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Saudi Communications Minister Strengthens Global Partnerships in Technology, AI, Space

The meetings align with the Kingdom’s broader efforts to advance global partnerships in innovation, strengthen AI-driven investments, and develop high-growth sectors in line with Saudi Vision 2030. (SPA)
The meetings align with the Kingdom’s broader efforts to advance global partnerships in innovation, strengthen AI-driven investments, and develop high-growth sectors in line with Saudi Vision 2030. (SPA)
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Saudi Communications Minister Strengthens Global Partnerships in Technology, AI, Space

The meetings align with the Kingdom’s broader efforts to advance global partnerships in innovation, strengthen AI-driven investments, and develop high-growth sectors in line with Saudi Vision 2030. (SPA)
The meetings align with the Kingdom’s broader efforts to advance global partnerships in innovation, strengthen AI-driven investments, and develop high-growth sectors in line with Saudi Vision 2030. (SPA)

Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah Alswaha held high-level meetings with senior executives from major global companies at the Future Investment Initiative in Miami (FII PRIORITY Miami 2025) to bolster partnerships in technology, artificial intelligence (AI), investment, and the space sector, while promoting entrepreneurship in the Kingdom.

Alswaha met with NEA CEO Tony Florence to discuss strategies for supporting tech entrepreneurs and boosting startup investment, which would strengthen Saudi Arabia’s innovation ecosystem, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Saturday.

In a discussion with Oracle CEO Safra Catz, he explored avenues to expand cooperation in cloud computing and AI, focusing on strengthening digital infrastructure and advancing the Kingdom’s digital economy.

To accelerate Saudi Arabia’s ambitions in the space sector, the minister met with SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell to discuss space exploration and rocket technology collaboration.

Alswaha also conferred with SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son on expanding investment partnerships in technology and AI to drive digital economic growth.

He met with Vista Equity Partners CEO Robert F. Smith to discuss enhancing technology investments, asset management, and startup empowerment, positioning Saudi Arabia as a key destination for tech investment.

The meetings align with the Kingdom’s broader efforts to advance global partnerships in innovation, strengthen AI-driven investments, and develop high-growth sectors in line with Saudi Vision 2030.

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Google Will Pay Texas $1.4 Billion to Settle Claims the Company Collected Users’ Data without Permission

A Google logo is seen at the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California, US, November 1, 2018. (Reuters)
A Google logo is seen at the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California, US, November 1, 2018. (Reuters)
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Google Will Pay Texas $1.4 Billion to Settle Claims the Company Collected Users’ Data without Permission

A Google logo is seen at the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California, US, November 1, 2018. (Reuters)
A Google logo is seen at the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California, US, November 1, 2018. (Reuters)

Google will pay $1.4 billion to Texas to settle claims the company collected users' data without permission, the state’s attorney general announced Friday.

Attorney General Ken Paxton described the settlement as sending a message to tech companies that he will not allow them to make money off of “selling away our rights and freedoms.”

“In Texas, Big Tech is not above the law,” Paxton said in a statement. “For years, Google secretly tracked people’s movements, private searches, and even their voiceprints and facial geometry through their products and services. I fought back and won.”

The agreement settles several claims Texas made against the search giant in 2022 related to geolocation, incognito searches and biometric data. The state argued Google was “unlawfully tracking and collecting users’ private data.”

Paxton claimed, for example, that Google collected millions of biometric identifiers, including voiceprints and records of face geometry, through such products and services as Google Photos and Google Assistant.

Google spokesperson José Castañeda said the agreement settles an array of “old claims,” some of which relate to product policies the company has already changed.

“We are pleased to put them behind us, and we will continue to build robust privacy controls into our services,” he said in a statement.

The company also clarified that the settlement does not require any new product changes.

Paxton said the $1.4 billion is the largest amount won by any state in a settlement with Google over this type of data-privacy violations.

Texas previously reached two other key settlements with Google within the last two years, including one in December 2023 in which the company agreed to pay $700 million and make several other concessions to settle allegations that it had been stifling competition against its Android app store.

Meta has also agreed to a $1.4 billion settlement with Texas in a privacy lawsuit over allegations that the tech giant used users' biometric data without their permission.