Google 'experiment' already burying news sitesAustralian users where it hides news sites from its search resultsThe media giant has tweaked its search algorithm for about 1 per cent of its users which means links to some news sites are buried, a move that some believe is a response to the Australian Government trying to make it pay for news content.
Despite this, for at least one user, reaching the ABC News website through the search engine was impossible earlier this week.Peter Lewis is the head of the Australia Institute's Centre for Responsible Technology and said if it was true the company had used the ABC in the experiment, it would "taint" Google's argument that news content "is not of greater value than, say, a cat video".
Google is now asking everyone to agree to new privacy policies to get around Apple’s privacy protection. If you reject that keep asking and make search difficult. Moving to Bing as a default. It will do for most things. Google needs competition.
Lose Google lose Mobile apps
Ever wonder why as an Example Facebook is Free .
good . your bullshit opinions wont be at the top of the search results anymore. Same goes for guardian or cnn
Time to switch to ecosia . they pay taxes, don't track you and plant trees.
I lived most of my life quite happily without Google. I don't need them - they need me; and you! Go gummint, you are doing something right for once.
Some countries have all the luck.
Think of this in reverse. Imagine Google turning around and demanding to be paid for all the free services they provide currently. Gmail, docs, cloud sharing, android services, maps, Chromecast services, play store, etcetera. Not to mention search. Charge a fee for search. BS.
These news organisations are unscrupulous. They already gauge the public. I only use ABC. This law is the wrong way around. It should be those news outlets that are complaining, who have to remove themselves from Google, if that is what they want.
Good. Competition on the free market will fix all.
Australia will be a better place without it.
Bing is back! :')
🙄
And how do they suggest Australian businesses be found by overseas customers? Does the Australian Gov force all foreign Govs to dump Google & adopt the new search engine where Aussies would be found? Or just like China, Vaccine response cross your fingers & hope for substitute🤞🏼
Anyone ever post a news article to their feed to show others? Now imagine being charged money to do that. Just for a link, not a full article. That's what the law is trying do to google. This is a dumb law by a dumb government that has no idea how technology works.
Get GONE google
and yet they have agreed to pay French news agencies for the same thing? I think this raises some pretty hard questions don't you? methinks this is on par with their poor corporate citizen history of 'doing evil' sadly
It's a load of rubbish. As long as there is money to be made Google aren't going anywhere. If they do then another provider will step in to fill the gap. Also, Google was given the opportunity to participate in the conversation but chose instead to issue threats.
The day when a Government of either persuasion is threatened by Big tech and caves, is the day they stop governing. This is because Google is fearful of other countries following suit. Stump up the cash, and pay some appropriate tax whilst you are at it.
Big deal. Bugger off if you can't hack the rules.
DuckDuckGo
OMG how will I find my way to the local shop if Google is not telling me what to buy online
A death nail for news media, as Australia kills the Google search engine, it make's sense that news media should be paying google for free access to it's search engine, as all I see is a plus for news media if people share their content, it makes you wonder who's guiding who.
Who cares, VPN and carry on...
Again Scomo is putting the dignity of being king shit ahead of Australian people. We could lose Google so he doesn't have to lose face? His dignity is more important than the population AGAIN. Google should not be expected to bail out Australian media companies. sackscomo
Really great, scomo goes to war with both the US and China at same time. Enjoy the show
Excellent opportunity for local company to step in
I supported Google from very early days but the sad truth for Google is that there are other search engines - don’t deal with gangsters.
Let them go.
What other search engines do others use besides Google ?
So what happens to all the Google smart enabled tech ?
Are we not supposed to have noticed that they've already agree to pay French media a couple of days ago? (Guess where I found that news?)
So what, we will use another search engine
There are other search engines Google. Maybe your people should look around. $4.2 billion less might create a few redundancy for Google Aust, I think.
Yahoo!!!
So what we will survive not only that but it will leave an opening for someone else maybe an Australian someone willing to pay the tax and fees that should be paid
I've tried Googling for the answers. Who does Google pay? The government or the news organisations? Will it mean in future I won't be asked personally to subscribe to read a news item.
Can anyone link me to this actual law? This is making zero sense 🥴 Because if it will affect Google, it will affect all other search engines (which are essentially a copy & paste job of Google).
Google , they are everywere,spreads like a disease - Youtube=Google - Gmail=Google - Your phone (exept Iphone)=Google - Laptop chromebook =Google - Etc. And they are secretly in charge of the whole world .. USE DUCKDUCKGO searchengine , they are not spying on you , Google does
Do it .. Tecnooligarchy. Show them the door
LET'SSSSSSS GOOOOOOO
Yeah and walk away from $4 billion revenue? I call BS on that!
Use a different browser and a different search engine. Simples.
Govts make Laws not Big Tech...there needs to be a reckoning for these out of control silicon valley outfits before its too late
Google maps, gmail - bye bye business
That’s ok, I’ve got
Bye bye. Duck Duck Goose is very good and does spy on you and rip off our country.
ScottyFromMarketing is right; the australian government is free to make the rules for businesses to operate in Australia BUT if they make stupid rules, businesses are free to not offer their product here.
Duck Duck Go
I have not used Google search engine in ages. Sick and tired of them knowing everything that I do on net and tracking my every move. There are far better alternatives. They will be back as the ad revenue lost will hurt them more than the user
Google threats to remove Australian access to search will only cause Google to lose Australian advertising, hitting Googles ‘hip pocket’. Google obviously has not thought this out very well.
The day after they signed a deal with French publishers....
Chinese communist own”google”, Baidu company is ready to pay the money.
Everyone should start using brave browser and DuckDuckGo search engine anyway. Screw Google.
see ya Google
So who will give in? The ScoMo govt, which is spineless, of course!!
Nothing is for free as these tech companies tell all, same applies to them.
Google has previously admitted that it looks INSIDE gmail messages. I’ve already deleted my google account and replaced my email with ProtonMail 👍 YT is just full of ads now anyway.
There are other search engines! Don't be blackmailed when you know what is asked is fair 🤔
thats what happens when we over reliance on the US
Utter rubbish from start to finish .
Will newsagents also be paying a fee to media outlets for stocking their papers? Utterly stupid policy from the government.
Australia should let a tender out for a replacement for Google based on the principle that the new search engine that can be supported to go global. Hey Microsoft, FB, Twitter, HP or anyone want a trial site country to replace Google? What about Elon Musk.
The PM’s team better not try what happened in the TV series Borgen when a company threatened departure. Negotiation is not this Government’s strongest skill
Use DuckDuckGo
Now I have to use Bing
ive boycotted google for ages. I use Brave
Heavy sigh.
Just use DuckDuckGo. It doesn’t spy on you and, though it may not offer as many hits as Google, those it does offer will be because of relevance and not because of some undisclosed fee paid to Google.
Why shouldn't they pay its basically theft , just corporate bullying
JayEagles_
Does the corner store pay the publishers for selling/delivering their newspapers on the basis that customers will also buy a pie and a drink? No, so I don’t think Google should be paying the publishers for “delivering” their news content.
So Google sends users to news companies websites, making the news companies money and making practically zero money for Google/Facebook and the Oz gov wants them to pay to send customers to their websites for free? What a load of crap from a government living decades behind us
that’s what happen when you sucking up to the US too much
DuckDuckGo....hey Google just deplatform the Australian Government...I’m sure you can justify that...🤦🏼♀️
Google should be banned worldwide !!
The only country doing this is the country that originally banned youtube (type services) and it's for the same reason.
Why only our government in the whole wide world have to have special rules
we'll eat nooooooodles instead
I thought advertising creates revenue for commercial news sites.
Good bye Google hello DuckDuckGo
SkyBC spreading more misinformation.
it's really good example to show how tech gaints kidnap our lives
Hmmm... I wonder, if google does do that, then it makes it clear we should all move from google to duckduckgo or similar so google does not use our search data❓ Sell your google shares now before the value crashes like Twitter did in banning conservative views❓
Is this the same Scotty who stood up to China over Covid. Hasn't heard of diplomacy. In Australia, that's how we do it. Bully?
The Morrison government offensive has begun. A foul move by a PM intent on allowing right wing media platforms to sway public/political thought. This is an abuse of our freedoms all under the guise of MSM, Murdoch and the usual suspects!! AustralianLabor AlboMP tanya_plibersek
I've noticed that lately people are mostly being asked to 'search' for something instead of 'Googling' it. I've been using DuckDuckGo for many years now
DuckDuckGo is better - this would be WONDERFUL for Australia !!
DuckDuckGo is as good and they don't continually cyberstalk you to harvest your information. They are totally private.
Moving from google to DuckDuckGo
Like everything associated with those clowns in Canberra we will have to settle for an inferior product because of their stupidity. Just look how they stuffed the NBN
Google needs us more than we need them. There's plenty of other alternatives. I think we just witnessed an own goal by melsilva.
Honestly this sounds great. Between Google’s terrible track record with the truth, and Facebook’s unhinged use of misinformation for profit I say we just tell them they’re no longer welcome to do business here.
theres better search engines out there that dont store all your data. startpage DuckDuckGo
Good. Their search has turned poor. Much better using ducduckgo which doesn’t tailor the result to what it thinks you want to see gives you actual keyword search results
big business saying fuck Australia Google is no different
Atleast kids will start learning how to use real dictionary and will not be dependent !!! 🙈
The bit to remember here is we are being threatened if we dont hand over free ip to a non australian company
Its become a glorified yellow pages. Its not the same awesome search engine it was in the 90s
Although I am a Google fan but Google should follow the country's law which it runs the business. It quit China When it doesn't want to follow the local law. Now interesting to see how Australia deal with this.
I will just use ‘DuckDuckGo’.It is a much safer option than Google anyway.
I’m glad I dumped google long ago. Their company is a joke
Mel Silva CEO of Google for Australia and New Zealand threatens the Australian and New Zealand governments is unacceptable and should not go unchallenged. I’ll just move to another search engine no loss to me an average person.
If you tend to believe that,you will believe anything.Not ever going to happen.
haha yeah right, and give up all that advertising revenue - I doubt it.
Probably the best thing that could happen to Australia
Big deal, there are other search engines. We cannot allow tech giants to run the world.
Plenty of search engines with out the manipulation of advertising revenue ?
Google: 'We'll block Australia' Bing:
Really easy solution... change your DNS to 8.8.8.8, secondary 8.8.4.4 ...VOILA ! your very own almost VPN...
Fascism making big moves. Limit news, keep the masses dumber, do whatever they like.
Most people can't be bothered reading news on either Google or Facebook. In fact it is extremely irritating when opening your phone to make a call and getting a news item pop up first which you have to get rid of.
Well, that'll make our low speed Fraudband instantly effective, then!
Let’s hope so
Called it
Google only posts a tiny excerpt from articles that links to the full article, if I ran a newspaper that's a valuable source of traffic. It's just a dumb Murdoch driven money grab and the govt is more than willing to do its bidding.
How much tax they paid in Australia? How ethical it is!
That's not going to be an easy thing for Google. They wouldn't want other countries to follow the suit. They don't want people to be independent & think on their own. Losing power in a continent could trigger much wider problem for Google. So nothing to worry.
Fuck Yeah, Bing!
Oz is becoming an obsessive nanny state with control Laws n fines on face mask on media on helmets They r obsessed on making laws to prescriptive the no of patrons in restaurants n wedding halls Just absolute farce TOO MUCH BLOODY CONTROL
VPN🤣
OMG... I don't want to be stuck with Bing. APOIDJ:LKAJSDQIU2hILwd
Good they can't spy on us
Not an issue at all. DuckDuckGo. Much better...
Bye Felicia!
an_leavy Why do I never see mention of Google taking you to their own 'Amp' page, not the media's actual page? I presume that's what the media really hate, because it costs them revenue.
How dumb will that make half of Australia look ? If they can't 'Google it'
Hey google, see ya and good riddance ya data abusing bully!
They are bluffing
Can’t really blame Google as it’s a pretty ridiculous idea. I think it would be fine if they just blocked those Aus news sites. As long as is always available we will cope fine 😁
Sucks to be android
And when it goes ahead... they adapt & work around it....
Stupid rule needs to be scrapped, it will make sharing links impossible, media already makes so much money from social media traffic and clicks alone this is all lobbying effort by slime newsCorp
Perhaps Google is just playing an expensive game of bluff?
Duck Duck Go
Great news 👍
Good..... We need to use alternatives that don't gather all your info, searches etc to sell(?) to be used against us at a later date. TOR may be the way of the future for the privacy we all need and expect.
STOP this protection racket for News Corp. Its getting sickening. VOTE this putrid Liberal Government Out.
Don't ditch Google! Believe me as someone experienced with this, Google is the best!
How dare they threaten Australians to resort to using duckduckgo, a significantly more private search engine that doesn't sell user data.
This is not entirely true. Google will remove their offices and local search results will be hard, but it will also mean less targeted ads for Australian businesses. Small businesses will suffer, Newscorp is already on it's last legs, put it out of it's misery.
'Google is currently doing an experiment on its Australian users where it hides news sites from its search results.' Hey google it works both ways... I might start experimenting with other search engines.
Bye Google you are devil. You kowtow to Communist China.
just switch to duckduckgo - they don’t track your searches nor do they bombard you with ads.
What... dump Murdoch instead. Is this his idea? Scotty couldn’t come up with it by himself
Lol good riddance. Real classy.
If Google paid tax on their earnings then perhaps it wouldn’t be necessary to make them pay for digital news from our suppliers.
I use Ecosia these days. Don’t use Google deliberately
Blackmail is a very bad look, Mr Alphabet.
Oh no!!!!!! There aren't dozens other search engines we can use instead, right? emptythreat
Go ahead.
Excellent news, we can all use Duck Duck Go
And the people cheered!