The deleted accounts will get rid of user data in Gmail, Google Drive and Docs, Google Calendar and YouTube. To keep an account active, a user simply has to log in.
The number of openings in the technology field is still high, and tech jobs continue to be attractive to workers looking for stable, lucrative careers.
Google's Bard, an answer to Microsoft's ChatGPT, delivered a factual error in a search demo that the company shared widely. That sent Alphabet's market value plummeting this week.
The layoffs at Google follow similarly huge cuts at Microsoft, Amazon and Salesforce. Tech companies who hired rapidly during the pandemic now face fears of recession.
"Google has prioritized profit over their users' privacy," said Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum of Oregon, one of 40 states to bring the case. "They have been crafty and deceptive."
Facebook and Instagram's parent company Meta reported a revenue drop for the second time in its history. Snapchat, Microsoft and Google also reported losses in the last quarter.
Sam Curry, a self-described hacker, was puzzled by the payment. A Google spokesperson says the company paid "the wrong party as the result of human error" and was working to correct it.
Workers are asking Google to protect user location data and search history from law enforcement agencies that might attempt to prosecute abortion seekers.
When law enforcement requests it, Google usually hands over location and search data collected through its smartphone apps. Will that now be used against people seeking abortions in some states?
The Google computer scientist who was placed on leave after claiming the company's artificial intelligence chatbot has come to life tells NPR how he formed his opinion.
