Google is under fire in Australia for hiding content from local media companies in search results as part of an “experiment.” The move is the latest in a row between the company and local authorities and appears to be retaliation for the country’s proposed law charging the American company for using news content.

Some Guardian readers joked that when they searched for the newspaper on Google, the link to the page did not appear; the search returned only the Twitter, Facebook and Wikipedia pages of the Australian version of the newspaper. The Mountain View giant defended itself, saying that it was a test and that it carries out “tens of thousands of experiments every year”. In addition, the company said that the experiment would end in February of this year.

Understanding the confusion better

In 2020, the Australian parliament discussed a law project which requires Google and Facebook to pay for news they use in their search results or feeds. The law implies that the amount to be paid is negotiated between the government and the companies, and also that it is fair to the country's media outlets. At the time, Google reacted and placed a warning on its Australian page. When accessing the search engine, users began to see a pop-up on the search screen with the phrase “the way Australians search on Google every day is at risk”.

Earlier this year, the Australian newspaper Financial Review was the first to report that Google hid links from news sites. According to the vehicle, the company has been tinkering with the algorithm to bury the links of the country. In response, the American company confirmed that it had changed the algorithms as part of a survey it carries out every year.

Abusive power

In the newspaper The Guardian, a representative for Nine, which owns the Sydney Morning Herald and the AFR (Financial Review), said that “Google is an effective information monopoly, and withholding access to true, fresh and important news shows how they can impact Australians’ access to it”. In addition, the statement alleged that “Google is demonstrating how easily it can make Australian news providers disappear from the internet if they are no longer under its grace, in a chilling illustration of its market power”.

Australia's Treasury Secretary Josh Frydenberg commented in a local newspaper article Brisbane Times that “Google, Facebook and other tech giants should focus not on preventing Australian users from accessing local content, but on paying for that content.” According to Josh, the bill is not yet finalized, but it will be an important milestone for the domestic economy.

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