“Recognizing that a growing number of workers are self-quarantining and looking for ways to work from home, Google has made the premium version of Meet available for free until July 1st of this year.”
With much of the world now transfixed by COVID-19, Google is highlighting its efforts to leverage its platforms and technologies to help mitigate the pandemic.
One obvious way in which Google is helping matters is through its provision of remote work solutions like the video conferencing app Meet. Recognizing that a growing number of workers are self-quarantining and looking for ways to work from home, Google has made the premium version of Meet available for free until July 1st of this year.
It’s a particularly poignant illustration of how mobile technology is proving essential in contemporary life, helping to prevent major components of the global economy from grinding to a halt. Related mobile authentication tools are also likely to play a growing role in mitigating the economic harm of the pandemic, especially if hackers and fraudsters increasingly turn their attentions to the ad hoc remote work setups that many organizations are scrambling to put into place.
Other Google efforts highlighted in the company’s blog post include the donation of $50 million to the COVID-19 response through Alphabet’s philanthropic arm, Google.org; philanthropic support through the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund; a $500,000 grant to Boston Children’s Hospital for an health crisis mapping app; and collaborative efforts with the California government to establish online risk screening.
Google has also teamed up with the federal government to develop a website dedicated to COVID-19 education and prevention, with a beta version slated for launch today.
Source: The Keyword
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