How the EU takes on Google's monopoly as gatekeeper of information; plus, a look at media under pressure in Hungary.
When on November 27, 2014, the EU voted in favour of a bill calling for greater internet regulation, we initially fobbed the story off as too technical.
But then we took a closer look and realised this was a war cry against tech giant Google. If passed, the law could unbundle search engines from other commercial services. In other words, it could prevent a company like Google - because that is who this resolution was written for, from optimising its own products in a Google search. It was part of an ongoing tussle between the EU and Google over how the company operates in Europe.
If the forces behind this initiative win the day, it could change the way that many Europeans get their news, much of which they currently access using Google as a gateway. The tech giant has around a 90 percent share of online search traffic in Europe - an even larger share than Google gets in its home territory, the US.
Those in Google's corner say that is just a reflection of customer satisfaction. Many news organisations say they like what Google does for them, directing traffic their way. But the fear is that if your story does not show up on the first page of a Google search, then you do not exist. Then there is the revenue issue: Google getting paid by its advertisers, for simply channelling web traffic to content providers who say more of those ad revenues should go to them.
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