Google Australia Notice - The Way Aussies Use Google Is At Risk

Australians who go to Google are seeing a notice, a pop up, on Google Search that reads "The way Aussies use Google is at risk." It adds "your search experience will be hurt by new regulation" and then asks the user to dismiss the alert or learn more.

Here is a screen shot of this alert from Chris Finnegan who posted it on Twitter:

This learn more button leads to this page which is an "open letter" to Australians. It reads:

We need to let you know about new Government regulation that will hurt how Australians use Google Search and YouTube.

A proposed law, the News Media Bargaining Code, would force us to provide you with a dramatically worse Google Search and YouTube, could lead to your data being handed over to big news businesses, and would put the free services you use at risk in Australia.

There is also this blog post from Google Australia.

Here are some Twitter reactions:

The Google ad campaign against revenue sharing really becoming a full-court press. This promoted tweet just entered my feedhttps://t.co/Y9v5tepeJI https://t.co/ikJfxPWhQJ

— Naaman Zhou (@naamanzhou) August 17, 2020

Absolutely appaling.

Its almost like the Libs aren't even trying to hide the fact they're funded by the Murdoch Press anymore.

Please share this and raise awareness, we cant let the government actively control our flow of public and free information!
https://t.co/rMQCpKcAf5

— Nor, Dad (@NorellMurrsonYT) August 17, 2020

The fearmongering bullshit in this is just extraordinary. Australian media orgs aren't even competing on YouTube in the first place or treating it like a full-time pursuit. Creators can't lose out to content that doesn't exist. https://t.co/iTFQjZca4x

— Alex Walker (@dippizuka) August 17, 2020

Mainstream Australian Media has no idea how to create content for online audiences so instead of adapting, or hiring people who already have

They instead want to force YouTube to give them unfair advantage that explicitly excludes the independent creators they can't compete with https://t.co/7dKWHj51ux

— Lewis Spears YouTooz Out Now (@LewSpears) August 17, 2020

I just pulled these tweets randomly from the Techmeme coverage.

I think France did something like this too a while back? Maybe I am wrong. I don't really enjoy covering the political and government side of things.

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.