Open letter to Australians

Krusty · Aug 16, 2020

I guess this belongs here. Mod's and Admin, feel free to move it elsewhere if needed.

A Google search now shows the below alert.

https://about.google/intl/ALL_au/google-in-australia/an-open-letter/

We need to let you know about new Government regulation that will hurt how Australians use Google Search and YouTube.

A proposed law, the News Media Bargaining Code, would force us to provide you with a dramatically worse Google Search and YouTube, could lead to your data being handed over to big news businesses, and would put the free services you use at risk in Australia.

The way Aussies search every day on Google is at risk from new regulation
You’ve always relied on Google Search and YouTube to show you what’s most relevant and helpful to you. We could no longer guarantee that under this law. The law would force us to give an unfair advantage to one group of businesses - news media businesses - over everyone else who has a website, YouTube channel or small business. News media businesses alone would be given information that would help them artificially inflate their ranking over everyone else, even when someone else provides a better result. We’ve always treated all website owners fairly when it comes to information we share about ranking. The proposed changes are not fair and they mean that Google Search results and YouTube will be worse for you.

Your Search data may be at risk
You trust us with your data and our job is to keep it safe. Under this law, Google has to tell news media businesses “how they can gain access” to data about your use of our products. There’s no way of knowing if any data handed over would be protected, or how it might be used by news media businesses.

Hurting the free services you use
We deeply believe in the importance of news to society. We partner closely with Australian news media businesses — we already pay them millions of dollars and send them billions of free clicks every year. We’ve offered to pay more to license content. But rather than encouraging these types of partnerships, the law is set up to give big media companies special treatment and to encourage them to make enormous and unreasonable demands that would put our free services at risk.

This law wouldn’t just impact the way Google and YouTube work with news media businesses — it would impact all of our Australian users, so we wanted to let you know. We’re going to do everything we possibly can to get this proposal changed so we can protect how Search and YouTube work for you in Australia and continue to build constructive partnerships with news media businesses — not choose one over the other.

You’ll hear more from us in the coming days — stay tuned.

Thank you,
Mel Silva, Managing Director, on behalf of Google Australia
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Krusty · Aug 16, 2020

Google sends open letter to Aussies, threatening to change ‘free services’ due to news code

Google says everything from its ‘free services’ to its search results could change because of a ruling that it should pay for news it uses.

Tech giant Google has unleashed a “scare campaign” on millions of its Australian users today, sensationally claiming free services, search results, and users’ income and personal data could be put at risk if it is made to pay for the news it uses.

In an “open letter,” the trillion-dollar tech firm warned internet and video search results would be made “dramatically worse” by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s news bargaining code, announced two weeks ago, and claimed “the way Aussies search every day on Google is at risk”.

But critics have slammed the campaign as “balderdash” and called it a desperate attempt to avoid paying news companies for their content in Australia or overseas.

Both Google and Facebook face changes as part of the ACCC’s news bargaining code, which followed an 18-month investigation into digital platforms in Australia and their impact on journalism and advertising.

But Google Australia slammed proposed changes today, with managing director Mel Silva claiming a mandatory news code would be “unfair” and would change the way it delivered services.

[...]
The ACCC’s news code, unveiled on July 31, recommended tech giants share revenue obtained “directly or indirectly” from news content used on their sites, in a move Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said would create a “level-playing field” for Australian media businesses forced to work them.

In addition to compensating companies, the code would ask digital platforms to warn news companies about major changes to the way their content was shown, and share information about how news was used on their platforms, such as how long readers spent on each article.

ACCC chairman Rod Sims said the code was designed to ensure Australian news organisations received fair treatment from powerful international firms.
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https://www.news.com.au/technology/...e/news-story/fa0783aaa202510bb8a368b8a6146861

Tarnak · Aug 17, 2020

Just bulldust on Google's part.

xxJackxx · Aug 17, 2020

We've come a long way from "Don't be evil".

Krusty · Aug 17, 2020

Google writes open letter to Australians, opposing government plans to make it pay for news

Google has warned Australians to expect "dramatically worse" services if the Federal Government follows through with plans to make it pay for Australian news content.

Two weeks ago the Federal Government released a draft code of conduct for digital platforms and Australian media businesses that would make internet heavyweights Facebook and Google pay for the privilege of hosting Australian news.

The Government and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which was responsible for developing the code, have now disputed the warning the search giant issued in response.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will have the power to determine which digital platforms are impacted, but has said Google and Facebook will be first.
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-17/google-open-letter-to-australia-news-media-code/12566670

But a number of the letter's assertions were challenged by the ACCC.

"The open letter published by Google today contains misinformation about the draft News Media Bargaining Code," the commission said in a statement.

"Google will not be required to charge Australians for the use of its free services such as Google Search and YouTube unless it chooses to do so.

"Google will not be required to share any additional user data with Australian news businesses unless it chooses to do so."
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Krusty · Aug 17, 2020

Google attacked for threat made to Australians over free services being put ‘at risk’

Google is sending “warnings” to millions of Australians this week in what looks like the start of a fierce campaign against new rules that could force the firm to pay for the news it uses on its platform.

And the trillion-dollar company is making bold claims to users: alleging proposed laws from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will put everything from users’ privacy to the viability of Google’s free services at risk.

But ACCC chairman Rod Sims branded some of these warnings as “misinformation”.

We put these claims to the test against the draft legislation, and this is what you need to know about Google’s new “open letter” and what a news code would really mean for everyone.
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https://www.news.com.au/technology/...s/news-story/793bd4e8c0ccc51a47210288e505b0ee

[...]
CLAIM: The ACCC news code could “put the free services you use at risk in Australia”.

FACT: Only Google can set the price of its products and services in Australia and elsewhere...

CLAIM: “It will create an uneven playing field when it comes to who makes money on YouTube.”

FACT: YouTube is not mentioned in the draft law behind the news bargaining code...

CLAIM: “YouTube may be obligated to give large news publishers confidential information about our systems that they could use to try to appear higher in rankings on YouTube, disadvantaging all other creators. This would mean you receive fewer views and earn less.”

FACT: YouTube is not named in the draft law and does not fall under the news bargaining code...

CLAIM: “The law would force us to give an unfair advantage to one group of businesses – news media businesses – over everyone else who has a website, YouTube channel or small business. News media businesses alone would be given information that would help them artificially inflate their ranking over everyone else, even when someone else provides a better result.”

FACT: News companies will not be able to “game” Google’s algorithm to climb search rankings with information they receive under this new code of conduct...

CLAIM: “We deeply believe in the importance of news to society. We partner closely with Australian news media businesses — we already pay them millions of dollars and send them billions of free clicks every year. We’ve offered to pay more to license content.”

FACT: Google announced a plan to pay some small Australian publishers for news content in June, just weeks before the announcement of the ACCC’s news bargaining code...

CLAIM: “Big news businesses can demand large amount of money above and beyond what they earn on the platform, leaving fewer funds to invest in you, our creators, and the programs to help you develop your audience in Australia and around the globe.”

FACT: Google and Facebook have three months to negotiate with media organisations to decide on payments for the content they create...

CLAIM: “You trust us with your data and our job is to keep it safe. Under this law, Google has to tell news media businesses “how they can gain access” to data about your use of our products.”

FACT: Google and Facebook will be asked to share some data they collect from users but only about how they interact with news content...
Click to expand...

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