Google: We’ll shut down Australian search before we pay news sites for links

[Burnt Reynolds 5,058]

 

Quote

 

Google says it would have "no real choice" but to shut down its search engine in Australia if Australia passes a new law requiring Google to pay news sites to link to their articles. This would "set an untenable precedent for our business and the digital economy," said Google's Mel Silva in Friday testimony before the Australian Senate.

News organizations around the world have been struggling financially over the last decade or two. Many have blamed Internet companies like Google and Facebook that—in their view—have diverted advertising revenue that once went to news organizations. Some in the news industry argue that Google benefits from including news stories in its search results and should compensate news sites for the privilege of doing so.

 

 

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/01/google-threatens-to-shut-down-australian-search-over-link-tax-proposal/?amp=1

 

Funny enough there's a Google link to this too.. 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/01/google-threatens-to-shut-down-australian-search-over-link-tax-proposal/%3famp=1

[Burnt Reynolds 5,058]

For now it seems Australia isn't bending the knee unlike in the US:

 

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Australia lashes out at Big Tech threats, says it’s ‘inevitable’ that Facebook & Google will pay for content

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Australia’s treasurer has advised the tech giants to accept that their platforms will have to start paying for content, amid threats from Facebook and Google to limit services in the country if such a policy is enacted.
Canberra is finalizing legislation that would require the internet behemoths to obtain licenses to use content created by Australian news outlets. Both companies have warned that they would retaliate over the revenue-sharing scheme, with Google saying last week that it would remove its search engine from Australia, and Facebook declaring that it would strip news from the feeds of all Australian users.

On Sunday, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg pushed back on the ultimatums, signaling that the Australian government wouldn’t reverse course

 

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“My view is that it is inevitable that the digital giants will be paying for original content,” he said, suggesting that Australia was leading the way in what would soon become a worldwide norm. 

He also admonished Facebook and Google for their hostility towards the proposed regulation, describing their threats to pull out of Australia as a “big disservice.” 

 

 

https://www.rt.com/news/513457-australia-facebook-google-pay-inevitable-content/amp/

[Dashinka 24,786]

On 1/24/2021 at 3:54 AM, Burnt Reynolds said:

 

 

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/01/google-threatens-to-shut-down-australian-search-over-link-tax-proposal/?amp=1

 

Funny enough there's a Google link to this too.. 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/01/google-threatens-to-shut-down-australian-search-over-link-tax-proposal/%3famp=1

Google is afraid of biased arbitration?  Seems rich.

[Bill Hamze 89]

If I were the Australian government, I’d tell Google “go ahead and shut it down”. 
 

No big tech company should have this much power over anyone.

[millefleur 5,047]

Is anyone else here in the duckduckgo gang? Almost always better than Google in my experience.

[Steeleballz 7,550]

1 minute ago, millefleur said:

Is anyone else here in the duckduckgo gang? Almost always better than Google in my experience.

 

  I really wanted to like them but it's not happening so far.

 

   It makes me feel a bit old, but I do miss the days when we had search engines that were just search engines.

[millefleur 5,047]

Just now, Steeleballz said:

 

  I really wanted to like them but it's not happening so far.

 

   It makes me feel a bit old, but I do miss the days when we had search engines that were just search engines.

At least we can all agree that Bing is the worst of all. Does anyone remember Alta Vista and Ask Jeeves?

 

What didn't you like about DDG vs. google? I find that I only turn back to google if I need a very hyper specific answer or do a "needle in a haystack" type search where google might be better indexed for it.

[Steeleballz 7,550]

10 minutes ago, millefleur said:

At least we can all agree that Bing is the worst of all. Does anyone remember Alta Vista and Ask Jeeves?

 

What didn't you like about DDG vs. google? I find that I only turn back to google if I need a very hyper specific answer or do a "needle in a haystack" type search where google might be better indexed for it.

 

   I liked some things about them, but I had a specific issue tracking mail with DDG. I don't know if they improved or not. It's been maybe a couple of years since I tried them. I do the right click search with tracking numbers and when it opens in Google search, you get the link to the appropriate carrier. DDG would not recognize common carrier numbers as a tracking number and would just search for the sequence of numbers, usually returning no results.  I use Bing lately because although it rarely finds what I am searching for, it doesn't give me a bunch of spam that I wasn't looking for. I really would like to find something that works though.

 

  I used to like Infoseek, although everyone else who remembers it seems to either not like it or have no opinion. I also liked Alta Vista. It seems like we have shopping engines more than search engines nowadays. I dislike Google because it doesn't bring up results to sites that I already know exist. I really do want to find what I am searching for, not what Google wants me to be searching for.

Edited January 26, 2021 by Steeleballz

[millefleur 5,047]

2 minutes ago, Steeleballz said:

I do the right click search with tracking numbers and when it opens in Google search, you get the link to the appropriate carrier.

Oh interesting....I've never tried that! I actually use a package tracking app, I just copy/paste everything there...it does update a bit slowly sometimes though, so that's the downside: https://www.17track.net/en The plus side is it has a nifty mobile app, and then it all gets synced on their site and your phone....but it's kinda slow, usually stuff will get delivered before it updates. However, you can just click directly through to the official carrier site via the app to check as well.

 

16 minutes ago, Steeleballz said:

It seems like we have shopping engines more than search engines nowadays.

It's funny because Google's shopping search is actually kind of bad. If you click the "shopping" tab, it does not bring up a complete of sites actually selling the item....which is very annoying. I want it to work, but it just doesn't. I actually find their software suite Google Sheets, Slides, Docs, and the ever ubiquitous Gmail etc way more useful than their search engine.

[Steeleballz 7,550]

20 minutes ago, millefleur said:

Oh interesting....I've never tried that! I actually use a package tracking app, I just copy/paste everything there...it does update a bit slowly sometimes though, so that's the downside: https://www.17track.net/en The plus side is it has a nifty mobile app, and then it all gets synced on their site and your phone....but it's kinda slow, usually stuff will get delivered before it updates. However, you can just click directly through to the official carrier site via the app to check as well.

 

It's funny because Google's shopping search is actually kind of bad. If you click the "shopping" tab, it does not bring up a complete of sites actually selling the item....which is very annoying. I want it to work, but it just doesn't. I actually find their software suite Google Sheets, Slides, Docs, and the ever ubiquitous Gmail etc way more useful than their search engine.

 

  I feel like Google search got worse over time in terms of function. I think part of it is their own fault, as the emphasis moved towards generating revenue, and also to using computer generated search algoritms. The other part of it is that many people have learned how to manipulate the engine itself, so that their sites come up near the top of searches. Part of that is also driven by money and advertising. At any rate, the main thing Google search has in it's favor is that it is tied to Chrome and installed on so many computers by default. That and I guess the fact that the competition hasn't really stepped up and delivered a great alternative yet. I think we are all waiting for that.

[Burnt Reynolds 5,058]

6 hours ago, Steeleballz said:

 

  I feel like Google search got worse over time in terms of function. I think part of it is their own fault, as the emphasis moved towards generating revenue, and also to using computer generated search algoritms. The other part of it is that many people have learned how to manipulate the engine itself, so that their sites come up near the top of searches. Part of that is also driven by money and advertising. At any rate, the main thing Google search has in it's favor is that it is tied to Chrome and installed on so many computers by default. That and I guess the fact that the competition hasn't really stepped up and delivered a great alternative yet. I think we are all waiting for that.

Overall this is the biggest thing stopping other platforms from thriving on so many fronts. Social media, searches, alternatives to YouTube, they try and differentiate themselves so hard they miss on the simple things, which really shows the power of disruptive technologies. 

 

Where Google gets it right is simplicity in the right places and changing what consumers envisioned for search engines to where it conforms so highly to their own product. This is what drove their popularity as a search engine, and as we know the strategy encompassed pulling every product into their big data ecosystem. 

 

They've also been good at swallowing potentials for disrupting them, and pulling competitors in every market to cooperate and become part of their ecosystem and/or integrate (interoperability). It's precisely what they're trying here.. they have no expertise in news, they can just control the visibility of entire nations' media. It's even more worrisome now given how quickly they took over the browser market, Microsoft has almost abandoned the technology and innovation front to be a service-oriented company. Just look at the scary disinterest in Windows development. I thought Chrome OS was dead but with this sudden lack of desire to compete in that market this can easily be taken over by Google overnight as well with MS jumping on their ship like they did with Chrome. There doesn't seem to be a future for Windows. This is really a microcosm for how all consuming Google is, and they absolutely have to be reeled in before it gets any worse. Someone mentioned that no company should have this much power and it's so true. It's vital Australia stands up to them and others follow suit. People notice the US isn't leading here in preventing it, and there's a cost to this as well. 

Edited January 26, 2021 by Burnt Reynolds

[Dashinka 24,786]

13 hours ago, millefleur said:

Is anyone else here in the duckduckgo gang? Almost always better than Google in my experience.

I have switched to DDG, and am pretty happy.

 

How To Stop Using Google Search On Your Computer And Phone

 

Google controls what the vast majority of the world finds on the internet. Being put at the top of the Google results for search is not only immensely lucrative, it is also almost mind-bogglingly powerful in global affairs.

Since 2016, according to multiple reports, Google’s algorithm has been increasingly manipulated to bury and elevate specific information, especially politically charged information. This appears to have strong effects on what people believe and therefore how they vote and respond to polls that inform what politicians do with their power.

 

https://thefederalist.com/2021/01/25/how-to-stop-using-google-search-on-your-computer-and-phone/

[Steeleballz 7,550]

10 hours ago, Burnt Reynolds said:

Overall this is the biggest thing stopping other platforms from thriving on so many fronts. Social media, searches, alternatives to YouTube, they try and differentiate themselves so hard they miss on the simple things, which really shows the power of disruptive technologies. 

 

Where Google gets it right is simplicity in the right places and changing what consumers envisioned for search engines to where it conforms so highly to their own product. This is what drove their popularity as a search engine, and as we know the strategy encompassed pulling every product into their big data ecosystem. 

 

They've also been good at swallowing potentials for disrupting them, and pulling competitors in every market to cooperate and become part of their ecosystem and/or integrate (interoperability). It's precisely what they're trying here.. they have no expertise in news, they can just control the visibility of entire nations' media. It's even more worrisome now given how quickly they took over the browser market, Microsoft has almost abandoned the technology and innovation front to be a service-oriented company. Just look at the scary disinterest in Windows development. I thought Chrome OS was dead but with this sudden lack of desire to compete in that market this can easily be taken over by Google overnight as well with MS jumping on their ship like they did with Chrome. There doesn't seem to be a future for Windows. This is really a microcosm for how all consuming Google is, and they absolutely have to be reeled in before it gets any worse. Someone mentioned that no company should have this much power and it's so true. It's vital Australia stands up to them and others follow suit. People notice the US isn't leading here in preventing it, and there's a cost to this as well. 

 

  That was a big part I overlooked. Many of the alternatives we might have had were incorporated into Google in turn. Unfortunately it wasn't about making Google better, so we did not get the relative benefit of a better product out of that.

 

   We switched to Google ecosystem at work and it has been a terrible experience. One other thing people may not always notice is how resource intensive Google is compared to some of the alternatives. It's very noticeable in a work environment where some of the computers are always on the trailing end of the technology curve. I've had people tell me to call back in 15 minutes because they are just signing on and it will take that long before they can start using software.