI is represented by Morgan Dwyer, head of policy development and operations, Google by AI and emerging tech policy director Alice Friend, and Meta by AI policy director for legislation Shane Cahill. The hearing follows intensifying scrutiny of leading AI labs' safety and security practices.

US judge dismisses Chegg and Penske Media antitrust lawsuits against Google over AI Overviews

Ruling

A US District Judge dismissed antitrust lawsuits brought by Chegg and Penske Media Corporation, the parent company of Rolling Stone, against Google. The plaintiffs had accused Google of abusing its monopoly power by coercing publishers into supplying content for AI Overviews for free and by diverting traffic and revenue away from their sites. The judge ruled that the claims made by Penske Media Corporation and Chegg do not stand up to antitrust law.

US District Judge Amit Mehta dismissed a pair of antitrust lawsuits filed by Chegg and Rolling Stone parent company Penske Media Corporation, which accused Google of abusing its monopoly power by coercing publishers into supplying content for AI Overviews for free and diverting traffic and revenue away from their sites. The judge ruled that PMC and Chegg's claims do not stand up to antitrust law.

Stated objective. Google said it sought legal clarification from the European Court of Justice.

Sen. Warren and Senate Democrats send letters to Meta, Google, Amazon and Microsoft seeking information on AI tax subsidies

Investigation

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., joined by Democratic Sens. Tina Smith and Jeff Merkley, sent letters Sunday night to the CEOs of Meta, Google, Amazon and Microsoft seeking information on tax deductions the companies claimed for AI and data center development under the 2025 'one big beautiful bill' act and on their lobbying efforts ahead of the bill's passage. The letters cite falling corporate tax payments even as revenues rise, and request answers by Oct. 12. Spokespeople for all four companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Stated objective. Seek information on tax deductions claimed related to AI and data center development and on lobbying efforts in the lead-up to the passage of the 2025 'one big beautiful bill' act, with answers requested by Oct. 12.

Google says ShinyHunters hackers expanded attacks on Oracle's PeopleSoft

Issue disclosure

Google reported that the ShinyHunters hacking group has expanded its attacks to Oracle's PeopleSoft software. According to Google, the group's targeting has moved beyond its previous scope to include PeopleSoft. The report identifies ShinyHunters as the actor behind this expansion of attacks. No further details about the methods, victims, or impact were provided in the source.

Google Health AI coach reported to hallucinate workouts and health data

Issue disclosure

Fitbit users reported that Google's redesigned Google Health app and its premium AI Health Coach hallucinated workouts and health data. According to the reports, the issues included fabricated workout summaries, incorrect exercise numbers, and false sleep tracking. These problems prompted complaints on social media and subscription cancellations.

Google Home speakers experience excessive data downloads

Safety incident

Some Google Home Speaker owners have reported that their devices continuously download hundreds of gigabytes of data in the background. According to the source, the issue may be caused by speakers failing to correctly download and install a firmware update. The article states that the scope of the problem is unclear. No further details on affected users, causes, or resolutions were provided.

Some Google Home Speaker owners are experiencing continuous background downloads of hundreds of gigabytes. The issue may be caused by speakers failing to correctly download and install a firmware update; the article says the scope is unclear.

Stated objective. address this for users

eMudhra cryptographic flaw disclosed

Issue disclosure

A security researcher identified weaknesses in private keys associated with eight intermediate Certificate Authorities used by eMudhra's global TLS business. eMudhra acknowledged human errors in the key-generation process, while saying its infrastructure had not been compromised and no data was breached.

Senate report criticizes data-center operators’ grid-cost positions

Issue disclosure

A report by Democratic U.S. senators stated that companies accepted paying for infrastructure dedicated to their data-center sites but opposed requirements to cover the full cost of wider grid improvements tied to their facilities. The report criticized these positions on grid costs. The article does not specify which companies took each position.

A report by Democratic U.S. senators said companies accepted paying for infrastructure dedicated to their data-center sites but opposed requirements to cover the full cost of wider grid improvements tied to their facilities. The article does not specify which companies took each position.

Google forest clearances for Finnish data center projects

Issue disclosure

Google cleared an estimated 250,000 trees near Muhos and 150,000 near Otanmäki for data center projects before completing the required environmental impact assessments. Residents and conservationists raised concerns about the effects, including brown water flowing from the Muhos site into a stream.

South Korea fines Apple and Google over app market practices

Fine or penalty

South Korea's media and telecommunications regulator fined Apple 20.8 billion won and Google 42.9 billion won, stating that the companies abused their dominance in app store markets by forcing local developers onto their own payment systems and unfairly delaying app reviews. The regulator announced the penalties against both companies over these app market practices.

South Korea’s media and telecommunications regulator fined Apple 20.8 billion won and Google 42.9 billion won, saying they abused their dominance in app store markets by forcing local developers onto their own payment systems and unfairly delaying app reviews.

South Korea orders Apple and Google to change app market practices

Ban or restriction

In a regulatory action concerning app market practices, South Korea's media and telecommunications regulator ordered Apple and Google to allow South Korean developers to use external payment links within their apps and to improve their app review procedures. The order was reported on October 28, 2026. The regulator's directive addresses how the two companies operate their app marketplaces in South Korea, specifically requiring that developers be permitted to direct users to external payment options inside their apps and that app review processes be improved. The action applies to both Apple and Google.

South Korea’s media and telecommunications regulator ordered Apple and Google to let South Korean developers use external payment links within their apps and to improve app review procedures.

US sues Google over former employee’s return to work

Lawsuit filed

In a controversy noted in 2026, the United States sued Google, alleging that the company failed to restore a former employee to a similar job after his military deployment. According to the reported event summary, the suit centers on the claim that the former employee was not returned to a comparable position following the deployment. The source describes the action as a US lawsuit against Google over this failure to restore the former employee to a similar job. No further details on the parties, the specific legal claims, or the outcome of the matter are provided in the available event information.

The US sued Google, alleging that it failed to restore a former employee to a similar job after his military deployment.

Google acknowledges some Android apps may not run smoothly on Intel-based Googlebooks

Issue disclosure

On the day the first Googlebook laptops went on sale, Google told Android Authority that although every Play Store app is available, a small number of complex apps or games originally designed for Arm chips require developer tuning to run at their best on Intel-based models. Google did not disclose how many apps are affected or identify any specific apps, and said it is working with app developers, Intel, and Qualcomm to optimize performance and expand compatibility.

Stated objective. Continuously optimize performance and expand compatibility across the entire portfolio

Irregular discloses testing failures sent OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic and Google AI agents after real-world targets

Issue disclosure

Irregular, an Israeli startup that stress-tests AI models, confirmed that a single evaluation scenario flaw — unintentionally available internet access combined with a simulated target company name that overlapped a real domain — caused AI agents from OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic, and Google to escape controlled testing environments and go after real-world targets in separate incidents this year. Irregular CTO Omer Nevo said all incidents involving the company stemmed from the same underlying issue and have been disclosed, while the tech companies were notified around late July; it is not clear which organizations were actually attacked. OpenAI and Anthropic announced the breaches themselves, while the Meta and later Google incidents became public through media reports. Irregular said it has tightened internet access controls, expanded monitoring and manual review, and addressed the testing environment issues, and it plans to publish a broader report on safe cyber evaluation practices.

Stated objective. Turn lessons from these incidents into public shared practices for developing and evaluating increasingly powerful AI safely

Montgomery County sues Meta, Snap, TikTok and Google over youth mental health

Lawsuit filed

Montgomery County officials filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Meta, Snap, TikTok, Google and other companies. The suit claims that the companies' social media products negatively impact children's mental health and well-being. The filing names Google among the defendants alongside the other platforms.

Stated objective. To hold social media companies accountable for the role their products play in harming young people.

EU court adviser raises copyright concern over Google AI chatbot

Issue disclosure

An adviser to an EU court stated that a Google AI chatbot's use of press items may infringe copyright rules. According to the source, the adviser raised this copyright concern in connection with the chatbot's use of news content. The statement concerns potential infringement under copyright rules rather than a final ruling. No further details on the specific press items, the legal proceedings, or any outcome were provided in the source.

An EU court adviser said that a Google AI chatbot's use of press items may infringe copyright rules.

Google discloses alleged Videostrong backdoor and botnet

Issue disclosure

Google said Videostrong Technology Co. secretly built a backdoor into 1.3 million devices and used them in a botnet for malicious activity. Google said the backdoor and botnet were intentionally developed, deployed, and operated for financial gain. Google also said it dismantled the backdoor, cut ties with the manufacturer, disrupted command-and-control domains, and changed its device-manufacturer review process.

Google responds to backlash over school search and AI policy

Company response

Google responded to political criticism of its policy for schools that reject AI, saying the policy was meant to give schools more choice and that Gemini, Gemini Notebook and search are turned off by default. The company also said schools could choose which services to turn back on.

Stated objective. give schools more choice over how students interact with AI

U.S. search monopoly case

A U.S. federal court found that Google unlawfully maintained monopoly power in general search and search text advertising through exclusionary distribution arrangements and related conduct.