Taxpayers stump up for “man shot in buttocks” journalism as Google Australia pays a pittance in tax again thanks to “world first media reforms”. Michael West reports on a joke.
Source: Google Australia pays pittance in tax, pays media moguls instead – Michael West
Artificial intelligence “godfather” Geoffrey Hinton has resigned from his job at Google, saying that “bad actors” will use new AI technologies to harm others and that the tools he helped to create could spell the end of humanity.
Source: AI ‘godfather’ Geoffrey Hinton warns of dangers as he quits job at Google
In 2021, both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International formally accused Israel of committing crimes against humanity by maintaining an apartheid system against Palestinians. While the Israeli military and security services already rely on a sophisticated system of computerized surveillance, the sophistication of Google’s data analysis offerings could worsen the increasingly data-driven military occupation.
Source: Google Is Selling Advanced AI to Israel, Documents Reveal
First, we saw the Ramsey Foundation’s incursion into universities with bribery and their Western Civilisations degree. Now News Corp and Google have moved in on Melbourne University’s Business School. and the L-NP removal of research funding to the commercial sector. What we are seeing is the replacement of an Indpendant Tertiary Institution with the Trump University model being deployed in Australia? We know how well that went. Will shares too be issued sometime soon? The division between private and public seems to have been accelerated by this L-NP.
Why then are we as journalism academics concerned? There are several reasons. The first and most obvious is the incursion of a high-profile and controversial media company into the higher education sector and the extent to which that is funded by a large disruptive digital search company.
Source: News Corp’s deal with Google and the Melbourne Business School questioned by journalism academics
In objective terms, Trump’s lawsuits look weak. But this is not about him winning in a federal court. By challenging Facebook, Google, and Twitter this way, he achieves two key goals: he keeps the conspiratorial demagoguery flowing and he keeps the cash pouring in. This case isn’t about justice. It’s about fear and money—the two things that make Trump’s world go around.
Source: Trump Sues Facebook, Google, and Twitter: Is It All About the Grift? – Mother Jones
what’s the scam Google: What’s the Scam? by Michael West | May 1, 2021 Google Australia raked in $5.2bn revenue last year and paid the Tax Office … drumroll … zero income tax. What’s the scam? The scam used to be that Google simply pretended its income from selling services in Australia to Australians really belonged overseas so it invoiced straight from Singapore. No revenue here, ergo no tax. Now the scam is how they define revenue. They claim their revenue is $1.4bn but, buried in a footnote is the admission that gross revenue last year was actually $5.2bn. GST mysteriously plunged from $114m to $43m and “service fees” to foreign associates stomped in at an heroic $3.8bn. They actually paid $133m in tax in 2019. That’s $133m more than Rupert Murdoch’s News Australia Holdings paid in six years. But they’re back to their dodgy old ways – paying no tax again. Although they recorded a tax charge of $53m – this is what they claim they paid, their cashflow statement shows income tax received (not paid) of $22m last year. They got a tax benefit. That’s the scam.
“It has left us facing a stark choice: Attempt to comply with a law that ignores the realities of this relationship, or stop allowing news content on our services in Australia. With a heavy heart, we are choosing the latter.”
In effect News Corp has it’s ability to churn opinion for the LNP boosted. It’s sacked it’s journalists for churnalists just as Google and Facebook have been accused of but with a difference Murdoch has a pact with the LNP. Maybe a exclusivity agreement should be drawn up between the ABC Facebook and Google while they forget News Corp and Ch9.
Facebook announces news content sharing restrictions in Australia
Google threatens to withdraw search from Australia and Facebook to remove news posts. These are not idle threats. Is propping up old media with grants gouged from Google good public policy? It delivers cash for Rupert Murdoch but does it serve consumers? Kim Wingerei reports.
Google & Facebook laws just a Backrub for News and Nine – Michael West
“If the aim of this code is to ensure the viability of Australia’s media, then the Government should ensure ABC is included, that AAP doesn’t fail and that small and independent publishers don’t miss out,” Hanson-Young said.
Include the ABC and SBS in media code talks, say the Greens – » The Australian Independent Media Network
But stuff Google and Facebook, says Morrison and his gang of dollar store Batman villains, if Rupert wants something, no matter how obviously idiotic, odious or borderline corrupt, Rupert will bloody well get it. His media monopoly is the only thing keeping the Coalition in power, after all.
Irrespective of how you look at it, the Murdoch media is working with the Morrison Government to achieve its goal of controlling the narrative and manipulating the way people can find news and information. A job which they already fulfil with aplomb, but which will be that much easier without pesky Google searches and Facebook sharing platforms unearthing more and more alternative views.
Whichever way it goes, Rupert Murdoch gets what he wants. Either a new stream of revenue from Facebook and Google, or a potentially crippling blow to his emerging online news rivals.
Come to think of it, maybe the old coot does understand the internet? More likely his staff do.
So much for freedom of information.
Rupert Murdoch Googles opening up a Facebook account
The Trump administration has raised concerns with Australia’s competition regulator about proposed legislation that would force powerful US tech companies Google and Facebook to pay publishers for news.
Trump administration concerned about Australia’s tech giant crackdown
Morrison has made International Interest in Australia Spike (ODT)Googl
Bushfire searches were almost twice as popular as the next most-clicked search
Interest in bushfires rose more than 500 per cent over the past three months
Global interest in Australia soared by 340 per cent in the first week of 2020, compared to usual levels
Facebook and the rest, those are commercial institutions. Their constituency is basically advertisers, and they would like to establish the kinds of controls over their consumers that will be beneficial to [a] business model that enabled them to get advertising. That has very serious distorting effects. And we know that they provide massive information to the corporate system, which they use in their own efforts to try to shape and control behavior and opinion. All of these are dangerous developments. The power of these private corporations to direct people in particular [is] a serious problem which requires considerable thought and attention.
via Noam Chomsky: Facebook and Google Pose a Manifest Danger
Trump has lashed out at tech companies, accusing Google and others of “suppressing” conservative voices and “hiding information” and good news. He cited no evidence for the claim, which echoes both his own attacks on the press and a conservative talking point.
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