- Marta Poślad, director of public policy for Central and Eastern Europe and Transatlantic Europe at Google, admits that many foreign companies may have concerns about investing in Central and Eastern Europe. However, Google wants to increase its presence in this region
- He points out that although Google will not operate commercially in Russia, it will not turn off YouTube or the search engine for Russians. And explain why
- He also argues that the internet is not the cause of misinformation. On the contrary, it offers revolutionary possibilities to unmask fake news
- More such information can be found on the main page of Onet.pl
Grzegorz Kowalczyk, Business Insider Polska: What has the outbreak of war in Ukraine changed for Google and how it works?
Marta Poślad, Director of Public Policy for Central and Eastern Europe and Transatlantic Europe at Google: The war forced action in several main areas. On the one hand, we had to ensure the safety of our employees and their families in Ukraine, and on the other hand, we had to react appropriately to what was happening on our platforms. It goes, among other things, that the content available on YouTube does not duplicate misinformation, that Google Maps helps to find places that provide help even in war conditions and, finally, a search engine that helps to find the most important information about events. This required quick action, but we are happy that we were able to help in this situation.
Google has recently invested heavily in Central and Eastern Europe. An example is the presence of Google Cloud in Poland. However, the war reduces the commercial attractiveness of the region, as indicated for example by the president of the Warsaw Stock Exchange in an interview for Business Insider Polska. How do you, as a global player, see this problem?
The very fact of being a state bordering a site of conflict can certainly worry some investors. However, as Google we recognize Poland as a country worth investing in. Evidenced by the fact that after the outbreak of the war, we announced a very significant investment in the development of our European development center, Google Cloud, located in Warsaw. We know that the timing of the announcement of this investment was symbolic – it is a signal that not only do we have no intention of leaving Central and Eastern Europe, but we also want to strengthen our presence here, even in such a difficult situation. The scale of the investment is approximately PLN 2.7 billion. We believe that Poland remains a good place to do business – and a forward-looking, technology-driven company. We feel safe – we know that the alliances the country participates in guarantee safety.
Will there be more workers from the East?
For many years, Poland has been a country to which many programmers from the East want to come. Our Warsaw office, which we will continue to develop, has a long history of welcoming employees of more than 20 different nationalities. In Poland, we already employ more than 1,000 people, 700 of whom are part of our engineering team, more than half of whom have come to Poland from other countries. The past few weeks mean even greater interest from employees across the eastern border. Poland is, on the one hand, a good place for American investments, and on the other hand, for people from neighboring countries like Ukraine. Our recruitment is always open to them, although we also hope that people who wish to return home will be able to do so quickly. And return to your sovereign and free homeland.
Elon Musk sent Ukraine Starlinki giving access to the network. What does Google do?
Google has already allocated more than $45 million in various forms. to support humanitarian activities in Ukraine, as well as to support refugees and refugee women coming to neighboring countries of Ukraine. In Ukraine, we launched Air Alert warnings on Android devices. In cooperation with the Ukrainian Ministry of Education, we are trying to facilitate distance education even in times of war. Recently, we also opened a support fund for Ukrainian startups, which should help them survive and further develop their business. We have also pledged to donate $10 million. on the development of tools to fight disinformation in the region. We will certainly participate in the reconstruction of Ukraine after the end of hostilities.
The war is also being waged in the area of information disseminated primarily online. Is dealing with the chaos of misinformation a big deal for Google?
Disinformation is not a new phenomenon, it did not come with technological platforms. At the same time, the Internet provides great opportunities to check the correctness of received messages. Is it not thanks to the easy, almost universal, access to the Internet that we are able to quickly verify the information that appears in this chaos? The Internet gives us the tools to seek the truth in these difficult conditions. And its absence, unfortunately, would not solve the problem of fake news.
How does Google handle misinformation?
In the vast majority of cases, it is easy to see attempts at influence through information. We also see it and act. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we have already expelled over 9,000 people. channels on YouTube and over 70,000 individual war-related films that violate our rules. This shows, on the one hand, the extent of disinformation and, on the other hand, our determination to fight it. We take care of this and constantly improve our tools. We see what is happening and react. We will not let go of this file and we will fight misinformation.
On the one hand, we must not support the aggressor, and on the other hand, we must ensure the comfort and freedom of expression of users.
Balance is difficult to maintain, interfering with content is never easy and involves many dilemmas. However, we also need to consider people who may be vulnerable to misinformation or threatened in the information sphere. That’s why we create tools and support initiatives that ensure the credibility of emerging messages. This includes supporting fact checkers or promoting trusted and respected sources of information. We also know that there are groups particularly vulnerable to attacks, the aim of which is to limit the possibilities of action – mainly such as activists, independent journalists and journalists as well as non-governmental organizations. That’s why we provide them with extensive possibilities to protect their accounts, as well as tools to protect, for example, independent media sites against attacks that are supposed to “disable” the sites. We also regularly exchange information on how to secure your data and how to use our tools.
Google in Russia has filed for bankruptcy. Will the withdrawal of this country be complete and final?
In the current situation, it is not possible for us to have a commercial presence in this country. In this regard, we have long ceased our activities, in accordance with our values and the sanctions adopted. In addition, the seizure by the Russian authorities of the bank accounts of our branch in Russia rendered our office inoperative. At the same time, many people in Russia rely on our services to obtain qualitative information from all over the world. YouTube is the only such global platform still operating in Russia. We will continue to maintain access to our free services such as YouTube and Russian Search. We think it makes sense to ensure access to qualitative information also for communities that do not have it on a daily basis.
Interview with Grzegorz Kowalczyk