Google threatens to pull search engine in Australia

Ok

For everyone interested here is a better explanation


https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-22/google-threatens-to-withdraw-from-australia/13084354?nw=0

Warning contains traces of Australian accents

 

Newspapers formerly depended on advertising revenues as well as sales revenues. The internet is destroying both (most people resist fire-walls payments to news outlets). So journalists increasingly find themselves without a secure income, as ONE company hovers up all the advertising revenue.

Another example of market failure?

 

every time Google Maps shows my address, I want a cut of the pie

</end sarcasm>

 

Tell Google to shove it. There are several other good search engines that don't track you and sell your data so after you search for something on your laptop, later ads for similar items are popping up on your smart phone.

Just go to your browser settings set the default to another search engine. Duckduckgo is the one I use and it works great. Dogpile is another choice I have used in the past.

Google are not particularly nice folks.

DIGITAL ASTROTURF: Google-Funded ‘Conservative’ Groups Tell Congress To Leave Google And Big Tech Alone.

“The so-called conservative National Taxpayers Union, which led the effort recruiting groups to sign on, is also named on Google’s list of associations that ‘receive the most substantial contributions’ from the California company. Several other signatories, including the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the R Street Institute, and TechFreedom, are also featured on Google’s list of supported organizations.”​

And they are very cozy with the Lying Outlaw Slavers of Beijing. I wouldn't be surprise if the Auzzies told them to stuff it.

 

Sure, but Google brings traffic to the news sites. It's not stealing their news and posting it as their own. It's basically free advertising for anyone who pops up on the search. This will hurt the news agencies.

Hey, i want to decentralized power from big corporations like Google but this isn't it.

 

Won't this law hurt those search engines as well?

 

Exactly. Google does much more than just link to other websites. It caches them and in many cases allows readers to view the content without ever going to the actual web sites it was captured from.

 

One thing you can be assured of is that the whole world is watching this play out. We are just testing the waters and having a conversation other countries would love to have

 

Fk Google

Google Threatens Shut Down In Australia Over Bill Designed To Better Compensate Content Providers

​

PM Morrison blasts Google's bullying behavior: "Let me be clear. Australia makes our rules for things you can do in Australia."

Tell Google to stuff it.

The Australian government wants better compensation and rewards for local news publishers, and greater transparency to the way algorithms employed by Google, Facebook, and YouTube work.

This is critical, as once Google takes over business advertising their search results make or break a company. When a search term is input, such as "Plumber near me" if a company isn't listed on the first page, and on a Smart Phone, that's general first or second, they will not get the call. Google can tweak their algorithms and businesses that were landing first and second are suddenly land fifth and six and their business dies. Google is selling these search terms, and to inquires of "what happened?" they defer to the algorithm as if it's self managing rather than reflecting their input. They seem far better trained to withhold information than they are to educate. So for the Aussies to demand clarity is critical, if they don't want Google controlling their businesses.

WikiLeaks
@wikileaks
Julian Assange on Big Tech: 'Google is not what it seems' "Google's influence on the choices and behavior of the totality of individual human beings translates to real power to influence the course of history” #Google #Assange https://wikileaks.org/google-is-not-what-it-seems/

Google is seeking to make an example in Australia:
"They’re signaling to other regulators they’ll have a fight on their hands if they do this."

GOOGLE: if you pass a law that makes us pay media companies for journalism, we'll shut down search in Australia.

PRIME MINISTER: "But we don't respond to threats"

GOOGLE: "It's not a threat. It's a reality."

 

No it is just a threat. They already pay news sites in at least 4 different countries, most recently France, for adding snippets of their content in search return previews.

 

link

 

Yes, its simple. They will simply disable their service in Australia as opposed to jumping through the hoops to provide them with a free service. Would you pay someone to provide them with a free service? No one would. Of course they will lose out on the advertising income from AU, which is probably not a whole lot

 

It is a tax - a source of revenue - and the amount of the tax needs to be detailed.

 

I don't understand how this same penalty wouldn't apply to other search engines as well. Doesn't Australia want Bing to pay news content creators too for listing their products? And every other search engine out there? I see a few possible paths forward:

1) the law is repealed as the Aussie government realizes Google called their bluff

2) the law remains in place and Google stops crawling and delists Australian news content. That's probably not the outcome the Aussie news companies want, but it seems likely.

3) Google and other free search engines pull out of Australia. Australians are left to wander the Internet without the help of free search engines. Perhaps some paid / subscription search services start up that can make a profitable model out of charging users for search results.

 

It is not law yet

geeeze! Just because we are discussing making a law does not mean it is a signed sealed deal!!

 

Oh Christ, I KNEW he'd get into this eventually

Fer Christagon's sake can you give it a REST. Trump is a rapidly fading memory, not the least because everybody WANTS to forget him

And yes Miss Pelosi is doing herself no favors with this impeachment thing. The only excuse I can offer is that it appears the only sure way to prevent a Trump candidacy in 2024, even from a jail cell.

 

I think I kinda agree with this, but it it fraught with potential problems.

I like it because the journalists do real work to gather the news and deserve some compensation for that.

But boy on the other hand can I ever see potential problems buying hits.

And after it's all said and done, since Google controls the algorithms they are still in the drivers seat for who shows up in a search.
I can easily see them winning the argument for putting the Aussie sites down the list because they pay for them.

 

Imagine me agreeing with Yardmeat. But he is correct. Our country is what it is thanks to freedom and freedom applies to businesses as well as individuals. It would be tyrannical if you were forced to use the site but you have the freedom not to in the same way they have the right to operate in any legal manner they wish. I don't know why this is even an issue.

 

Anything that costs google money is ok with me.

Australia will be fine without them, as would I.

 

google and others will stop showing their links unless the company gives them a affiliate link that will make google and other sites money when people click the link

 

the law applies to all sites if passed, even political forum, so if you post a link here to an Au news site, it would cost political forum $$$

the reality is, sites like this would have to block all posts with au links in them

 

America already went through this, then backed off, sure the AU will do the same

politicians don't understand the technology and often do things like this, then people tell them the reality of what they are doing and the effect it would have

that is why were only allowed to quote so much of a link here when we discuss it, as that was a compromise on it, if you want more, you click the link

 

I support this move by Google for 2 reasons:

1. It's a bad law.

2. Google is a bad company, use DuckDuckGo.

 

That would seem to be a blow to the news agencies.
Now one can't search for a news story and get a link to the news source.

 

~ If Morrison is smart he will say " Good riddance ! " and ban Google himself. He can set an example - or just talk the talk without walking the walk.
I think based on past behavior we all know what is going to happen.