Author Archives: bechikson

Remembering 70 years since Auschwitz’s liberation

It was the end of one of the worst chapters in human history - the Soviet Army’s liberation 70 years ago of the notorious Nazi death camp Auschwitz on January 27, 1945. Today, starting at 15:30 CET, the Auschwitz Museum is live streaming on YouTube the ceremony marking the liberation, held in front of the Death Gate, together with survivors of the camp:

Throughout the world, various anniversary ceremonies, conferences, exhibitions and meetings are scheduled. The Auschwitz Museum and the United Nations have built a Map of Remembrance with the goal to bring together the various memorial activities taking place.

For the past three years, the Google Cultural Institute has been working with institutions and associations to preserve and share online thousands of archives, images and videos telling the stories from the Holocaust. The Auschwitz Museum participated in this project from the beginning, adding hundreds of documents and inviting you to discover individual stories like the love of Edek Galinski and Mala Zimetbaum or the unique collection of family photographs found in the ruins of the camp. Learn more on the “Evacuation and Liberation of the Auschwitz camp" and the “Sonderkommando" through these new online exhibitions.

For this anniversary, the USC Shoah Foundation, who shared with the world poignant testimonials of survivors through another exhibition, “70 Stories of Auschwitz”, inviting you to listen to the survivors as they recall their experiences in short and moving personal videos. Famed filmmaker Steven Spielberg assembled them into this moving film.

We encourage everyone to (re)discover these stories from the Holocaust - and remember, never again.

Posted by Agata Wacławik-Wejman, Head of Public Policy, Central and Eastern Europe

Bringing some of the best of Belgium to Street View

hroughout the world, our Google Street View special collects allow users anywhere, on their mobile devices or computers, to see the world’s great sites. We’ve now just added some of the best of Belgium to the collection. Stroll through the Mardasson Memorial commemorating World War II’s decisive Battle of the Bulge or take a peek at the saxophone-filled homage to Albert Sax over the Meuse River in Dinant.


The images were taken with the Street View Trekker backpack on which is mounted a panoramic camera, and Street View Trolley, a cart with a camera system. Both tools make it possible photograph places inaccessible to Street View cars.

The project includes a shout out to three special Belgian towns: Wavre, Grobbendonk and Auderghem, the winners of Google eTown Awards in 2013. We award this prize to municipalities that benefit the most from the economic potential of the Internet.

In Wavre, we’ve captured images of the City Hall.


In Auderghem, we take a look inside the Val Duchesse castle.


In Grobbendonk, we feature the ruins of the OLV Ten Toon priory.

Posted by Caroline Coesmans, Policy Manager, Brussels

Launching voices of the Mediterranean

The Mediterranean Sea is the cradle of Western civilization - but all too often today is seen as an area of conflict. Together with the Voces Fondation, we are today launching a project designed to promote the development of a Mediterranean as a common place of respect, peace and solidarity.

Our focus is engage young people between the ages of 14 and 22 from Spain in the West to Palestine in the East that are interested in photography and audiovisual arts. Voces Foundation already has created a G+ page (Voices of the Mediterranean) where people can share pictures and videos about what the Mediterranean means, highlighting those aspects that bring us together instead of those aspects that separate the different cultures and countries.

Specific topics that will be discussed include access to water and other natural resources and to access to Internet and new technologie. Other subjects range from education and culture; gastronomy; entrepreneurship with social impact - and above all, peace. Actors and singers including actress Elisa Mouliaá or the musician and composer Rash already are contributing. Participate using the hashtag #Nostrum.

At the end of the project, we will hold a contest to choose the most interesting photos, painting and videos. Please contribute!

P Esperanza Ibáñez Lozano, Public Policy Manager

Driving into the future with European partners

Since we revealed our plans last May to build fully self-driving vehicles for testing and learning, we’ve been working on different prototypes. We’ve now put all those systems together into a fully functional vehicle which we discussed recently at the Automotive News World Congress in Detroit.

These vehicles, designed from the ground up to drive themselves, could only be possible by working with strong European partners and suppliers, including ZF Lenksysteme, Continental, Bosch, FRIMO and many others. ZF Lenksysteme, for example, brought its expertise in steering system development, driver assistance systems and safety concepts. Bosch provided expertise in powertrain development and driver assistance systems and Continental provided expertise in braking systems and other electronics.



In addition to our existing suppliers, we’re looking for automotive industry partners to help bring the vision of self-driving cars to market. We see that our best path forward to this goal is combining our technology with car maker know-how.

The self-driving car project is designed to improve road safety and help people who are blind, disabled or otherwise can’t drive, Much work remains ahead. Our hope is to test prototypes on public roads in later this year. We're excited by the progress we've made so far - and our suppliers are playing a crucial role.

Posted by Chris Urmson, Director, Self-Driving Car Project

Lighting up Google Maps with the aurora borealis

Nature’s greatest light show has come to Google Maps for the first time. Starting today, armchair arctic explorers, science lovers and curious observers will be able to explore the Northern Lights in Finland right from Google Maps.


Also known as the aurora borealis (after Aurora, the Roman goddess of the dawn, and Boreas, the Greek name for north wind), these dazzling lights are the effect of charged particles interacting with one another in earth’s atmosphere. These light displays have long been a source of wonder for poets and travelers gazing up at the otherworldly colors in stark contrast with the austere, arctic terrain. However, they can only be seen in person at certain latitudes and times of year, making this breathtaking sight a rare experience for most of us.

To see more views of the Northern Lights, explore the Google Maps gallery. Click across the frozen lake in Finland where these shots were captured, and take in the awe-inspiring views above.

Posted by Magdalena Filak, Google Maps Street View Associate Program Manager

Hallo, hola, olá to a new powerful Google Translate app

Often the hardest part of traveling is navigating the local language. If you've ever asked for "pain" in Paris and gotten funny looks, confused "embarazada" with "embarrassed" in Mexico, or stumbled over pronunciation pretty much anywhere, you know the feeling. We’ve now updated the Translate app on Android and iOS to transform your mobile device into an even more powerful translation tool.

Instant translation with Word Lens
The Translate app already lets you use camera mode to snap a photo of text and get a translation for it in 36 languages. From today, you can instantly translate text. While using the Translate app, just point your camera at a sign or text and the translated text will overlaid on your screen—even if you don't have an Internet or data connection.

This instant translation currently works for translation from English to and from French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish, and we’re working to expand to more languages.


Have an easier conversation using the Translate app

When talking with someone in an unfamiliar language, conversations can... get... sloowwww. While we’ve had real-time conversation mode on Android since 2013, our new update makes the conversation flow faster and more naturally.

Starting today, simply tap the mic to start speaking in a selected language, then tap the mic again, and the Google Translate app will recognize which of the two languages are being spoken, letting you have a more fluid conversation. For the rest of the conversation, you won’t need to tap the mic again—it'll be ready as you need it. Asking for directions to the Rive Gauche, ordering bacalhau in Lisbon, or chatting with your grandmother in her native Spanish just got a lot faster.



These updates will be coming to both Android and iOS, rolling out over the next few days. This is the first time some of these advanced features, like camera translations and conversation mode, will be available for iOS users.

More than 500 million people use Google Translate every month, making more than 1 billion translations a day to more easily communicate and access information across languages. Today’s updates take us one step closer to turning your phone into a universal translator and to a world where language is no longer a barrier to discovering information or connecting with each other.

Posted by Barak Turovsky, Product Lead, Google Translate

Hacking against Ebola

Like other epidemics, Ebola creates panic, dangerous rumors and unverified facts. Journalists must be prepared, yet unfortunately they often lack the necessary resources and tools that match the responsibility to inform local communities.

To help fill the gap, we’re supporting the Global Editors Networks's #HackAgainstEbola on January 14 and 15. Other supporters include Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), Union for Francophone Press (UPF), and Code for Africa. Follow the two-day event through GEN's live blog and the hashtag #HackAgainstEbola.

Our goal is to help develop the best tools needed to explain the Ebola epidemic. In Dakar, a dozen teams, composed of one journalist, one designer, and one developer, who will work to build a prototype online product in 48 hours.

This is only the final of a three part series. Nigeria's Pan-Atlantic University, Ghana's PenPlusBytes and South Africa's 24.com hosted previous Ebola hack days.

The Editors' Lab has been running Google-supported hack events in newsrooms around the world for the past few years, bringing journalists and coders closer together to explore new ways of creating and presenting the news. World-renowned media organizations including The New York Times, The Guardian, El Pais and Le Parisien have hosted hack days on different themes.

The winning team in Dakar will compete against the other winning Editors Lab teams at the GEN Summit 2015 in Barcelona next June.

Posted by Simon Morrison, Public Policy and Government Affairs Manager, London

Promoting sportsmanship on the field – and on the net

In football, a red card means expulsion from the game. On the Internet, what would a red card resemble? This week, we launched a contest here in Belgium with the Mons Football Club youth clubs to help find out.

Why Belgium and why Mons? One of our two largest European data centers is located just outside the city. We’ve invested hundreds of millions in it and that means we are going to be involved in the local community for a long time to come. Belgium’s football reputation has been growing recently with an excellent showing at the recent Brazil World Cup - its top players are found sprinkled on many of the world’s top team - and the Mons youth academy is known as one of the country’s best.
Launching the contest in Belgium
The idea came from our strong partnership with the local Mundaneum institution and a partnership forged last year with one of the world’s biggest football clubs - Real Madrid. It held a contest called "First Prize for the Promotion of Internet Values.”

As in football, the Net bans violence towards others. When you play sports, you are obliged to help all who are injured or have a disability. On the Internet, too, you need to help others.

The Belgian contest will be open to 11-17 olds, the teenagers who are growing up on the net. From this month through April, the club’s teenage players will attend workshops and create projects - drawings, videos, or essays - that marry their passion for football, fair play and the Internet.

More than 120 young players from RAEC Mons attended the contest launch. Dressed in their team uniforms, most said they spent as much or more time surfing on the Net as on the playing field. They will now compete for prizes ranging from a Chromebook to a tablet. Winners will be announced on April 19 at the club’s final home match this season.

Posted by William Echikson, Head of Community Relations, Europe

Ho Ho Ho! Track Santa around the world with Santa Tracker

After 23 days of preparation, the elves are finally ready for Santa’s annual journey around the globe. They’ve taught each other how to say "Santa Claus" in Swedish, guided their friends through mazes with code, brushed up on their geography, and learned about organizations making a difference worldwide. It’s been a busy month, but Santa’s sleigh is now ready for lift-off!
The elves brushed up on coding fundamentals with blockly maze games

The elves decorated their trees with ornaments about organizations making a difference

Each stop on Santa’s journey offers more to explore—discover 360-degree imagery, Wikipedia snippets, geography facts, and updates on how far Santa’s current location is from yours (take note—Santa’s path is not a direct one!). Come back and visit google.com/santatracker throughout the night for more surprises, like sleigh selfies or a latitude and longitude game to deliver presents.
Follow Santa on any screen—desktop, phone, tablet, or TV

If you’re on the ho-ho-go, download the Santa Tracker App for Android to keep track of Santa on your phone or tablet. With the Android app, watch Santa’s journey on your TV using Chromecast, or on your wrist with Android Wear (especially handy when wrapping last-minute gifts). And, you can always search for Santa on www.google.com or on Google Maps, and get real-time location updates with Google Now in the Google App.

Santa’s available at the flick of the wrist with Android Wear

Santa’s got a long and exciting night ahead of him before heading back to the North Pole. Grab some eggnog, set out the cookies, and join Google Maps on Google+, Facebook and Twitter to #tracksanta!

Posted by Brendan Kenny, Reindeer Platform Engineer

New numbers and a new look for our Transparency Report

We launched the Transparency Report in 2010 to show how laws and policies affect access to information online, including law enforcement orders for user data and government requests to remove information. Since then, many other companies have launched their own transparency reports, and we’ve been excited to see our industry come together around transparency.

After doing things the same way for nearly five years, we thought it was time to give the Transparency Report an update. So today, as we release data about requests from governments to remove content from our services for the ninth time, we’re doing it with a new look and some new features that we hope will make the information more meaningful, and continue to push the envelope on the story we can tell with this kind of information.

More about that shortly—first, the data highlights. From June to December 2013, we received 3,105 government requests to remove 14,637 pieces of content. You may notice that this total decreased slightly from the first half of 2013; this is due to a spike in requests from Turkey during that period, which has since returned to lower levels. Meanwhile, the number of requests from Russia increased by 25 percent compared to the last reporting period. Requests from Thailand and Italy are on the rise as well. In the second half of 2013, the top three products for which governments requested removals were Blogger (1,066 requests), Search (841 requests) and YouTube (765 requests). In the second half of 2013, 38 percent of government removal requests cited defamation as a reason for removal, 16 percent cited obscenity or nudity, and 11 percent cited privacy or security.

As for the redesign, we’ve worked with our friends at Blue State Digital on a more interactive Transparency Report that lets us include additional information—like explanations of our process—and highlight stats. We’ve also added examples of nearly 30 actual requests we’ve received from governments around the world. For example, we have an annotation that gives a bit of descriptive information about our first government request from Kosovo, when law enforcement requested the removal of two YouTube videos showing minors fighting. If you’re looking for details on the content types and reasons for removal, use the Country explorer to dig into those details for each of the listed countries.

Our Transparency Report is certainly not a comprehensive view of censorship online. However, it does provide a lens on the things that governments and courts ask us to remove, underscoring the importance of transparency around the processes governing such requests. We hope that you’ll take the time to explore the new report to learn more about government removals across Google.

Posted by Trevor Callaghan, Director, Legal