Read This Before You Share Google's Open Letter to Australia.

Before you hit that share button on Google’s Open Letter to Australian’s, make sure you know the facts.

Read both sides of the Google Open Letter to Australian’s and the ACCC Response to Google’s Open Letter here.

Image of yellow warning sign on white background, with the text ‘Read this before sharing Google’s Open Letter to Australian’s’.

Google has published an Open Letter to Australian’s, threatening Australia with terrible Google Search and YouTube, putting our data into the hands of untrustworthy big news businesses and putting the free services currently in use by Australian’s at risk.

The threatening letter was written to spark public outrage, starting with the opening statement:

“We need to let you know about new Government regulation that will hurt how Australians use Google Search and YouTube” (Google, 2020).

The ACCC posted its own Response to Google’s Open Letter stating:

“The open letter published by Google today contains misinformation about the draft news media bargaining code which the ACCC would like to address”.

Google’s Open Letter Sub-Headings, with ACCC Responses

Google: “The way Aussies search every day on Google is at risk from new regulation”.

ACCC: “Google will not be required to charge Australian’s for the use of its free services such as Google Search and YouTube, unless it chooses to do so”.

Google: “Your Search data may be at risk”.

ACCC: “Google will not be required to share any additional user data with Australian news businesses unless it chooses to do so”.

Google: “Hurting the free services you use”.

ACCC: “The draft code will allow Australian news businesses to negotiate fair payment for their journalists’ work that is included in Google services”.

It’s a bold move by Google to encapsulate that ALL of Australia’s searches, our search data, and the free services are at risk purely because of a draft that brings into question the power imbalances that we are seeing with these global superpowers.

So why the big, threatening statement to the general public?

Google has recently come under fire from the Australian Government for anti-competitive behaviour, with the Government directing the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to draft new legislation, focusing on the global superpowers, Facebook and Google.

“On 20 April 2020, the Australian Government asked the ACCC to develop a mandatory code of conduct to address bargaining power imbalances between Australian new media businesses and digital platforms, specifically Google and Facebook. The ACCC released a draft code for public consultation on 31 July 2020” (ACCC, 2020).

Enraging the Australian public to turn against the legislation without a willingness to negotiate shows the threat that legislation such as this has on the power of Google. Around the world governments and their citizens are waking up to the level of power injustices that are occurring through the lack of healthy competition with Goggle and Facebook controlling the lion’s share of all Internet activity. We are yet to see Facebook’s response to the ACCC’s draft legislation.

Consultation of the draft is due to conclude on 28 August 2020, with final legislation expected to be introduced to Parliament shortly thereafter. The Australian Government has indicated that this legislation would initially apply only to Facebook and Google, with others added only when there is a significant imbalance of bargaining power.

While this legislation may or may not be passed in the following weeks by the Australian Government, I for one think we need to have more conversations, lobbying, and political debates when it comes to citizen data, power imbalances and anti-competitive behaviour.

“A healthy media sector is essential to a well-functioning democracy” - ACCC.

So before you hit share on Google’s Open Letter to Australian’s, I encourage you to read both sources and make your own mind up. What do you want our world to be in the future? Should the power lie squarely with private corporations to use our data and content however they see fit? Or should there be levels of accountability and standards of governance that is reflective of the superpower that these largest global companies yield due to their infinite with access to citizen data?

You decide.

Share the letter, or perhaps provide your feedback through an appropriate channel? Written submissions are due by 5 pm on 28 August 2020. To read the code, and submit a submission head to:
https://www.accc.gov.au/focus-areas/digital-platforms/news-media-bargaining-code/draft-legislation

Links:

ACCC Draft News Media Bargaining Code: https://www.accc.gov.au/focus-areas/digital-platforms/draft-news-media-bargaining-code

ACCC Response to Google’s Open Letter: https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/response-to-google-open-letter

Google Open Letter to Australians: g.co/australia-letter