Aus legislation to make Google, Fb pay for news in parliament next week

 

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia will acquaint milestone enactment with power Alphabet's Google and Facebook to pay distributers and telecasters for content one week from now, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said on Friday.

Australia is on course to turn into the principal nation to require Facebook and Google to pay for news content, enactment that is as a rule firmly watched around the planet.

"The bill will currently be considered by the parliament from the week initiating 15 February 2021," Frydenberg said in a messaged explanation.

With bipartisan help, the enactment - which Google says is "unfeasible" and will drive it to pull out of the nation inside and out - could come into law this month.

The increasing speed of the bill came as a senate advisory group looking at the proposition suggested no corrections.

Delegates for Google and Facebook didn't promptly remark when reached by Reuters.

The U.S. search and web-based media goliaths have squeezed Australia to relax the enactment, with senior heads from the two organizations holding converses with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Frydenberg.

Google a week ago dispatched a stage in Australia offering news it has paid for, striking its own substance manages distributers in a drive to show the proposed enactment is pointless.

A month ago Reuters said it had marked an arrangement with Google to be the principal worldwide news supplier to Google News Showcase. Reuters is possessed by news and data supplier Thomson Reuters Corp.

Sundar Pichai named CEO at Google parent Alphabet after founders step down

International News
Google fellow benefactors Larry Page and Sergey Brin have reported that they are venturing down from the position of authority of the parent organization Alphabet.
Google CEO Indian-American Sundar Pichai (47), will expect the job of Alphabet CEO, making him one of the most dominant corporate pioneers of the world. Considered as a noteworthy shakeup in the Silicon Valley organization, a declaration in such manner was made by Page and Brin in a letter to the organization representatives, which likewise incorporated an announcement from Pichai.
With Alphabet presently settled, and Google and 'Other Bets' working adequately as free organizations, it's the regular time to disentangle our administration structure, composed the two Google prime supporters. "We've never been ones to clutch the board jobs when we believe there's a superior method to run the organization," they said.
"Also, Alphabet and Google never again need two CEOs and a President. Going ahead, Sundar will be the CEO of both Google and Alphabet. He will be the official mindful and responsible for driving Google, and dealing with Alphabet's interest in our arrangement of Other Bets," said Page and Brin.
"We are profoundly dedicated to Google and Alphabet as long as possible, and will remain effectively included as Board individuals, investors and fellow benefactors. Moreover, we intend to keep chatting with Sundar normally, particularly on subjects we're enthusiastic about!" they composed.

In his announcement, Pichai clarified that the progress won't influence the Alphabet structure or the work they do everyday. "I will keep on being extremely centered around Google and the profound work we're doing to push the limits of registering and assemble a progressively supportive Google for everybody," he composed.....Read More

Google parent Alphabet probes executives over relationships at workplace

International News
Alphabet Inc.’s board is investigating how the company dealt with accusations of sexual harassment and misconduct against some of its executives.
"As has already been confirmed in public court filings, in early 2019, Alphabet’s Board of Directors formed a special litigation committee to consider claims made by shareholders in various lawsuits relating to past workplace conduct," Alphabet said in an emailed statement on Wednesday.
The investigation includes the behavior of Chief Legal Officer David Drummond, a long time senior executive who has been accused of having relationships with employees, CNBC reported earlier on Wednesday. The board of directors has hired a law firm to help with the investigation and contact alleged victims, CNBC also said.A 2018 New York Times report detailed three accounts of senior Google executives, including Drummond, having relationships with employees. Alphabet is the parent of Google. Two of those executives, Andy Rubin and Rich DeVaul, have since left the company, but Drummond remains.
In August, a former Google employee, Jennifer Blakely, who participated in the New York Times story, elaborated on accusations she made to the newspaper about Drummond, saying she was forced out of the company and that he refused to pay child support after their relationship ended.Drummond has acknowledged the relationship with Blakely. "Other than Jennifer, I never started a relationship with anyone else who was working at Google or Alphabet," he said in a statement in August. He did not return an email seeking comment.

The New York Times also reported last year that Rubin, the founder of Android, was given a $90 million severance package when he left Google in 2014. That prompted a walkout by thousands of Google employees, and has spurred efforts to reform how the company handles sexual harassment and misconduct complaints....READ MORE

FB, Google, Microsoft, Twitter meet US intel agencies on 2020 poll security

Current Affairs
US technology companies including Facebook Inc, Alphabet's Google, Microsoft Corp and Twitter Inc met with US intelligence agencies on Wednesday to discuss security strategies ahead of the November 2020 election.
The companies' security teams met representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Department of Homeland Security at Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park.
"The purpose was to build on previous discussions and further strengthen strategic collaboration regarding the security of the 2020 US state, federal, and presidential elections," Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook's head of cybersecurity policy, said in a statement.
"Specifically, attendees talked about how industry and government could improve how we share information and coordinate our response to better detect and deter threats."
Social media companies are under pressure to ramp up security after what US intelligence agencies have called an extensive Russian cyber-influence operation aimed at helping President Donald Trump get elected in 2016. Russia has repeatedly denied the allegations.
"This is a joint effort in response to a shared threat, and we are committed to doing our part," a Twitter spokeswoman told Reuters in a statement.
Microsoft and Google also confirmed their attendance at the meeting.

 "At Google, we've invested in robust systems to detect phishing and hacking attempts...Read More