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Google inks first commercial AI news deal in Australia

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 20-Aug-25

Newswire service Australian Associated Press has secured a content deal with Google regarding the latter’s generative artificial intelligence platform. AAP’s news articles will be made available to the Gemini AI app. Nic Hopkins from Google says the deal with AAP will deliver a feed of real-time information to enhance responses in the Gemini app and will assist Australians when they look for locally relevant and up-to-date information. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS PTY LTD, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Google violated antitrust laws to dominate online search, US judge rules

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Original article by Nick Robins-Early
The Guardian – Page: Online : 6-Aug-24

Shares in technology stocks such as Apple and Google have fallen sharply in response to the US District Court’s ruling that the latter has breached anti-trust laws. Judge Amit Mehta has concluded that Google is a ‘monopolist’, and it has acted as one to maintain its market dominance with regard to search services and advertising. Department of Justice prosecutors had contended amongst other things that Google has suppressed competition by paying billions of dollars to smartphone makers such as Apple and Samsung to use it as their default search engine.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, DISTRICT COURT OF UNITED STATES, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF JUSTICE, APPLE INCORPORATED, SAMSUNG CORPORATION

‘Wilful blindness’: Big fines for tech giants that ignore abuse material

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Original article by Angus Thompson
The Age – Page: Online : 24-Jul-24

Technology companies are currently required to report to the federal government on steps they are taking to minimise harmful content on their platforms. However, eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant says her office will further crack down on companies such as Google and Meta to ensure compliance. Amongst other things, they will be required to report their progress on combating child exploitation and sex abuse material on their platforms, with such reports to be submitted every six months for the next two years. The first reports must be submitted by 15 February, and they can incur a fine of up to $782,500 for each day they fail to comply.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE ESAFETY COMMISSIONER, META PLATFORMS INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Publishers fear Google AI search will kill their sites

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Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 & 23 : 18-Jun-24

Google is using AI to create summaries of content from publisher web sites to answer search queries, rather than the actual web site link. It has claimed that summaries encourage, rather than discourage, readers to click on publishers’ websites, but publishers and media experts have dismissed its claim, while research by US-based Future Media has also cast doubt on Google’s claim. Private Media CEO Will Hayward comments that tech firms are known for making bold statements that do not pass the "sniff test", and that "Australian journalism can’t wait five years to see if what they’ve claimed turns out to be true".

CORPORATES
PRIVATE MEDIA PARTNERS

Aussie firms caught up in Google trade breach

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Original article by Jared Lynch
The Australian – Page: 18 : 30-Nov-23

Advertising technology firm Adalytics has found that Google is placing ads for many high-profile Australian companies on Russian and Iranian websites; both countries are subject to international sanctions. Telstra, Qantas, National Australia Bank and Woolworths are among the local members of the Google Search Partners program whose ads have appeared on these sites, as well as pornographic sites. Qantas and Telstra have temporarily suspended advertising via Google in response to the revelation.

CORPORATES
ADALYTICS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW

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

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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

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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

Big Tech inquiry lauded abroad

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 25 : 5-Aug-19

The final report of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s inquiry into digital platforms has received strong support from the global media industry. News Media Alliance CEO David Chavern says the US government should hold a similar inquiry into the market power of digital players such as Google and Facebook. Meanwhile, the UK News Media Association’s deputy CEO Lynne Anderson says the federal government should act quickly on the ACCC’s recommendations.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, NEWS MEDIA ALLIANCE, NEWS MEDIA ASSOCIATION, GREAT BRITAIN. COMPETITION AND MARKETS AUTHORITY, EUCLID LAW

Facebook, Google are not publishers: US anti-trust expert

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Original article by Yolanda Redrup
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 30-Apr-19

US competition lawyer Howard Shelanski has urged caution when it comes to passing laws that would dictate how Facebook and Google should display content or refer users to news websites. Shelanski, who is a partner with law firm Davis Polk and advises Facebook on competition law, contends that Google and Facebook are not publishers. On the question of mergers, Shelanski says there needs to be greater acknowledgement of the value of competition and innovation when regulators are assessing them.

CORPORATES
FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, DAVIS POLK AND WARDWELL, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Google makes its case for news publishers to thrive

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 22-Aug-18

The internet as a whole rather than Google specifically has hurt the business model of traditional media companies, according to the technology giant’s vice-president of news, Richard Gingras. He says the Google News Initiative demonstrates the company’s commitment to publishers and quality journalism. Gingras adds that Google’s core businesses of web search and advertising technology are highly dependent on the internet’s "ecosystem" continuing to feature quality content.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, CARSALES.COM LIMITED – ASX CAR