[governance] More... Google: "Internet Freedom!"... (to do whatever it pleases and serves its business interests?

Adam Peake ajp at glocom.ac.jp
Tue Dec 4 13:18:30 EST 2012 

Media outside Germany reports that a reason (obviously not the only
reason) Google started its public campaign is because the German media
they are at odds with will not cover Google's side of the argument.
Given this is about a debate over new legislation that's a problem
(democracy and all that.)  Traditional media it seems is not as free
as we might hope when it comes to its own interests.

Is Google the most dangerous player out there?  Go to the .nxt side
and have a look at Russia's proposal for a new Article 3a
<http://news.dot-nxt.com/itu/wcit/c27>.  It's been debated a bit in
WCIT today, and will continue tomorrow.   Offensive that it's even
give 10 minutes floor time.

Yesterday, Dr. Toure made two promises: nothing in WCIT would restrict
freedom of speech, and he intervened in the discussions to seek
support for a proposal that supported including reference in the ITRs
to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (and he was
also concerned about the bad press not including such a reference
might bring down upon the conference and the ITU). Second promise was
nothing in WCIT was about Internet governance, but for some reason he
hasn't yet found it necessary intervene against the Russian proposal
and the other governments offering it support.  Hypocrite?  We'll see.

At the moment too many people claiming to speak for CS  aren't paying
attention to where the immediate problem lies.  Google sucks, but it's
not going to screw-up the Internet as we know it.

Adam


On Wed, Dec 5, 2012 at 1:32 AM, michael gurstein <gurstein at gmail.com> wrote:
> Adam, the issue is not the new/old business models (and I have no particular
> bias one way or another for old or new enterprises or their business
> models--and to be clear I sincerely admire and appreciate Google as a
> company, their products, their highly competent and effective staff and
> spokespeople, and their overall demeanour).
>
> What is important, as the Spiegel article is pointing to, is the way in
> which Google is using its market strength (and one should say, their overall
> new media savvy) to attempt to manipulate political processes.
>
> Given their size, wealth, reach and impact this is a very very dangerous
> slippery slope and given the global scope of Google and similar
> quasi-monopoly Internet-native enterprises--Facebook, eBay, PayPal, Amazon,
> Flickr, Youtube all come immediately to mind--this is an exceedingly
> dangerous precedent and one, which at the moment no national (or global)
> governmental system seems particularly well equipped to deal with (except
> through the building of equally repugnant and dangerous national Internet
> firewalls).
>
> M
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: apeake at gmail.com [mailto:apeake at gmail.com] On Behalf Of Adam Peake
> Sent: Tuesday, December 04, 2012 7:46 AM
> To: governance at lists.igcaucus.org
> Subject: Re: [governance] More... Google: "Internet Freedom!"... (to do
> whatever it pleases and serves its business interests?
>
> German publishing houses and Google currently in a fight over proposed
> legislation that would require Google to pay the publishers when they use
> snippets of text from articles etc in search results.
>
> New business models/old. Traditional media vs. new.  Same in WCIT, ENTO and
> OTT players.  Best not to try and fit the story to one's personal bias.
>
> Adam
>
>
>
> On Wed, Dec 5, 2012 at 12:24 AM, michael gurstein <gurstein at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>> http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/google-encourages-users-t
>> o-join-campaign-against-copyright-draft-law-a-870590.htm
>>
>>
>>
>> It is a new type of lobbying power when Google now endeavors to enlist
>> its users in the struggle to defend its own business interests. In the
>> language of the Internet, one could also say that the company is
>> trying to crowdsource its own lobbying efforts. This is a widespread
>> method in the US, where it's known as grassroots lobbying.
>>
>>
>>
>> In doing so, the company is relying on a trick that Germany's Pirate
>> Party has also used to achieve many of its successes: It merely brands
>> a proposal that it's targeting as a threat to the free, open and
> uncensored Internet.
>> The tactic behind this move is obvious. Recently in the US and on a
>> European Union level, a number of bills have failed due to resistance
>> from online campaigns. With its current campaign, Google is seeking to
>> use this to its own benefit -- and is openly playing on politicians'
>> widespread fear of a shitstorm.
>>
>>
>>
>> Legal but Risky Business
>>
>>
>>
>> The vehemence with which Google is pursuing its campaigns is
>> astonishing because it entails considerable risks for the company. The
>> discrepancy between Google's lofty words and its agenda is far too
>> evident: Of course the company is not primarily interested in the
>> freedom of Internet users, but rather in defending its own freedom
>> against any government regulation of its monopoly-like power over the
>> market and public opinion. This raises the question of whether such an
>> approach does more harm than good to its own interests.
>>
>>
>>
>> Well worth reading the whole article.
>>
>>
>>
>> M
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>>
>> From: michael gurstein [mailto:gurstein at gmail.com]
>>
>> Sent: Monday, December 03, 2012 2:52 AM
>>
>> To: 'ciresearchers at vancouvercommunity.net';
>> cracin-canada at vancouvercommunity.net
>>
>> Subject: FW: Hmmmm... Google: "Internet Freedom!"... (from taxes?
>>
>>
>>
>> http://delimiter.com.au/2012/11/23/australian-govt-pledges-action-on-g
>> oogle-tax-avoidance/
>>
>> [MG>] http://tinyurl.com/d9fhmhx
>>
>>
>>
>> http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/news/15431664/france-says-google-
>> would-lose-court-case-over-taxes/
>>
>> [MG>] http://tinyurl.com/c43nfs8
>>
>>
>>
>> http://en.apa.az/news_google_italy_suspected_of_tax_evasion__183392.ht
>> ml
>>
>> [MG>] http://tinyurl.com/cc4ayk2
>>
>>
>>
>> http://www.3news.co.nz/Starbucks-Google-Amazon-accused-of-UK-tax-evasi
>> on/tabid/369/articleID/276457/Default.aspx
>>
>> [MG>] http://tinyurl.com/dylfaxy
>>
>>
>>
>> http://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/11/23/0156212/australian-govt-pledge
>> s-action-on-google-tax-evasion
>>
>>
>>
>> http://gurstein.wordpress.com/2012/10/11/the-ituwcit-thinking-about-in
>> ternet-regulatory-policy-from-an-ldc-perspective/
>>
>> [MG>] http://tinyurl.com/8cw6tux
>>
>>
>>
>> http://tinyurl.com/choul5g
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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