Google is threatening to pull search out of Australia. Why? A proposed new law that would force Google to pay news publishers for their content. The company says it has no choice, and would prefer to pay publishers for its Google News products. The Australian government says it does not respond to threats.
Meanwhile, the company’s workers are coming together to announce an international union alliance. Alpha Global is made up of 13 unions across 10 countries.
I’m tracking that unionization because I think that’s a huge deal, and it’s gaining momentum. Don’t expect this to end. That’s the first bit to care about – worker relations are going to matter a lot.
Here’s a crazy thought – how about we do this? Let Australia ban it. Wouldn’t that be an interesting experiment? Say Google went away… there ARE other search engines. I’m tracking this because… I don’t see the downside here. Maybe a homegrown opportunity pops up.
We care because… things do not HAVE to stay the same. That’s my big lesson.