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The European Union has hit Google with another big antitrust fine, the third in a series of billion-dollar penalties the US tech giant has faced for hindering competition.The European Commission on Wednesday ordered Google to pay €1.5 billion (.7 billion) for abusing its dominant position in online search advertising."Google has cemented its dominance in online search adverts and shielded itself from competitive pressure by imposing anti-competitive contractual restrictions on third-party websites," Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.The tech company has now been fined €8.2 billion (.3 billion) in total by Europe over the past three years.EU regulators have taken a much more robust approach to Big Tech companies than their US counterparts, especially when it comes to competition, data protection and tax issues.Google has already been fined in two previous EU antitrust cases.The Commission ordered the company to pay €4.34 billion (.9 billion) in July 2018 for unfairly pushing its apps on smartphone users and thwarting competitors.In 2017, it imposed a €2.4 billion (.7 billion) fine on Google for using its search engine to steer consumers to its own shopping platform.The company said in a blog post Tuesday that it was making further changes to its service based on "feedback" from the European Commission.It has started testing a new format that provides users with direct links to comparison shopping sites. It will also ask new and existing Android users in Europe which browser they'd like to use. 1555

The FBI, in a change of policy, is committing to inform state officials if local election systems have been breached, federal officials said Thursday.In the past, the FBI would alert local governments about attacks on their electoral systems without automatically sharing that information with the state. That meant state officials, left in the dark, might be in a position of certifying the accuracy of election results without realizing there had been problems in individual counties. Alerting local governments about breaches, but not the states, was in keeping with FBI policy of protecting the privacy and identities of the actual hacking victim.Now, though, the FBI will notify both counties victimized by breaches as well as the state¡¯s chief election official ¡ª in most cases, the secretary of state. Under the new policy, that notification is to be done in person. The state will be notified either simultaneously or around the same time, officials said Thursday.The change is intended to bolster federal-state cooperation, which has often been difficult on electoral issues, and is one of several government efforts to rethink how information about cyber threats is shared and with whom. It may also ease concerns of local officials who in the past have complained about the lack of information they¡¯ve received from the federal government, though cooperation has improved ahead of the 2020 election with concerns that Russia or another nation could try to tamper with the vote. The policy change was shared with state officials on Thursday and made public later in the day. Senior officials from the FBI and Justice Department described the outlines of it to The Associated Press ahead of the formal release on condition of anonymity.State elections officials praised the change, saying the notifications are essential to securing elections in their states. The secretaries of state in Ohio, Colorado and West Virginia issued a joint statement calling it a ¡°good step forward in protecting¡± elections.California Secretary of State Alex Padilla told The Associated Press that state election officials play an important role in supporting local election officials. ¡°It¡¯s imperative that we work together not just in the proper administration of elections but in the proper security of elections,¡± Padilla said. ¡°It¡¯s us at the state level that can connect dots if things are happening in multiple jurisdictions in our state.¡±Federal officials say their goal is to sound the alarm louder and at higher levels of government than in past years, ensuring that information about efforts to interfere in the election reaches the state officials who need it the most and who have the best resources to deal with it. That is especially important since federal officials believe Russian agents in 2016 searched for vulnerabilities within election systems in all 50 states.Though the policy change means that a broader audience of government officials will learn of any intrusion, it does not guarantee that the American public will as well. FBI officials say they will continue to protect the privacy of individual hacking victims, including governmental offices or local elections systems, by not sharing their identities with the public. It will remain up to electoral officials to disclose if they¡¯ve been hacked, or if they are working with the FBI. That stance has been a source of contention between federal law enforcement and state and local officials. The public still does not know, for instance, which two Florida counties were breached by Russian agents in 2016 and members of the congressional delegation said they were barred by federal officials from sharing that information following a briefing they attended.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said last May that he was frustrated when he saw a reference to the Florida hacking in special counsel Robert Mueller¡¯s report on Russan interference in the 2016 election. DeSantis said he signed an agreement with the FBI not to disclose the names of the two counties where hackers gained access to the voting database and that his predecessor as governor did not have access to the information.Rep. Stephanie Murphy, a Florida Democrat, has co-sponsored bipartisan legislation that would compel reporting among federal, state and local officials and to voters potentially affected by a breach. On Thursday, she called the FBI¡¯s announcement welcome but not enough and said she would continue to push for federal officials to release more information when foreign powers interfere with the election.¡°Our citizens will then be in a position to check their voter registration data to confirm it wasn¡¯t tampered with and to hold accountable state and local officials who fail to protect election infrastructure,¡± Murphy said in a statement. Another sponsor of the bill, Republican Rep. Michael Waltz, praised the new policy but said he would ¡°continue to press for voters to be eventually included.¡± The FBI policy does not cover more routine cyber activity, such as scanning for network vulnerabilities. But it would extend to sophisticated spear-phishing campaigns, aimed at tricking employees into giving up their log-in credentials, and other acts that officials see as particularly alarming and think must be communicated both to the county and the state.The policy comes two months after the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a broad framework for how and in what circumstances to notify the public about foreign election interference, laying out general considerations for the government to take into account.When it comes to notifying states, one FBI official told the AP there was confusion in the past about who was receiving information and in what circumstances ¡ª issues the new policy is meant to address. The official said the policy is meant to ensure that one party does not hear it from the other before hearing it from the federal government.____Associated Press writer Christina A. Cassidy in Atlanta contributed to this report.Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at 6064

The Brooklyn Nets announced on Tuesday that four players have tested positive for the coronavirus, less than one week after the NBA suspended play in the wake of Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert's positive test. Among the four players who tested positive is 10-time NBA All-Star Kevin Durant. Durant told both the Athletic and Stadium that he is feeling fine after the positive test.The four Nets players who tested positive brings the total of NBA players infected with coronavirus to seven. The league is under an indefinite hiatus amid the spread of coronavirus as public health officials encourage gatherings of more than 10 people be avoided. The Nets issued the following statement: "Four Brooklyn Nets players have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. Of the four, one player is exhibiting symptoms while three are asymptomatic. All four players are presently isolated and under the care of team physicians. "The organization is currently notifying anyone who has had known contact with the players, including recent opponents, and is working closely with state and local health authorities on reporting. All players and members of the Nets travel party are being asked to remain isolated, closely monitor their health and maintain constant communication with team medical staff. The health of our players and staff is of the highest priority to the organization and the team is doing everything within its power to ensure that those affected receive the best care possible. "As always, we appreciate the support of our fans, partners and surrounding community, and we wish all those who are battling this virus a speedy recovery." 1647

The Dow Jones Industrial Average recovered on Tuesday, closing up 1,163 points as oil stocks bounced back after a turbulent Monday. Although the coronavirus was likely a major factor in Monday's record point drop, oil stocks also tumbled on Monday as a feud between Russia and Saudi Arabia over oil prices led to the plummet. Many of those same stocks saw a recovery on Tuesday. The Dow lost a record 2,000 points on Monday.Still, the Dow has lost ground over the last several weeks. The market has lost 4,500 points from last month, or roughly 15% of its value. The Dow's Tuesday resurgence came despite coronavirus figures jumping nationwide. More than 700 cases have been reported nationwide, with 28 fatalities. 728

The IRS and the Treasury Department say Americans will start receiving their economic impact checks in the next three weeks.The payments are part of the .2 trillion 179