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Dr Mehmet Yildiz
What Happens If We Lose Google And Facebook In Australia
2021-01-25
There is an interesting situation in Australia with substantial implications. I don't know the answer but have viewpoints from different angles. Google is an embedded entity of the nation and the backbone of the digital economy.
My understanding is that the Australian Government is creating a new media code. The code requires paying news outlets like Google and Facebook for showing links to their websites and content.
The Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, clearly points out that the Australian parliament decides the business rules to be followed in the country.
I don't know about the implications of Facebook much, but Google made me think due to its critical impact from multiple angles.
Google communicated its position clearly. If this new code becomes law, more precisely, if Google has to pay news publishers, the Google company will stop making the search engine available in Australia.
Google, as a digital giant, has a large stake in the global market. Google's presence in Australia is undoubtedly substantial. Some may see Google as a simple search engine. However, there are comprehensive integral parts to being explored and understood in technological and business context.
Following the business and technology literature, I came across disputes related to Google services in several other countries for various global issues. From my observations in the press, the most common one was related to privacy rules in Europe. For example, this article in Reuters' technology news in 2019 pointed out the concerns: Google faces privacy complaints in European countries.
Privacy is a big issue in Europe, and it is not my point in this article.
My focus is to understand the implications of the dispute between the Australian Government and Google for the dissemination of news.
It may sound simple to the public as an algorithm change for payment, but the topic is extensive, spanning across multiple domains. It poses political, technological, business, legal, economic, and ethical implications.
As a neutral technologist, I understand the position and capability of Google. As a consumer of technology, I also understand the business implications.
The reality is Google is embedded in our lives. We google everything. It is the manifestation of the concept - information at our fingertips. We use Google in all walks of life, even use it as our doctor. Millions of students, parents, teachers use Google for educative and learning activities.
In short, all professions use Google to manage information at its full life-cycle.
However, it is difficult for me to comment about the political, economic, legal, and ethical aspects as they are incredibly complex.
So far from my reviews, the most precise explanation was provided by Mel Silva. Mel is a Managing Director for Google Australia. Mel explained why there was a workable news code that didn't break Google Search. Here is the link to this brief and articulate presentation: An update from Google on the News Media Bargaining Code.
I found the coffee shop analogy by Mel compelling. Indeed, I don't want to pay for the bill for coffee shops that I suggest to my friends. I also appreciate the fairness point by Mel. Australia is a country which has utmost importance on fairness. It is even reflected in the Australian National Anthem - "Advance Australia Fair".
Google, undoubtedly, is one of the largest and leading technology companies in the world. It leads the digital market globally. They have an impressive infrastructure with state-of-the-art technology stacks and many modern data centres strategically dispersed across the globe.
The public Cloud infrastructure of Google is worth mentioning as a backbone of the web service.
From the data aspect, Google is the wealthiest aggregated data source globally. It depicts the vast metaphorical ocean. Their Big Data sources feed millions of businesses.
Google plays a vital role in emerging technologies such as IoT, Artificial Intelligence, and Quantum computing. In addition, Google is an advocate of open source communities.
Many businesses depend on Google services. Email, voice, collaboration, workflow are a few to mention in the business context.
I don't know about Facebook, but the loss of Google in Australia will be certainly felt.
Some friends pointed out how about other search engines like Bing, Baidu, Yandex, DuckDuckGo. They are all good, but my understanding is the total of them being around 20% of the global search engine market. Loosing 80% would matter from use case point of view.
When I was chatting with my friends from technology and business background, some common sentiments emerge.
The common sentiment was that as a country, Australia existed before Google and thrived. So we can deal with it if it happens.
Many of us believe that there will undoubtedly be noticeable implications, but some believe that it won't be the end of the world.
It is an interesting development attracting attention at the national level in Australia.
We don't know how it will unfold.
Time will tell us.
I hope the issue will be resolved amicably, so we don't have to lose something precious for the country.
Thank you for reading my perspectives.
If you enjoy this article, you might also check my other technology and leadership articles published on News Break.
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