Originally published: Australian Financial Review, 09 February 2021
Google’s threat to block Australians from using its search engine if the government passes a proposed media bargaining code has only increased voter support for the proposed change, new data suggests.
“Big Tech companies like Google don’t seem to realise that consumers are starting to question them,” said Martin Filz, the chief executive of Pureprofile, which has been studying consumer attitudes to tech for years.
“People are worried about their privacy. They’re worried that Facebook, Google and Twitter are being used for purposes of propaganda and fake news in things like the US election.
“So when Google says ‘We’ll pull the search engine’, the population says ‘Well go on then.’ There is a general backlash at the moment regarding Big Tech, and Google has been caught out a little bit by the Australian population.”
