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Denmark's data centres have quite a small number of people working!

Politicians often express great enthusiasm when tech giants announce plans to build data centres in Denmark. “It’s an apple that has fallen into our lap, and to stick with the Apple theme, we’re on cloud nine,” Torsten Nielsen (K), who was mayor of Viborg Municipality at the time, said when Apple first announced its data centre back in 2015 . He expected 10,000 new jobs to be created in the municipality. This prospect of hundreds—if not thousands—of new jobs is often cited as a huge benefit to society. Among other places, in West Jutland, where Microsoft is planning to build three large data centres. “I am very pleased when large companies as Microsoft choose to make significant investments in Denmark and help create new jobs. I am confident that this new data center region in the municipalities of Esbjerg and Varde can help develop West Denmark and contribute to growth, new jobs and even greater progress,” Stephanie Lose (V), then minister for economic affairs, said in Microsoft’s pre...
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Google Chrome to be sold?

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has called for Google to divest its Chrome web browser to promote fair competition in the online search market. Additionally, the DOJ has suggested it may consider requiring Google to separate its Android business if necessary.

In a filing submitted Wednesday in DC District Court, the DOJ detailed its proposed final judgment following Judge Amit Mehta’s ruling that Google maintained an illegal monopoly in search and search advertising. The proposal outlines a series of measures intended to curb Google’s dominance, including restrictions on certain agreements and the potential breakup of the company.

One of the key proposals emphasizes spinning off Chrome, which the DOJ identifies as a critical entry point for online searches. The DOJ also left the door open to an Android spin-off, signaling this as a potential remedy if other measures fail to restore competition. Such a move could serve as a deterrent, ensuring Google doesn’t bypass imposed regulations, and might even become an option Google chooses to avoid complying with alternative restrictions, such as limits on self-preferencing Google Search within Android.

Other remedies proposed by the DOJ include banning Google from offering payments or incentives to companies like Apple and other manufacturers to make Google’s search engine the default option. The proposal also seeks to prohibit Google from favoring its search engine on its platforms, such as YouTube or Gemini. Furthermore, the DOJ wants Google to allow competitors access to its search index at a marginal cost, share search data and ranking signals for a decade, and give websites the ability to opt out of its AI-generated summaries without risking penalties in search rankings.

In response, Google criticized the DOJ’s proposals in a blog post authored by Kent Walker, Alphabet’s Chief Legal Officer. Walker described the recommendations as “wildly overboard” and accused the DOJ of pursuing a “radical interventionist agenda” that could harm American consumers and undermine the country’s technological leadership on the global stage.

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