SYDNEY, Australia (CU)_Google has decided to hide some Australian news sites from its search results, which is being interpreted by many experts as a response to the Australian Government’s attempt to make the tech giant pay for original news content.
According to a Google spokesperson, the search algorithm which buries links to some commercial news sites, only affects a small percentage of users.
“Every year we conduct tens of thousands of experiments in Google Search,” the spokesperson said.
“We’re currently running a few experiments that will each reach about 1 per cent of Google Search users in Australia to measure the impacts of news businesses and Google Search on each other.”
However, experts note that although Google is trying to downplay the significance of the move, it was clearly throwing its weight around.
Belinda Barnet, an expert on media regulation at Swinburne University, said Google was attempting to give the impression that instead of paying for the news content as demanded, it “has the power to disappear news outlets completely”.
“In the middle of a pandemic when arguably we need access to timely accurate and fresh information more than ever, they’re prepared to dump news from the feeds of users to prove a point,” she said.
Chris Cooper, executive director of Reset Australia, an organisation working to counter digital threats to democracy, said Google’s experiment was “grossly irresponsible”.
He noted that this was a form of “aggressive campaigning” against the proposal to make tech giants pay for news content.
“They are threatening shutting off news to the public in order to stoke some kind of fear,” Cooper said.
News of the tweak was first reported earlier this week by the Australian Financial Review (AFR), and a spokesperson for the newspaper said the move was a “chilling illustration of their extraordinary market power”.
The spokesperson identified Google as “an effective monopoly” and withholding access to such “timely, accurate and important information” showed how the tech giant can impact what Australian have to that.
“At the same time, Google are now demonstrating how easily they can make Australian news providers who fall out of their favour effectively disappear from the internet.”
