Google: Globalization and Terrorism

Dustin Commet

Article RecapWritten by Doug Bolton, “Google reveals plans to fight terrorism by

sending would-be extremists to anti-radicalisation website”

Follows the efforts of various social media companies to combat extremism on the web (i.e. ISIS), namely Google, Twitter, and Facebook

Google - redirection

Twitter - manage tweets through moderation

Facebook - manage posts through moderation

Google and Facebook refused to divulge how many employees deal with extremism, but Twitter employs over 100 people to combat extremism

GlobalizationGoogle is an international triumph of a company and nearly

essential at this point in today’s society.

Over 100 countries have access to the internet and Google

4,000 searches per second

3.5 BILLION PER DAY

1.2 TRILLION PER YEAR

Google is a global superpower that is constantly reinventing itself in order to fit this global scale.

What is Google? Essentially Google is search engine for browsing the web;

however, it has become so much more than that.

File storage

Maps

Youtube

Google+

Advertisements and Business

Google continually grows and grows into much more than

just a website.

How has it changed?Originally a simple search engine

Now a powerhouse spanning many different technologies, ideas, and fields

Become a booming business and organization as it’s grown, one of the strongest in the world.

How is it changing?Constantly trying to change it’s UI and design in various different

ways

From the search engine to Youtube

Always trying new ideas, seemingly would rather try to change “for the better”.

Does not usually follow the “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” motto

Wants to appeal to a wider audience, and become usable by it’s entire user base

EVEN possibly at the cost of some of it’s current user base

How do these changes reflect Google’s globalization?

As stated, Google is available across the globe, and therefore has a priority to reach everybody with the way the company is run.

With so many people utilizing it, you have to be careful not to focus too much on a singular group

Google always wants to reach new levels of innovation and change

Constantly trying to reach everybody, but sometimes they reach nobody with a change

Change isn’t always good, but Google is willing to take that risk

Rapidly evolvingAs Google evolves, so does the analysis of their user base.

Data mining has become a big part of the company

Finding different information about users in various ways

It isn’t just the searches...They don’t just track search history

Recommendations

Tailored Advertising

Facial Recognition

Account Tracking

Location

Google tracks so much to the point that it is borderline creepy

If you are connected to google, they have tracked the things you do - and even the places you have been.

What do they do with all this information?While Google does track a lot, it keeps the information to itself.

You can manage privacy settings easily

Information is NEVER shared with the government

Information is NEVER sold to other companies

The information Google takes is used solely in an attempt to make Google work better for YOU and be better tailored to YOU

TerrorismThis begs the question

What does Google do when it runs into suspicious searches or accounts?

This is a very interesting dilemma

Safety Vs. Privacy

Too much information in the wrong hands

Information coming in...Basically google records everything about your account unless you

specify for it not to.

Because of this Google records billions of searches everyday, many of which can be a bit suspicious. I’m sure many people have just typed something into Google without really thinking about what that something was.

How does Google filter these searches and information?

FilterGoogle can filter these results by topic

Most recently the company has had to deal with terrorism and the growth of ISIS as a threat

Rather than attempting to punish these possible criminals, Google has opted to try and redirect them

Google’s ProcessGoogle has been working to remove extremist content from it’s own

system

While redirecting people from extremist content that they have no control over

Google removed over 14+ Million extremist videos from Youtube in 2014 alone

When a search is placed for the term “Join ISIS”, Google will redirect links to searches for places like the Quilliam Foundation - the counter-extremism think-tank

Information going out...The people who made these searches is not released

Not to the government

Not to business

Not to other users

The information is kept to Google, but is this the right choice? Is Google really doing the best they can to fight these extremists utilizing their Company?

Sorry, politicians!

Is Google doing their best?I say yes

Turning over user information is a dangerous game, and could lead to very negative results.

Giving others too much information could lead to many problems such as false arrests or attacking of users by businesses or other users.

Is there anything more they can do?I don’t think so, they are at a standstill.

They can’t give too much information out, and giving information to the government would mean that the government could get information on anybody’s file at any time.

On the other hand, they can’t falsely accuse users and hinder their service, so the most they can do is to alter and monitor their service.

From Google’s perspective, this is the best they can do to give everybody the best experience possible and continue to globalize the company.

How does this affect Google specifically?Google is put into a tough spot

Do they want to compromise their business to confront these searches?

Is that even feasible to do?

Would working with governments help or hinder their image?

Can Google divulge certain information to help catch these people

These questions are important and any answer could drive the company in a completely different direction than another.

Conclusion - Part 1Google is a business superpower, reaching across the globe and

attempting to appeal to as many people as possible through innovation and change.

This scope and reach constantly push Google to new limits, whether it is in the best interest to pursue them or not - they are constantly changing and and innovating

This innovation pushes Google to record information of their users. This information could be both wonderful and dangerous.

Conclusion - Part 2The threat of terrorism has been heavy on the minds of the

people of the world as of late.

With Google getting as much information coming in as they do, is there anything they can do?

I conclude that Google is doing everything they can to help prevent extremism, whilst also maintaining their image and not compromising their business.

Sources Bolton, D. (2016, February 3). Google reveals plans to fight terrorism

by sending would-be extremists to anti-radicalisation websites. Retrieved October 14, 2016, from http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/google-search-results-extremism-radicalisation-isis-project-a6850531.html

https://privacy.google.com/safer-internet.html