Google is sitting on top of a global volcano of resentment that is now starting to erupt.
The sentencing of three of its executives in Italy over a video posted on YouTube that showed an autistic teenager being bullied and the furore over Google's use of privileged data to launch the social networking site Buzz, soon to be available in Arabic, are only the early rumblings.
In its American home, where the company is estimated to have a 65 per cent share of the internet search market, Google is facing harsh criticism for what is considered a cavalier attitude to users' personal data.
Google's recent co-operation agreement with the US National Security Agency is aimed at helping it cope with hacking attacks such as those it recently experienced from China.
But fears that Google may one day decide to open its entire database to government agencies have been fanned by a recent request from Robert Mueller, the director of the FBI, that the providers of internet services be prepared to open their entire databanks up to federal investigators at the first request, without a court order, and that all data be retained for at least two years.
"Google is a honey pot of information," says Rebecca Jeschke, the spokeswoman for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an internet privacy pressure group based in San Francisco.
"As well as its search records, there is Google Earth, Google Maps, Gmail, Google Docs and Google Calendar. There is a great deal of personal information stored by Google, and we do not believe that the authorities should be entitled to access it without a warrant."
Privacy fears were further fuelled by a recent statement by Eric Schmidt, the chief executive of Google: "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place.
"But if you really need that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines including Google do retain this information for some time, and it's important, for example, that we are all subject in the US to the Patriot Act. It is possible that that information could be made available to the authorities."
These words seem to echo those of Mr Schmidt's old boss and mentor Scott McNealy, the former chief executive and co-founder of the IT giant Sun Microsystems, who once famously remarked: "You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it."
But Mr McNealy was a legendary Silicon Valley eccentric who named all his four sons after Ford cars and who frequently took great delight in saying things calculated to shock others in the industry. Civil rights groups see Mr Schmidt's statement as far more chilling.
"There are plenty of things such as your tax or medical records that are perfectly innocent, but that you want to keep private," says Ms Jeschke. "Google's corporate credo is 'Don't be evil'. What it needs to understand is that it doesn't have to be evil for evil things to be done by others who get their hands on the data it holds."
But in Europe, where Google has a 90 per cent share of the search market in some countries, the debate has less to do with privacy and more with protecting local business interests against Google's dominance of the internet search market.
For example, local sources believe the Italian court that convicted three Google executives of invasion of privacy was really responding to pressure from a government whose president is also a media mogul.
"The judgment of the courts could be part of a plot to establish control of the internet," says Paolo Bruni, a spokesman for the Italian pressure group Scambio Etico, a grass-roots movement championing online freedom.
"The TV stations are controlled by Italian president Silvio Berlusconi through his company Mediaset, as are newspapers. The internet is the only media where Mediaset is weak, losing between one and seven million former TV viewers to the internet each night.
"Berlusconi sees the internet as competitor for viewers and may wish to slow Google down until Mediaset can establish a dominant market share."
Google is also experiencing commercial and political resistance elsewhere in Europe. In Germany, newspaper and magazine publishers earn only about ?100 million (Dh498.3m) a year from online advertising, with Google's German ad revenues running at about ?1.2 billion per year.
To defend itself, the German publishing industry has lobbied the government of Angela Merkel, the chancellor, to support a new kind of copyright protection that could force search companies such as Google to pay for special licences to display other companies' content.
Germany's minister of justice, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, recently accused Google of "megalomania".
"I see a giant monopoly developing, largely unnoticed, similar to Microsoft," Ms Leutheusser-Schnarrenbergershe told the magazine Der Spiegel.
In Britain, Google is also taking political flak for being seen as taking from the country without putting enough back in. Despite having a 90 per cent share of the online search market and making billions of dollars from online advertising, Google manages to avoid paying corporation tax in the UK. By locating offshore, the company avoids paying up to £450m (Dh2.47bn) a year.
Vince Cable, the deputy leader of the UK Liberal Democrats, recently said: "Avoidance like this is hard to stomach at the best of times. But when the country is in recession and everyone is feeling the pain, it really sticks in the throat. It means higher taxes for the rest of us."
So widespread is resentment of what many perceive to be Google's blitzkrieg business strategy that the European Commission in Brussels is now preparing to take up cudgels against the internet giant.
The commission is examining allegations by rival internet services that Google undermines them by artificially demoting their sites in its search rankings.
The three companies making the allegations are the UK price comparison site Foundem, the French legal search engine ejustice.fr and Microsoft's price comparison site Ciao.
The debate over whether Google truly represents a threat to personal freedom and national identity, and whether governments should seek to limit its growth, is now set to spread to the Middle East, which had the highest internet growth last year making Google more anxious than ever to extend its Arabic offering.
Google is understood to be particularly interested in the UAE, as it has the highest advertising spending in the region.
business@thenational.ae
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Trolls World Tour
Directed by: Walt Dohrn, David Smith
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake
Rating: 4 stars
A%20QUIET%20PLACE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Lupita%20Nyong'o%2C%20Joseph%20Quinn%2C%20Djimon%20Hounsou%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMichael%20Sarnoski%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
France 3
Umtiti (8'), Griezmann (29' pen), Dembele (63')
Italy 1
Bonucci (36')
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The five types of long-term residential visas
Obed Suhail of ServiceMarket, an online home services marketplace, outlines the five types of long-term residential visas:
Investors:
A 10-year residency visa can be obtained by investors who invest Dh10 million, out of which 60 per cent should not be in real estate. It can be a public investment through a deposit or in a business. Those who invest Dh5 million or more in property are eligible for a five-year residency visa. The invested amount should be completely owned by the investors, not loaned, and retained for at least three years.
Entrepreneurs:
A five-year multiple entry visa is available to entrepreneurs with a previous project worth Dh0.5m or those with the approval of an accredited business incubator in the UAE.
Specialists
Expats with specialised talents, including doctors, specialists, scientists, inventors, and creative individuals working in the field of culture and art are eligible for a 10-year visa, given that they have a valid employment contract in one of these fields in the country.
Outstanding students:
A five-year visa will be granted to outstanding students who have a grade of 95 per cent or higher in a secondary school, or those who graduate with a GPA of 3.75 from a university.
Retirees:
Expats who are at least 55 years old can obtain a five-year retirement visa if they invest Dh2m in property, have savings of Dh1m or more, or have a monthly income of at least Dh20,000.
PSG's line up
GK: Alphonse Areola (youth academy)
Defence - RB: Dani Alves (free transfer); CB: Marquinhos (€31.4 million); CB: Thiago Silva (€42m); LB: Layvin Kurzawa (€23m)
Midfield - Angel di Maria (€47m); Adrien Rabiot (youth academy); Marco Verratti (€12m)
Forwards - Neymar (€222m); Edinson Cavani (€63m); Kylian Mbappe (initial: loan; to buy: €180m)
Total cost: €440.4m (€620.4m if Mbappe makes permanent move)
Players Selected for La Liga Trials
U18 Age Group
Name: Ahmed Salam (Malaga)
Position: Right Wing
Nationality: Jordanian
Name: Yahia Iraqi (Malaga)
Position: Left Wing
Nationality: Morocco
Name: Mohammed Bouherrafa (Almeria)
Position: Centre-Midfield
Nationality: French
Name: Mohammed Rajeh (Cadiz)
Position: Striker
Nationality: Jordanian
U16 Age Group
Name: Mehdi Elkhamlichi (Malaga)
Position: Lead Striker
Nationality: Morocco
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
Napoleon
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Ridley%20Scott%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Joaquin%20Phoenix%2C%20Vanessa%20Kirby%2C%20Tahar%20Rahim%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%202%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Pieces of Her
Stars: Toni Collette, Bella Heathcote, David Wenham, Omari Hardwick
Director: Minkie Spiro
Rating:2/5
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
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Company%20profile
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The%20Roundup
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Lee%20Sang-yong%3Cbr%3EStars%3A%20Ma%20Dong-seok%2C%20Sukku%20Son%2C%20Choi%20Gwi-hwa%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Company%20Profile
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Most%20polluted%20cities%20in%20the%20Middle%20East
%3Cp%3E1.%20Baghdad%2C%20Iraq%3Cbr%3E2.%20Manama%2C%20Bahrain%3Cbr%3E3.%20Dhahran%2C%20Saudi%20Arabia%3Cbr%3E4.%20Kuwait%20City%2C%20Kuwait%3Cbr%3E5.%20Ras%20Al%20Khaimah%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E6.%20Ash%20Shihaniyah%2C%20Qatar%3Cbr%3E7.%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E8.%20Cairo%2C%20Egypt%3Cbr%3E9.%20Riyadh%2C%20Saudi%20Arabia%3Cbr%3E10.%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3ESource%3A%202022%20World%20Air%20Quality%20Report%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MOST%20POLLUTED%20COUNTRIES%20IN%20THE%20WORLD
%3Cp%3E1.%20Chad%3Cbr%3E2.%20Iraq%3Cbr%3E3.%20Pakistan%3Cbr%3E4.%20Bahrain%3Cbr%3E5.%20Bangladesh%3Cbr%3E6.%20Burkina%20Faso%3Cbr%3E7.%20Kuwait%3Cbr%3E8.%20India%3Cbr%3E9.%20Egypt%3Cbr%3E10.%20Tajikistan%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cem%3ESource%3A%202022%20World%20Air%20Quality%20Report%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18', 24')
Brighton 1 (Dunk 79')
Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)