Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Google’s proposed changes to its search results to comply with EU tech legislation has received the thumbs up from lobbying group Airlines for Europe whose members include Air France KLM and Lufthansa (LHAG.DE).

Google has announced a series of changes in search result formats in recent months following conflicting demands from price-comparison sites, hotels, airlines and small retailers, with the latest tweaks announced last month.

It is trying to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which prohibits it from favouring its own products and services on its platform or risk fines as much as 10% of its global annual turnover.

“In the spirit of finding a DMA-compliant solution in a timely fashion, the airline industry has shown it is willing to compromise,” Airlines for Europe said in a letter to the European Commission dated Dec. 20 and seen by Reuters.

The airline group expressed support for the horizontal layout for same sized boxes for airlines and comparison sites in search results as well as the colour blue to distinguish them from other elements.

But it said prices displayed in search results should be the same in the graphic as those in the boxes. It also expressed concerns about Google’s proposal for a purely indicative date rather than specific dates for consumers looking to book flights.

Countries negotiating a global treaty to curb plastic pollution failed to reach agreement on Monday.

“Characteristics such as dates are an integral part of the general search process of consumers looking for air travel and the switch to a purely indicative date will downgrade their experience significantly,” the group.

Google has said it may return to an old format of 10 blue links in search results that it used years ago if its rivals – such as airlines and price comparison sites – cannot agree on its proposals to comply with the DMA and not promote its own products.

Thirty Indian companies have answered the space regulator’s call to build and operate constellations of Earth observation (EO) satellites in a groundbreaking private-public partnership to reduce the country’s reliance on foreign data for defense, infrastructure management and other critical mapping needs.

“We have received 9 applications … Each applicant represents a consortium, involving a total of 30 companies,” said Pawan Goenka, chairman of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, or IN-SPACe.

The regulator had sought “expressions of interest” (EoI) in July to build home-grown satellite constellations as part of a broader strategy to monetize the sector and ensure data sovereignty.

India is doubling down on its small satellite and data services market to carve out a leading role in the global commercialization of space. The market for such services, increasingly key for industries ranging from telecoms to climate monitoring, is projected to reach $45 billion by 2030.

The applicants for IN-SPACe’s latest effort in this regard include startups such as Google-backed Pixxel and Baring Private Equity-backed SatSure, as well as larger entities like Tata Group’s Tata Advanced Systems. The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Goenka said he expects technical evaluations to be completed by the end of January, after which a tender will be floated to determine the winning bidder.

IN-SPACe’s eligibility criteria include applicants raising or investing at least 850 million rupees ($10 million) in space-related activities, having a valuation of 8.5 billion rupees, or a turnover of 2 billion rupees in the past three years.

They must also set up spacecraft control centres in India or partner with ground station service providers for operational needs.

According to a source familiar with the matter, the government plans to loan up to 3.5 billion to the winner, with private companies expected to cover the remaining costs.

Since opening the sector to private players in February, India has established a 10-billion-rupee venture fund to support space startups.

The country has also unveiled ambitious plans for crewed space exploration and a mission to Venus, but the primary focus remains on fostering commercial ventures and scaling up private sector participation.

India currently sources much of its EO data from foreign companies and agencies like the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

IIFCL Projects Ltd, an advisory arm under the Ministry of Finance, is overseeing the bidding process.

A US judge ruled on Friday in favor of Meta Platforms’ WhatsApp in a lawsuit accusing Israel’s NSO Group of exploiting a bug in the messaging app to install spy software allowing unauthorized surveillance.

US District Judge Phyllis Hamilton in Oakland, California, granted a motion by WhatsApp and found NSO liable for hacking and breach of contract.

The case will now proceed to a trial only on the issue of damages, Hamilton said. NSO Group did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp, said the ruling is a win for privacy.
“We spent five years presenting our case because we firmly believe that spyware companies could not hide behind immunity or avoid accountability for their unlawful actions,” Cathcart said in a social media post.

“Surveillance companies should be on notice that illegal spying will not be tolerated.”

“We’re proud to have stood up against NSO and thankful to the many organizations that were supportive of this case. WhatsApp will never stop working to protect people’s private communication”, he said.

Cybersecurity experts welcomed the judgment.

John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher with Canadian internet watchdog Citizen Lab — which first brought to light NSO’s Pegasus spyware in 2016 — called the judgment a landmark ruling with “huge implications for the spyware industry.”

“The entire industry has hidden behind the claim that whatever their customers do with their hacking tools, it’s not their responsibility,” he said in an instant message. “Today’s ruling makes it clear that NSO Group is in fact responsible for breaking numerous laws.”

WhatsApp in 2019 sued NSO seeking an injunction and damages, accusing it of accessing WhatsApp servers without permission six months earlier to install the Pegasus software on victims’ mobile devices. The lawsuit alleged the intrusion allowed the surveillance of 1,400 people, including journalists, human rights activists and dissidents.

NSO had argued that Pegasus helps law enforcement and intelligence agencies fight crime and protect national security and that its technology is intended to help catch terrorists, pedophiles and hardened criminals.

NSO appealed a trial judge’s 2020 refusal to award it “conduct-based immunity,” a common law doctrine protecting foreign officials acting in their official capacity.

Upholding that ruling in 2021, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals called it an “easy case” because NSO’s mere licensing of Pegasus and offering technical support did not shield it from liability under a federal law called the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which took precedence over common law.

The U.S. Supreme Court last year turned away NSO’s appeal of the lower court’s decision, allowing the lawsuit to proceed.