Google’s threat to withdraw from Australia

As always, I prefer to wait a few weeks for things to settle down and reflect with a little more perspective.

Google’s threat to withdraw its search engine from Australia if the Australian government publishes a law whereby technology companies like Google would have to pay news companies to republish their news is totally unacceptable.

The Australian Prime Minister has already manifested himself saying that he did not respond to the threats, and the logical and normal thing is that they go ahead with their law and without delay.

No government should admit to blackmail by big tech companies. They only seek their interests, but not those of society as a whole, and that is what governments are for, to put laws that are for the benefit of their citizens. Without fear and without accepting pressure from anyone.

Google, as a private company, can make the decisions that seem most convenient for its business, but the space it leaves free in the market will be occupied by another company sooner rather than later.

No one is essential.

In France, Google has reached an agreement to pay newspapers for the news it publishes, and that should occur in all countries. But I think that it is even more important that they pay their taxes in each country for the benefits they generate in it.

The underlying issue is that large technology companies (Google, Facebook, etc …) do not want regulations of any kind that limit their “businesses”.

So far they have done very well in the “Wild West” of the Internet and they want this situation to last forever. They don’t care about democracy, or freedom of expression, or anything; only about their financial interests.

They will defend themselves tooth and nail as much as they can, and it is up to citizens and our governments to defend our interests. That are not theirs.

The Internet, like any other commercial activity (for that is what it is about) must be regulated to avoid current abuses by the powerful. And we cannot be intimidated by them.

If Google insist on threatening to withdraw from Australia (it has already reached an agreement), as from any other country, the answer is very simple: goodbye and good luck

And the same answer goes for Facebook and others