NEW: Samsung is considering dropping Google as the default search engine on its phones after more than a decade. The electronics giant may instead go with Microsoft Bing, a threat that has caused panic at Google in the last month.
Nico Grant
267 posts
Los Angeles, CA
Joined June 2014
- It's my first day working for @nytimes, where I'm covering Google and its parent company. Please be in touch with tips, thoughts and your stories. My new email is [email protected], and I'm available via DM, Signal, Protonmail or however else you want to chat.
- Replying to @nicoagrantThe remarks came during a conference call with analysts Tuesday, after Zoom reported surging sales:
- I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll start at the New York Times on May 16 to cover Google and its parent Alphabet! It’s a surreal honor to be joining a desk I’ve admired for years at a paper I’ve loved for decades.
- Russia began clamping down on access to international news, preventing citizens from seeing Google News after Russian generals accused a mercenary leader, Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, of attempting a coup.
- Some of Google’s most essential workers, who keep its services online, are speaking publicly about a toxic workplace on their team that damaged their mental health, elicited suicidal thoughts and derailed their careers.
- After the release of ChatGPT from rival OpenAI, Google’s management declared a “code red.” Teams across the company were reassigned to work on AI products and prototypes from now until Google’s I/O conference in May. Story with @CadeMetz
- YouTube once removed 2020 misinformation, fearing real-world harm. Now it’s amplifying and profiting from 2024 falsehoods.
- New: A Google employee who became the most visible opponent of a company contract with the Israeli military, Ariel Koren (@ariel_koko), said Tuesday that she would resign this week after claiming Google had tried to retaliate against her for her activism.
- Google’s Ethical AI research group lost two more employees, @alexhanna and @dylnbkr, adding to the turmoil at the unit studying an area vitally important to the technology giant’s business future and political standing. With @josheidelson bloomberg.com/news/articles/… via @technology
- Last month, Google released a chatbot, Bard. Weeks earlier, ethics experts recommended blocking the launch, saying Bard was dangerous and inaccurate. Their director changed the document, removing the recommendation and downplaying Bard’s risks. w/@KYWeise nytimes.com/2023/04/07/tec…
- Google’s Play Store case was the first test of how it might fare in the antitrust gauntlet it faces in the U.S.—and Google was routed. The loss could preview its fate in two bigger antitrust cases that could weaken the influential internet business in 2024
- In personal news, I left The New York Times last week. It was a difficult decision because I had one of the best jobs in the business. Working there was a dream come true, but now, it’s time to chase other dreams outside of journalism.
- Scoop: YouTube will soon announce the largest expansion to its partner program in years, letting more creators make money from the platform. It will also bring ads to Shorts, its TikTok rival, and give creators 45% of those earnings.

