A senior Democratic senator sent a letter to Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai on Monday seeking more information on the search giant’s financial relationship with online conglomerate IAC/InterActive Corp.

The letter, from Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.), followed a Wall Street Journal article that said Google was weighing severe penalties against IAC, under Chairman Barry Diller, for software it created for Google’s Chrome web browser. An internal Google audit found that IAC extensions—external applications ostensibly installed to provide weather updates or Bible verses—often don’t provide users the functions they promised and direct them to advertising.

The IAC products frequently change a users’ default search engine from Google to IAC’s own search site, sparking confusion and complaints from users, Google’s trust and safety team found in the audit. Beyond the Google investigators’ concerns about the utility of the browser extensions, the review found that the software had been marketed via ads placed on Google that falsely claimed to help users register to vote, find a polling place or apply for a coronavirus stimulus check.

“Given the troubling practices discovered by Google’s trust and safety audit, your company’s continued financial relationship with IAC raises serious questions,” Mr. Wyden wrote to Mr. Pichai. He asked for the answers to nine questions, including whether Google executives overruled internal recommendations to take action against IAC.

A Google spokesman earlier said it was still reviewing the issue.

This post first appeared on wsj.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

Elon Musk’s Neuralink Set to ‘Show and Tell’ Latest Brain-Computer Advances at Event

Tech Startup, which aims to help patients with neurological conditions or others…

Senate passes hate crime bill responding to wave of violence against Asian Americans

WASHINGTON — The Senate passed legislation Thursday targeting anti-Asian hate crimes after…

Police investigate video allegedly showing DoorDash driver tamper with officer’s meal

The New York City Police Department is investigating a video posted to…

Winter smog blankets South Asian capitals of Dhaka and New Delhi

DHAKA, Bangladesh — A thick layer of toxic smog wreathed Bangladesh’s capital…