INTERNET INDUSTRY

Google paid just 7.6 per cent tax on billion-dollar profit in 2020

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by John Rolfe
The Daily Telegraph – Page: Online : 26-Oct-21

Google Australia booked a profit of $186m in 2020, while its gross revenue was $5.2bn. However, Google pays tax on the revenue it generates in Australia via a Singapore-based subsidiary, Google Asia Pacific. This company made a profit of $US1.62bn ($2.17bn) in 2020, but its total tax bill in Singapore was only $US123m ($165m). The effective tax rate was just 7.6 per cent, while Australia and Singapore have corporate tax rates of 30 per cent and 17 per cent respectively. Both countries are signatories to a global deal to introduce a 15 per cent minimum tax rate for multinationals.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, GOOGLE ASIA PACIFIC PTE LTD

Original reporting is hard to define: Google

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 15-Oct-19

Defining original reporting can be difficult, according to Google’s vice-president of search, Ben Gomes. The technology company has received a lot of criticism in the past for the way it displays news reports in Google News, and it has recently stated that it will change its algorithms and rating guidelines. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission stated in the final report of its digital platforms inquiry that digital platforms are not rewarding publishers who produce original content, and content that had taken time and effort to produce is being copied by rival companies within hours of being placed online.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Fellows moves house to global News Corp role

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 21 : 16-Nov-18

REA Group is seeking a new CEO after Tracey Fellows resigned to become president of News Corporation’s digital real estate business. Fellows, who will be based in New York in her new role, has been CEO of REA since August 2014. Shares in REA have gained around 62 per cent during her tenure, and the real estate listings group recently posted strong growth in earnings and revenue for the first quarter of 2018-19. Fellows will remain on the board of REA, in which News Corp has a controlling stake.

CORPORATES
REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, REALESTATE.COM.AU, IPROPERTY GROUP LIMITED, HOMETRACK, SMARTLINE HOME LOANS PTY LTD, MOVE INCORPORATED, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIA POST, MICROSOFT CORPORATION, DELL TECHNOLOGIES INCORPORATED, IBM CORPORATION

Unlockd roadkill after flying too near Google

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Supratim Adhikari
The Australian – Page: 17 & 27 : 14-Jun-18

Australian mobile advertising technology group Unlockd was heavily reliant on Google’s app store and AdMob advertising platform. Right Click Capital partner Ben Chong says Unlockd’s descent into voluntary administration demonstrates the risks of a business model which is similar to that of Google itself. Unlockd had proposed an IPO that was tipped to raise around $A80m, and the start-up had previously attracted funding of more than $A60m from private investors.

CORPORATES
UNLOCKD PTY LTD, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, RIGHT CLICK CAPITAL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, McGRATH NICOL AND PARTNERS SERVICES PTY LTD

Tech giants in abuses of power

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Darren Davidson, Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 4-May-18

Many of the submissions to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s inquiry into digital platforms have highlighted the impact of Google and Facebook on jobs and advertising revenue in the media sector. Seven Group CEO Ryan Stokes argued that digital companies should be required to pay a fair price for distributing media content, while Foxtel said it is hard to attract new pay-TV customers when pirated content can be accessed for free on Facebook and YouTube. The Australian Association of National Advertisers called for digital platforms to be regulated in a similar way to traditional media companies.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATION OF NATIONAL ADVERTISERS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS PTY LTD, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, APPLE INCORPORATED

Google’s blues: Elton John sings titan’s tune to calm advertisers

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 28-Sep-17

Google has declined to comment on the cost of hiring Sir Elton John to perform at its annual Brandcast marketing event in Sydney, although industry sources suggest that the British music legend would have commanded a six-figure fee. Meanwhile, Google Australia and New Zealand MD Jason Pellegrino has conceded that the last year had been challenging for the digital giant. Advertisers boycotted its YouTube video-sharing site over the placement of ads alongside objectionable content, while Google has attracted scrutiny over tax avoidance, fake website traffic and the dissemination of fake news.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, MEDIA FEDERATION OF AUSTRALIA, OMNICOM MEDIA GROUP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, EUROPEAN COMMISSION, ALPHABET INCORPORATED, THE COCA-COLA COMPANY, TOYOTA MOTOR CREDIT CORPORATION

YouTube improved on ads boycott: Google

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 27-Sep-17

Google-owned YouTube has implemented a number of measures in the wake of revelations that clients’ advertisements had been displayed alongside objectionable video content. The controversy prompted a boycott of YouTube by leading Australian and global brands. Google Australia and New Zealand MD Jason Pellegrino says the company has worked with advertisers to address the issue. The new measures include a requirement that a video must be viewed at least 10,000 times before it starts to generate advertising revenue.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, GM HOLDEN LIMITED, KIA MOTORS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NESTLE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, VODAFONE HUTCHISON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA POST, NBN CO LIMITED, WAL-MART STORES INCORPORATED, PEPSICO INCORPORATED, STARBUCKS COFFEE COMPANY LIMITED, AT&T CORPORATION, VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED

News praises ‘game-changing’ Google fine

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 19 : 29-Jun-17

The European Commission’s anti-trust ruling against search engine giant Google has been welcomed by News Corporation. The media company hopes further action will be taken to address Google’s "shameless abuse" of its market power in the search category. Google has been ordered to pay a fine of EUR2.42bn ($A3.5bn) and take remedial action within 90 days to end the practice of giving priority to Google Shopping in search results. News Corp has also criticised Google for facilitating the dissemination of so-called fake news and "commodifying content".

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, EUROPEAN COMMISSION, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, EUROPEAN CONSUMER ORGANISATION, TRIPADVISOR LLC, EXPEDIA INCORPORATED

Telstra tells Airbnb tagline doesn’t ‘Belong’ here

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 21-Jul-15

Telstra launched a budget broadband provider called Belong in October 2013. The telco is now challenging Airbnb’s use of its "Belong Anywhere" global marketing slogan in Australia. Airbnb was granted a trademark for the tagline in October 2014, but this was subsequently challenged by Telstra. It has also disputed Vodafone Australia’s use of the "Ready Business" trademark for some of its products.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AIRBNB INCORPORATED, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, DAVIES COLLISON CAVE, ADDISONS COMMERCIAL LAWYERS, TOURISM ACCOMMODATION AUSTRALIA