Finnish town braces for change from Google data centres

A UK class action against Google seeks £1bn in damages, alleging hidden app charges on Google Play Store sales. The claim covers 20m consumers and businesses, arguing Google's 30% commission was passed to consumers. Google defends its fees, citing low market rates and consumer choice. The trial began in the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal. According to the claimants, the charges were hidden in app prices from 2015 to 2026.

Baillie Gifford increased its Alphabet stake by 44% in Q2 2026, buying 862,000 shares. Its total Alphabet holdings were worth about $2.1 billion, representing 1% of its US portfolio. Other institutional investors, including Berkshire Hathaway and Stanley Druckenmiller, also boosted their Alphabet positions. Analysts note Alphabet's diverse business segments and a forward P/E ratio below 17, but caution about potential earnings adjustments and market risks.

India ordered Apple and Google to remove BitChat, an app by Jack Dorsey, from their app stores, citing concerns over anonymous communications. The app, which uses Bluetooth for direct device communication, saw a surge in downloads during a student protest. India's government invoked Section 69A of the IT Act for the removal, which was also previously removed in China. The case highlights regulatory challenges for decentralized communication tools.

Google announced Gemini 4 Argon, a new AI model, on September 30, 2026, initially for trusted cyber defenders. Pricing is $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens, with wider access planned later. Alphabet's stock (GOOGL) closed at $343.50 on October 2, up 1.56% for the session, with a market cap of $4.201 trillion. The model's output-token limit increased to 1 million, a 15.625x improvement.

UK lawmakers warn that reliance on U.S. cloud providers like AWS and Microsoft for government services poses strategic and economic risks, citing data sovereignty and legal jurisdiction concerns. Annual spending is estimated at £1 billion, with AWS and Microsoft potentially holding 80% of public-sector contracts. The U.S. CLOUD Act could force data disclosures. The UK is exploring alternatives, including European cooperation, to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers.

American Airlines Pilots Association (APA) urged a court to block Google's $10M purchase of Spirit Airlines' corporate records, citing concerns over confidentiality of pilots' safety and training data. APA argues the deal could deter pilots from reporting safety issues. Other unions and EPIC also oppose the sale, citing risks of deidentification and data monetization. The court has not yet approved the purchase.