<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">The data is excellent, "Astroturf" is not. It's a very well done study with enough detail I'm going to report something like "Google spending millions to buy influence in DC & Europe." IT's also a convenient list of papers on key topics, some of which I missed. It's important to know who is funding what and to doublecheck with unbiased sources.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">But the Astroturf assertion is offbase. I know about two-thirds of the authors, the vast bulk of whom are legitimate scholars and similar. I'd retain the title "Astroturf" for people and organizations whose primary work is promoting the policies of the companies paying them. Astroturf is a plague in D.C. Some are organizations created by pr agencies; others are "consulting firms; some call themselves "think tanks." While some of them do good work, most of it should be ignored. Reporters never should use any of their work without strong confirmation.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Dave</div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Jul 13, 2017 at 5:41 PM, Nick Ashton-Hart <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:nashton@consensus.pro" target="_blank">nashton@consensus.pro</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div style="word-wrap:break-word">The CFA is also not as transparent as it urges everyone else to be, it has refused to say who funds it in the past, has no details of who funds it on its website, either - though Oracle confirmed at one point it was one of its funders.<div><div class="h5"><div><br></div><div><div><br><div><blockquote type="cite"><div>On 13 Jul 2017, at 20:08, Jeremy Malcolm <<a href="mailto:jmalcolm@eff.org" target="_blank">jmalcolm@eff.org</a>> wrote:</div><br class="m_-5610248888240875531Apple-interchange-newline"><div>
<div text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
But here's an article putting the other side of the story:<br>
<br>
<a class="m_-5610248888240875531moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.chronicle.com/article/Scholars-Cry-Foul-at-Their/240635" target="_blank">http://www.chronicle.com/<wbr>article/Scholars-Cry-Foul-at-<wbr>Their/240635</a><br>
<br>
We place Google Policy Fellows at EFF, too. Does that mean that
whatever work they do for the rest of their careers is tainted by
the few thousand they received to support their living expenses as
an EFF fellow?<br>
<br>
<div class="m_-5610248888240875531moz-cite-prefix">On 13/7/17 3:21 am, parminder wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<blockquote>
<blockquote><p style="margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:'Guardian Text Egyptian Web',Georgia,serif;font-size:inherit;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:24px;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Google has spent
millions funding academic research in the US and<span class="m_-5610248888240875531Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/europe-news" class="m_-5610248888240875531u-underline" style="color:rgb(0,86,137);text-decoration:none!important;border-bottom-width:0.0625rem;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(220,220,220);background:transparent" target="_blank">Europe</a><span class="m_-5610248888240875531Apple-converted-space"> </span>to try to influence
public opinion and policymakers, a watchdog has claimed.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:'Guardian Text Egyptian Web',Georgia,serif;font-size:inherit;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:24px;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Over the last
decade, Google has funded research papers that appear to
support the technology company’s business interests and
defend against regulatory challenges such as antitrust and
anti-piracy, the US-based Campaign for Accountability (CfA)
said<span class="m_-5610248888240875531Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://campaignforaccountability.org/new-report-reveals-googles-extensive-financial-support-for-academia/" class="m_-5610248888240875531u-underline" style="color:rgb(0,86,137);text-decoration:none!important;border-bottom-width:0.0625rem;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(220,220,220);background:transparent" target="_blank">in a report</a>.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:'Guardian Text Egyptian Web',Georgia,serif;font-size:inherit;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:24px;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><span>“Google uses its immense wealth and
power to attempt to influence policymakers at every
level,” said Daniel Stevens, CfA executive director. </span><span><br>
</span></p><p style="margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:'Guardian Text Egyptian Web',Georgia,serif;font-size:inherit;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:24px;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">................
<br>
</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:'Guardian Text Egyptian Web',Georgia,serif;font-size:inherit;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:24px;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><span>Academics were directly funded by
Google in more than half of the cases and in the rest of
the cases funded indirectly by groups or institutions
supported by Google, the CfA said. Authors, who were paid
between $5,000 and $400,000 (£3,900-£310,000) by Google,
did not disclose the source of their funding in 66% of all
cases, and in 26% of those cases directly funded by
Google, according to the report.</span></p><p style="margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:'Guardian Text Egyptian Web',Georgia,serif;font-size:inherit;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:24px;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><span>...........</span></p>
<span>“Whenever
Google’s bad behaviour is exposed, it invariably points the
finger at someone else,” said Stevens. “Instead of
deflecting blame, Google should address its record of
academic astroturfing, which puts it in the same league as
big oil and </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/series/tobacco-a-deadly-business" class="m_-5610248888240875531u-underline" target="_blank">big tobacco</a><span>.”</span><br>
</blockquote>
</blockquote><div style="margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:'Guardian Text Egyptian Web',Georgia,serif;font-size:inherit;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:24px;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:'Guardian Text Egyptian Web',Georgia,serif;font-size:inherit;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:24px;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;float:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);display:inline!important"></span><br class="m_-5610248888240875531webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p><font face="Verdana"><a class="m_-5610248888240875531moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jul/13/google-millions-academic-research-influence-opinion" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/<wbr>technology/2017/jul/13/google-<wbr>millions-academic-research-<wbr>influence-opinion</a></font></p><p><font face="Verdana">As we know Google has recently been fined
$ 2.7 billion for anti-competitive practices by the EU
regulator, which only means that in all countries that are too
weak to take on google (or benefit from its profits, meaning
the US) Google remains in violation of competition (and many
other) laws..... All this Google funded research and advocacy,
of dont regulate the Internet (read, Internet companies), are
playing a dangerous game, seriously compromising public
interest. <br>
</font></p><p><font face="Verdana">It is time we declare the honeymoon of
civil society and academic love for digital global
corporations over. They are today like big oil companies -- no
doubt the latter provide what is still the main energy
resource that keeps our societies ticking but in the bargain
they very often, and systemically, indulge in stuff that needs
academics and NGOs to be watching against. It is pretty
difficult to undertake such watching while taking considerable
money from them. It is a simple truism, but the digital sector
tends to ignore it.</font></p><p><font face="Verdana">parminder <br>
</font></p><p><br>
</p>
<br>
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</blockquote>
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<pre class="m_-5610248888240875531moz-signature" cols="72">--
Jeremy Malcolm
Senior Global Policy Analyst
Electronic Frontier Foundation
<a class="m_-5610248888240875531moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://eff.org/" target="_blank">https://eff.org</a>
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Tel: <a href="tel:(415)%20436-9333" value="+14154369333" target="_blank">415.436.9333 ext 161</a>
:: Defending Your Rights in the Digital World ::
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