Today’s links UK publishers suing Google for $17.4b over rigged ad markets: Because tech steals publishers’ money, not their content. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. This day in history: 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019, 2023 Upcoming appearances: Where to find me. Recent appearances: Where I’ve been. Latest books: You keep readin’ em, I’ll keep writin’ ’em. Upcoming books: Like I said, I’ll keep writin’ ’em. Colophon: All the rest. UK publishers suing Google for $17.4b over rigged ad markets (permalink) Look, no one wants to kick Big Tech to the curb more than I do, but, also: it’s good that Google indexes the news so people can find it, and it’s good that Facebook provides forums where people can talk about the news. It’s not news if you can’t find it. It’s not news if you can’t talk about it. We don’t call information you can’t find or discuss “news” – we call it “secrets.” And yet, the most popular – and widely deployed – anti-Big Tech tactic promulgated by the news industry and supported by many of my fellow trustbusters is premised on making Big Tech pay to index the news and/or provide a forum to discuss news articles. These “news bargaining codes” (or, less charitably, “link taxes”) have been mooted or introduced in the EU, France, Spain, Australia, and Canada. There are proposals to introduce these in the US (through the JCPA) and in California (the CJPA). These US bills are probably dead on arrival, for reasons…Pluralistic: UK publishers suing Google for $17.4b over rigged ad markets (06 Jun 2024)