Google Paying $700 Million To Settle States’ Lawsuit Alleging Monopolistic App Store Practices

Jaden Thompson The Golden Globe Foundation has announced the recipients of $5 million in grant awards for 2023-24, supporting 96 organizations that help underserved communities, universities and colleges. The Foundation also assists film restoration projects and offers aid to journalists around the world.

Matthew McConaughey has shared a rare glimpse at his personal life as he posted a snap of his teenage daughter Vida to celebrate her 14th birthday. However the Hollywood A-lister, 54, confessed he was a day late with posting his special birthday message due to an incident at Six Flags amusement park in Texas, which resulted in him temporarily losing his phone.

A family of three has been found dead in their $5 million mansion.

Ryan Seacrest got a very surprising kiss on New Year’s Eve!

Dave Chappelle once again takes aim at the transgender community, as well as people with disabilities, in his new stand-up special “The Dreamer,” which dropped Sunday on Netflix. Chappelle, 50, opens the set by recalling the time he met actor Jim Carrey, 61, on the set of “Man on the Moon,” Deadline reports. Carrey plays the late performer Andy Kaufman in the 1999 film.“I was very disappointed because I wanted to meet Jim Carrey and I had to pretend he was Andy Kaufman all afternoon.

Miami Herald.The “Half Baked” actor alerted the man to security before scolding the audience and walking off the stage, shaking his head disappointedly, the outlet added.The venue’s policy is that “device and electronics free, per the artist’s request,” meaning anything that could be used to record Chappelle’s set should have been out of sight for the duration of the show, according to Hard Rock Live’s website.Fans are required to leave their electronics, such as cellphones, smartwatches, and cameras, secured in Yondr neoprene pouches to prevent noisy guests from recording the performance.Chappelle has not addressed the incident, but fans expressed their frustration over the rude fan’s behavior. “Few things make you more misanthropic than going to a theater.

There are two things the Real Housewives franchise reliably delivers on – binge-worthy drama and documenting the lavish lifestyles of the show’s stars.

A consumer privacy lawsuit seeking at least $5 billion in damages over allegations Google tracked users who thought they were browsing the internet privately has been settled. No terms have been disclosed.

Selome Hailu The first episode of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” brought in 13.3 million viewers in its first six days on Disney+ and Hulu. This number puts the series among the top five most-watched season premieres in all of 2023 on both streaming services.

Dave Chappelle is back on Netflix with a new comedy special that drops on Dec. 31 and features Morgan Freeman.

Michaela Zee Netflix has released the official trailer for Dave Chappelle’s newest comedy special, “The Dreamer.” The trailer is narrated by Morgan Freeman, who also makes an appearance alongside Chappelle. “What do you dream about? Not the dreams you have in your sleep: the ones you hold in your heart.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Aylo, parent company of Pornhub and other sex sites, entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with U.S. prosecutors to settle a charge it profited from deals with porn producers who were involved in sex trafficking. Under the settlement announced Thursday, Canada-based Aylo agreed to pay a criminal fine and forfeiture totaling $1.845 million to the U.S.

Forbes.Prosecutors had claimed that the YouTube videos “spread LGBT values” and sought to convince “minors to commit illegal actions,” according to Russia’s state-owned news agency RIA Novosti.It is unclear what is meant by the “illegal actions” that the videos are encouraging minors to engage in, although similar language has been used to rail against transgender visibility on the grounds that it will encourage minors to identify as transgender or pursue gender transitions.The fine is the steepest one levied against the search engine in Russia for violating its law prohibiting the spread of “LGBT propaganda.”Last month, the country’s Supreme Court deemed the “global LGBTQ+ movement” as an “extremist” organization, prompting crackdowns by local police on LGBTQ venues or advocacy organizations. Under Russian law, anyone participating in or financing an “extremist” organization, including any LGBTQ advocacy groups, can be prosecuted and jailed for up to 12 years.The Russian government, led by President Vladimir Putin, adopted a law in 2013 that prohibits the spread of “propaganda” related to “nontraditional sexual relations,” or any information that paints LGBTQ identity in a positive or neutral light, among minors.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director As 2023 draws to a close, Christopher Nolan is feeling pretty good about the state of the movie business. That shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise considering “Oppenheimer” pulled in a remarkable $954 million at the box office this year, beating every superhero movie and several major Hollywood tentpoles, like “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” Audiences turning out in droves for a three-hour, R-rated and incredibly dense biographical drama as if it were a major action movie blockbuster has Nolan quite optimistic about the future. “I’ve just made a three-hour film about Robert Oppenheimer which is R-rated and half in black-and-white – and it made a billion dollars.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Google agreed to pay $700 million and will make certain changes to the Google Play app store for Android devices under the terms of a settlement with all 50 U.S. states, which had alleged in a lawsuit the app store operated as an illegal monopoly. As part of the settlement, Google will allow app and game developers to implement an alternative billing option alongside Google Play’s billing system for U.S.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Activision Blizzard will pay $54.9 million to settle a lawsuit by California’s Civil Rights Department alleging a pattern of pay and promotion practices that discriminated against women. The settlement, announced Friday, comes after Microsoft closed its $69 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard in October following concessions Microsoft made to clear regulatory objections in the U.K. Activision Blizzard’s franchises include Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Guitar Hero and Diablo.

Video game company Activision Blizzard has agreed to pay nearly $55 million to settle a 2021 complaint by the California Civil Rights Department.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer IATSE has taken the rare step of suing the producers of “That’s Amore,” alleging that the production has failed to pay $570,000 in wages to 77 union workers. “That’s Amore” is a romantic comedy starring John Travolta and Katherine Heigl, which is written and directed by Nick Vallelonga, who won two Oscars for “Green Book.” The producers announced last month that they were finally getting off the ground. But according to the union, production actually began more than a year ago, in September 2022.

A New York appeals court denied Donald Trump‘s challenge of a gag order in his civil fraud case, ruling that his attorneys did not seek the proper legal remedy for overturning the ban.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Epic Games, maker of the popular Fortnite game, scored a big win in its legal fight with Google after a federal jury found the internet giant operated a monopoly over Android apps. Following a monthlong trial, a jury in U.S. District Court in San Francisco issued a verdict Monday that found that Google has monopoly power in the Android app distribution markets and in-app billing services markets.