Tag Archives: Europe

News Showcase is launching in France

Over the past 20 years, we’ve collaborated closely with journalists from around the world to support a sustainable, independent and diverse news industry.

Building on our partnership with French publishers, today we're announcing the launch of Google News Showcase in France, with more than 65 publishers representing more than 130 publications. These include national, regional and local news outlets like 20 minutes, La Dépêche, L’Equipe, L'Express, Le Figaro, La Provence, Le Monde, Groupe EBRA and Le Parisien.

News Showcase gives participating publishers in France more ways to engage with readers, and directs them to full articles on news publications’ websites. This enables publishers to deepen their relationships with readers – and gives them more direct control of presentation and branding. Our French news partners’ News Showcase panels will begin appearing on Google News on Android, iOS and the web, and in Discover on iOS and Android.

Image shows the logos of some of the participating News Showcase publishers in France

Some of the participating publishers for News Showcase in France

"News Showcase will offer additional visibility to news brands and will highlight the quality and richness of the content produced by Le Figaro's editorial teams," says Marc Feuillée, CEO of daily national newspaper Le Figaro.

"Google News Showcase is an opportunity for us, news publishers, to highlight the depth of our content, in an environment tailored for quality news,” says Jean-Nicolas Baylet, General Manager of regional daily newspaper GroupeDépêche du Midi. “It’s also a showcase of our subscriber-only content that we will leverage to get more digital subscribers."

A moving image GIF that shows mobile versions of news showcase tiles, with images at the top and headlines listed below

An example of how News Showcase panels will look with some of our partners in France.

"News Showcase allows us to highlight the quality information produced by our 400 journalists to attract a wider audience and engage them to subscribe to Le Parisien,” says Sophie Gourmelen, CEO of the daily newspaper.

Since its launch in October 2020, we’ve signed News Showcase deals with more than 1,800 news publications and have launched the product in 20 countries, including Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal, Poland, Slovakia, Ireland and Italy.

Text four images showing the mobile versions of news showcase tiles, with images at the top and headlines listed below

Another example of how News Showcase panels will look with some of our partners in France.

As part of our licensing agreements with publishers for News Showcase, we're also paying participating news organizations to give readers access to a limited amount of their paywalled content. This feature means readers can see more articles than they would otherwise be able to, encouraging them to learn more about the publication — and potentially subscribe.

"At L'Express we believe in the essential role of the informed, rational and quality press in distinguishing quality journalism from fake news,” says Diane Lemoine, Deputy Managing Director ofL'Express Group, national weekly newspaper. She adds, “News Showcase is an additional and important channel to contribute to media education and to the dissemination of good information to the public. Moreover, I am convinced that the product will bring new visibility to our content, reaching a more diverse audience, helping to introduce L'Express to new readers and hopefully drive subscriptions."

“We are delighted to continue our collaboration with Google to bring the best sports information to readers; a partnership that takes into account the high value of the content of L'Equipe and which helps us ensure our audience gets the news they're looking for,” says Laurent Prud’homme, Managing Director of the Groupl’Equipe, a daily national newspaper devoted to sports.

Our support for the French news industry

The launch of News Showcase in France is the latest in our efforts to support publishers and journalists. For more than 20 years we’ve worked closely with the news industry, helping to accelerate their digital journey through traffic generation (Search, Google News, Discover), ads and subscription products, and by supporting news innovation and digital training through the Google News Initiative. Through News Showcase, our other News products and programs, we’re proud to promote quality journalism and support a thriving and diverse news industry.

Increasing access to mental healthcare in Ireland

Mental health illnesses impact more than 84 million people across the European Union, with Ireland being one of the most affected countries. Across Ireland, but particularly in rural communities, access to support services can change everything. Turn2Me is an Irish nonprofit on a mission to offer safe and timely mental health services online and break the stigma. Google.org sat down with Fiona O’Malley, CEO, to learn more.

What is Turn2Me’s story?

Oisin and Diarmuid Scollard funded Turn2Me in 2009, six years after their brother Cormac committed suicide. The vision was to create a safe space for anyone in need to get professional help online. In 2013, Turn2Me gained the support of the HSE National Office for Suicide Prevention to deliver counseling online. Over the years, we have assisted more than 110,000 people with one-to-one and group support services online and our website now has 45,000 active users.

How is Turn2Me increasing access to mental healthcare in Ireland?

Our online-first, year-round free assistance helps us reach people who might otherwise be excluded because of the cost of counseling services or their location. We also join forces with other nonprofits to make our services known in rural areas across Ireland – and among young generations, LGBTQIA+ groups, and more.

Headshot of Fiona O'Malley, the interviewee, CEO of Turn2Me

Fiona O’Malley, CEO, Turn2Me

Technology is at the core of what you do. Can you tell us more about how tech solutions can drive social impact?

We know that peer support, awareness and timely access to help and information play a crucial part in mental health. Turn2me is one of the first online mental health services in the world and a great example of how investments in technology can help people feel more connected and heard.

We have invested in a custom-built platform where our users can book one-to-one counseling and support groups, but also share their thoughts and experiences 24/7 in a moderated, safe community. The Thought Catcher is an online mood diary popular with younger generations – users can select their mood, share feelings anonymously, track mood changes and receive supportive, uplifting messages. Our trained staff moderates the community and points users to resources and services.

Last but not least, we also use Ad Grants to run ads on Google Search at no cost and reach a wider audience – our sign-ups are dependent on word of mouth and online reach, and about 60% of our new website users come through ads.

A team of only six people runs Turn2Me. How do you manage?

Again technology, which helps us run things smoothly and efficiently. We’ve been part of Google for Nonprofits for years, which has given us access to Google Workspace for Nonprofits, improving operations and collaboration. For example, we use Docs to update our policies and share minutes of Board meetings and Meet to regularly keep in touch with other mental health nonprofits and find synergies.

Not having to pay for Ad Grants or Google Workspace means that resources can be reinvested in our programs, which helps us support between 30 and 100 more people every year.

We’re also incredibly lucky to have many wonderful volunteers along with our Board, which includes Oisin and Diarmuid Scollard, our founders. Like many families in Ireland, they know first-hand the importance of adequate mental health services and are passionate about driving change.

As a CEO, what would be your best advice to someone who’s just getting started in the nonprofit space?

I believe vision matters. Our belief in our cause combined with the immense support of the many people who help us are what help us thrive. With a bold vision, you can achieve so much.

Honouring Andrew Watson’s footballing legacy

The year 2022 will be remembered as a historic one for English football. The beloved Lionesses won their first major tournament in a dramatic Euro Cup final against Germany at Wembley. After 56 years of hurt, Sunday, 31 July 2022, marked the day that football finally came home. As a lifelong Arsenal fan who grew up idolising Ian Wright, I remember feeling immense pride as I watched history being made.

The country came together to celebrate the beautiful game — but for me, as character designer and illustrator, I am fascinated by the stories behind the big moments. So for me, this was a chance to reflect on the sacrifices that players from minority groups have been forced to make in order to play the game that they love. For example, many female players have had to maintain full-time jobs whilst pursuing their football career, often a side effect of sometimes disproportionate funding for the women’s game. And it wasn’t that long ago that players from minority ethnic backgrounds were largely excluded from the sport.

Andrew Watson was a Scottish footballer widely believed to be the first black footballer to play in the Football League and the first player of colour to play in an English Cup match. Born in 1856 in what is now Guyana, Andrew was one of the most influential footballers of his time, captaining Scotland and leading his team to historic victories over England and Wales. Balancing his business entrepreneurship with his football career, he played for both Scotland and England, typically in the full-back position.

When I was asked to create a Doodle dedicated to Andrew’s achievements, it felt like a dream come true. After reading about his incredible life, I decided to not only illustrate his career, but also the trajectory of those who have followed in his path. Coming so soon after the euphoric celebrations of the Lionesses’ victory, it was important to me to capture that connection in the Doodle — to demonstrate that one person’s contribution can spark a positive and lasting chain reaction. This is why I settled on the idea of incorporating other generations into the Doodle, and hence the original sketches depict Andrew himself with a football, proudly watching on as other generations follow in his footsteps.

A rough pencil sketch depicting six figures in a line running and jumping with footballs

My initial idea was to depict this chain reaction in the artwork, with Andrew proudly watching on as new generations play the beautiful game.

A detailed sketch in neutral colours detailing six figures of varying ages and genders playing football

The second sketch captures a greater level of detail and movement.

A colourful and vibrant illustration featuring animated characters playing football in front of a Google logo

The final Doodle introduces character into the concept, and brings Andrew’s story to life.

With the finished product, I wanted to capture the beauty of football: the pace, the excitement, the vibrancy and, most importantly, the fun. Each character has their own experience with the ball, in the same way that each football player has their own unique style and strength.

I feel very proud and humbled to have been chosen to create this Doodle, and sincerely hope that people feel it captures not only Andrew’s legacy, but the legacy of all who follow in his footsteps.

Ask a techspert: How does Lens turn images to text?

When I was on holiday recently, I wanted to take notes from an ebook I was reading. But instead of taking audio notes or scribbling things down in a notebook, I used Lens to select a section of the book, copy it and paste it into a document. That got me curious: How did all that just happen on my phone? How does a camera recognize words in all their fonts and languages?

I decided to get to the root of the question and speak to Ana Manasovska, a Zurich-based software engineer who is one of the Googlers on the front line of converting an image into text.

Ana, tell us about your work in Lens

I’m involved with the text aspect, so making sure that the app can discern text and copy it for a search or translate it — with no typing needed. For example, if you point your phone’s camera at a poster in a foreign language, the app can translate the text on it. And for people who are blind or have low vision, it can read the text out loud. It’s pretty impressive.

So part of what my team does is get Lens to recognize not just the text, but also the structure of the text. We humans automatically understand writing that is separated into sentences and paragraphs, or blocks and columns, and know what goes together. It’s very difficult for a machine to distinguish that, though.

Is this machine learning then?

Yes. In other words, it uses systems (we call them models) that we’ve trained to discern characters and structure in images. A traditional computing system would have only a limited ability to do this. But our machine learning model has been built to “teach itself” on enormous datasets and is learning to distinguish text structures the same way a human would.

Can the system work with different languages?

Yes, it can recognize 30 scripts, including Cyrillic, Devanagari, Chinese and Arabic. It’s most accurate in Latin-alphabet languages at the moment, but even there, the many different types of fonts present challenges. Japanese and Chinese are tricky because they have lots of nuances in the characters. What seems like a small variation to the untrained eye can completely change the meaning.

What’s the most challenging part of your job?

There’s lots of complexity and ambiguity, which are challenging, so I’ve had to learn to navigate that. And it’s very fast paced; things are moving constantly and you have to ask a lot of questions and talk to a lot of people to get the answers you need.

When it comes to actual coding, what does that involve?

Mostly I use a programming language called C++, which enables you to run processing steps needed to take you from an image to a representation of words and structure.

Hmmm, I sort of understand. What does it look like?

A screenshot of some C++ code against a white background.

This is what C++ looks like.

The code above shows the processing for extracting only the German from a section of text. So say the image showed German, French and Italian — only the German would be extracted for translation. Does that make sense?

Kind of! Tell me what you love about your job

It boils down to my lifelong love of solving problems. But I also really like that I’m building something I can use in my everyday life. I’m based in Zurich but don’t speak German well, so I use Lens for translation into English daily.

How carbon-free energy around the clock can work

In recent years, many companies have been reducing their carbon emissions footprint by purchasing clean electricity. Traditionally, companies purchase renewable energy to match their annual electricity needs, known as “100% renewable energy matching.”

But this 100% annual matching doesn’t mean complete decarbonization, due to the variability of renewable power supply. There are times when not much wind or solar is available and companies have to use fossil-fuel generated electricity. In German, of course, there’s a word for these periods of low wind and sun: Dunkelflauten.

This is a problem, as this graph shows.

Graph showing that surplus energy doesn't fill gap between demand and supply all the time.

Graph showing that surplus energy in some periods does not fill the gap between demand and supply in other periods

During this two-week period, a company matched its total demand (grey) with wind generation (blue). However, even though there’s a surplus of clean energy in the first week, during the second week, demand outstrips available wind power.

Unfortunately, batteries cannot completely fill the gap, as they can only shift surplus power supply by a couple of hours - not days or weeks. More innovation is necessary – and it’s beginning to happen.

Hourly, carbon-free energy targets help reduce emissions

A new approach, called 24/7 carbon-free energy (CFE), first introduced by Google, has emerged to address this challenge. Google and some other companies already match their electricity consumption with renewable energy on an annual basis, but more work is needed to fully eliminate their emissions and operate on clean energy around the clock.

In a new research study, published today by my research group at the Technical University of Berlin, we look at the impact of different clean electricity strategies for select countries in Europe. We find that moving from annual matching to hourly CFE targets would reduce significantly more carbon emissions - across the entire electricity system. A new group of stakeholders has come together under the 24/7 Carbon-free Energy Compact to advance this approach.

According to our simulations for the year 2025, if a business buys energy from the grid in Ireland, its electricity is 61% carbon-free on an hourly basis. If it matches its consumption with 100% renewable energy on an annual basis it is 85% carbon-free on an hourly basis. This reduces emissions relative to the reference case of purchasing no renewables at all. But to reduce emissions further, or eliminate them, the business needs a higher hourly CFE target.

Graph showing how, in Ireland, a CFE score above 85% reduces a consumer’s emissions more than matching renewable generation on an annual basis (100% RES)

In Ireland, meeting an hourly CFE score above 85% reduces a consumer’s emissions more than matching renewable generation on an annual basis (100% RES).

And they also help decarbonise electricity system as a whole

Hourly CFE targets also benefit the electricity system as a whole. By pursuing hourly matching, companies can reduce overall electricity system emissions faster. If for example in Ireland, 25% of corporate and industry electricity demand achieved 100% 24/7 carbon-free energy in 2025, it would reduce Irish emissions by 0.6 million tons of carbon dioxide per year compared to annual matching, equivalent to 15% of Ireland’s power sector emissions.

The good news: it’s less expensive than you’d think

But how can companies meet these targets, and what does it cost? Our analysis shows that getting to 90-95% CFE doesn’t cost significantly more than annual matching. But the final 5%, because of those long winter Dunkelflauten, triples the cost if it is achieved using only wind, solar, and battery storage.

Fortunately, there are other technologies at hand: long-duration storage, such as chemical storage in the form of hydrogen, can help to store electricity for days or weeks. Carbon capture and storage, advanced geothermal, or advanced nuclear technologies, can contribute. If these technologies are available, the cost of 100% CFE is reduced.

More good news: it spurs technology innovation

Pursuing 24/7 CFE will create early markets for less mature technologies that are needed in the medium-term. Just as solar PV costs plummeted thanks to early markets and improvements in manufacturing, 24/7 CFE could accelerate the development of long-duration energy storage and clean dispatchable power. The whole power system will need these technologies as it decarbonises, so early development will benefit everyone.

To read more, please see our study.

A pilot program to build a diverse pool of policy experts

During the 15 years I have been at Google, I have seen important improvements in the diversity of our workforce. For example, I used to be the only woman in the room, but now I am often surrounded by talented women leaders.

I work in the world of government affairs and public policy, which means engaging with governments and influencers to find constructive solutions to challenges that our industry and society face today. Having diverse representation and voices is important to us, as so much of our work requires building relationships across different groups, geographies, issues, and perspectives. But we must still do more to ensure that we are fostering a tech policy ecosystem that reflects the diversity of the world we build for.

That’s why our team started the Policy Summer Institute (PSI) with our academic partners at CIVICA, an alliance of eight leading European higher education institutions in the social sciences. The goal: to promote professional opportunities of first-generation university students in the digital policy ecosystem.

For our first year, nine scholars from Sudan to Switzerland had the opportunity to learn about how we work on tech policy by spending a week with our government affairs and public policy team in Europe. They then completed a summer internship funded by Google with one of our partner consultancies.

I am delighted that several of our scholars were offered further employment opportunities at their agencies following their internships. Others will continue to explore tech policy issues through their studies.

Shivona Fernandes-Köhler, an Msc. Politics and Policy Analysis student at Bocconi University in Milan, shared her key takeaways from the experience:

What was your motivation to apply for the program?

I have always been interested in the interrelations between the private and public sector, especially regarding innovation, and wanted to understand the impact that policy firms and big tech have on the world around us. However, without an existing network, internships in the field are often limited and challenging to gain access to. When I first saw the program, I didn’t think I had a chance, but when I saw that it focused on first-generation university students, I felt motivated to apply and showcase that diversity is in fact my strength.

Seven photographs of ten people in various locations at Google offices.

Our amazing first cohort of PSI scholars. Shivona is on the top right in a white shirt standing next to Mahreen Zaidi San Miguel, who was a coordinator of the program.

How has this experience prepared you for the next stage of your career?

In the immediate term, I'll be staying on with the policy agency I interned with as a working student while I finish my studies. Being part of the PSI showed me that it's important to get a range of experience in different sectors, and that in order to really progress my career, I'll need to build a strong network of professional contacts. Being part of this program and working with fascinating and diverse individuals has given me a new sense of confidence, one that highlights that taking a unique path is key to a successful future.

What was something you learned that was unexpected or surprising?

My summer in Berlin was filled with surprises. I was unaware of the many facets of this sector and the incredible team effort involved in making it function. From the outside, it can appear as if policy-making is not something that businesses should be involved in, but rather something that should be left to the politicians. Instead, I have realized that both the public and the private are essential to one another and that they can only function with a well-coordinated network. I was also surprised on a personal and cultural level. Despite living in Italy, and being raised in Germany, I never realized that working cultures can be so different even within a country!

Can you share an example over this summer where you brought a different perspective to the work you were doing?

People in the tech and policy world can often get stuck in their own bubbles: Everyone has their own habits, organizational methods and ways of communicating. Being at a small policy firm that had just begun working with Google, I had the opportunity to develop methods and strategies to make collaboration and communication easier and more effective. I was especially involved in delivering new event formats and monitoring media updates. As a newcomer to the sector, I was able to highlight areas of ambiguity and improve existing organizational matters, facilitating workflow and workload.

While the tech policy industry needs to do a lot more when it comes to diversity, I am proud of the results of this pilot program and look forward to continuing to work with our partners to build a robust, diverse talent pool that supports our industry’s growth.

Continued investment in measures to help fight financial fraud in the UK

In recent years, scammers continue to deploy new fraudulent practices in order to take advantage of people. According to UK Finance’s latest figures, over £1.3 billion was stolen through fraud in 2021, up from £1.26 billion the year before.

To combat this concerning trend, Google continues to invest in teams, new policies and better enforcement capabilities. In 2021, we blocked or removed 58.9 million financial services bad ads globally to protect the advertising ecosystem.

Today, we are announcing a significant additional measure to protect both consumers and legitimate advertisers in the UK. The Google Ads Financial Products and Services policy will be updated to require that all advertisers be FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) authorised for debt adjusting and debt counselling in order to show debt services advertisements starting from 6 December 2022. Insolvency practitioners, including those licensed by a recognized professional body, will no longer be allowed to advertise for these services. Advertisers must successfully complete the updated verification process by the time enforcement begins on 16 January 2023. The policy update also allows advertisers that are included on the FCA Financial Services Register as ‘exempt professional firms’ or recognised investment exchanges to be verified as UK FCA-authorised advertisers.

Our financial services certification policy, launched initially in 2021, has led to a pronounced decline in reports of ads promoting financial scams, and has subsequently been rolled out across Google platforms in Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, India, Portugal, Brazil, France, Spain and Germany. A problem of this scale needs cross-industry effort, so we are pleased to see other tech companies now commit to introducing similar policies in the UK.

Today’s announcement builds on longstanding and robust financial products and services policies and engagement with industry in order to deliver a safer experience for users, publishers and advertisers.

Further collaborative industry progress to date

In addition to ongoing policy reviews and updates, we continue to adapt and collaborate with industry and government organisations to tackle these evolving tactics by scammers. Last year, Google was the first major technology company to join Stop Scams UK, an industry-led collaboration of responsible businesses from across the banking, telecoms and technology sectors who have come together to develop best practices to stop scams at the source.

We also pledged $5 million in advertising credits to support public awareness campaigns in the UK, helping to ensure that consumers are better informed about how to spot the tactics of scammers both online and offline. We encourage businesses and consumers to refer to industry resources from trusted sources and Google partners including Stop Scams, UK Finance’s ‘Take 5’ campaign and the Advertising Standards Authority to stay up to date with the latest solutions we can all adopt to operate safely online.

Celebrating the success of 47 European news innovators

We're announcing today the 47 recipients from 21 countries of the first Google News Initiative Innovation Challenge for Europe. Innovation Challenges, which we’ve previously run in other regions of the world, provide funding to help news organizations develop new paths to business sustainability.

This Innovation Challenge was open to publishers with smaller newsrooms that produce original journalism, and whose projects focus on creating a more sustainable and diverse news ecosystem. The recipients will be working on issues ranging from fact-checking to artificial intelligence.

Photo of seven members of the team from Hromadske Radio standing outside in front of vehicles.

Success: The team at Hromadske Radio will promote online audio consumption among Ukrainian audiences.

With 605 applicants from 38 countries, we were impressed by the diversity and the quality of the proposed projects. There were creative solutions to common business challenges, including news organizations engaging with more diverse audiences, and providing greater transparency into how powerful institutions such as businesses and governmental organizations operate.

Thirty-four percent of the applications came from regional and local publishers, with 25% from online-only publishers. Addressing audience needs (23%) and community building (10%) were the most popular topics, as many applicants in our post-lockdown world put forward projects that brought audiences or communities together.

Photo of five members of the team from Voxe who are standing or sitting on a bench.

The team from Voxe in France will create a content management system that works better for advertisers.

Here are some of the projects:

  • Diario Público from Spain will tackle ageism by creating a news app specifically designed for the needs of elders.
  • Konbini in France will use gaming techniques to appeal to younger audiences, allowing them to explore cultural news content in a new way.
  • A consortium of regional Polish newspapers will collaborate to create an app that opens up direct communication between Ukrainian refugees and Ukrainian-speaking newsroom staff to provide dedicated news sections and events.
  • Novaya Gazeta Europe will research a better understanding of the Russian-speaking diaspora in Europe and share this knowledge with other media-in-exile by creating special tools and developing new forms of content.
  • Greater Govanhill in Scotland is creating collaborative social media journalism by bringing independent groups together to service an area where coverage of local community issues has been overlooked.
  • Føljeton from Denmark wants to turn its subscribers into members by bringing together their currently separated subscriber and editorial systems into a new technology platform.

The recipients will be working on their projects this winter, and will share their results with the wider news ecosystem when complete. More information about all the selected projects can be found on our website.

Supporting the EU and securing the digital space

Citizens, companies and governments across the European Union agree that everyone should be free to live their lives and use technology without fear that their information will be stolen or held ransom by cybercriminals or other malicious actors.

But with each passing week, cyber threats are growing more costly and more aggressive, undermining the trust essential to a vibrant, inclusive digital society. This is a moment that calls for international leadership, which is why it’s notable that the European Commission has featured security at the center of its vision for digital transformation.

Today, Google is publishing a set of recommendations and white paper supporting the Commission’s efforts, and we commit to extending our full capabilities to help secure Europe’s “digital decade”.

The need

We applaud the European Commission’s effort to meet this moment, and believe that companies should step up to do their part as well.

The stakes have never been clearer. Even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — a ground assault accompanied by an attack on Europe’s cyberspace — there were troubling signs that Europe’s democratic values were being challenged by authoritarian governments.

I spoke about the importance of these values recently at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit. Democracies provide fertile ground for advances in science and technology. Technology owes its success to the conditions — openness, pluralism, free exchange — that democracy creates, enabling inventors to take risks and pursue new avenues for inquiry and collective innovation. So it’s no surprise that Ukraine’s tech sector thrived in recent years under the flag of a free European democracy.

But how can technology, in turn, contribute to the defense of Europe’s digital space? We have been reflecting on lessons we learned the hard way more than a decade ago, and how we used them to create a next-generation security infrastructure.

In the months ahead, we plan to share our experience in proactive digital defense with leaders in Europe. We are keenly aware of our responsibility to support the work of Europe’s democratic governments and institutions on economic progress, national security, and defense of the public square.

Google’s role

Our white paper recommends several areas where the European Union can make progress in securing Europe’s digital space, including:

  • Open security: Driving European resilience through “open security,” on the principle that openness and interoperability encourage scrutiny, threat sharing, and rapid adoption of best practices and new technologies.
  • Security by default: Promoting systemic investments in digital transformation, zero-trust architectures, and operating systems and devices that are secure by default, helping organizations overcome an overreliance on outdated and hard-to-patch technology infrastructures and devices that lie open to risks of espionage and extortion.
  • Partnership: Engaging partners by facilitating public-private threat information exchanges and briefings involving EU policymakers and technical experts — and by increasing dialogue to explore new areas of cooperation, such as applying artificial intelligence to improve security.
  • Encryption: Prioritizing strong encryption as superior means of protecting sensitive data compared to data localization requirements, which can have the unintended effect of actually undermining security and resilience.

These recommendations reflect both our decades of security expertise and our deep interest in the EU’s digital defense. Some of our leading security initiatives, and top security researchers, are based in Europe.

At the Google Safety Engineering Centers (GSEC) in Munich and Dublin, Google engineers don’t just talk about digital safety, they build it. And they do so on Europe’s distinctive strengths: respected technical universities, many thousands of Google employees, and top expertise in fields including privacy and computer science.

VirusTotal, a Google team that began as a small Málaga-based startup in 2004 and grew into a European champion before its acquisition by Google in 2012, helps millions in the public sector, commerce and research to understand malware and cybersecurity trends. In 2023, VirusTotal will open a brand new headquarters in the heart of Andalusia’s tech hub.

And, as we announced last week, Mandiant, one of the world’s premier cybersecurity teams, has now joined Google — bringing with it hundreds of industry-leading European experts in the field of threat intelligence and incident response.

These teams and others like them will ensure we’re countering tomorrow’s challenges with tomorrow’s tools. And our commitment to Europe’s digital security will be accompanied by a commitment to collaboration — building on the kind of innovation that has always made democracies stronger than their adversaries.

Continuing to support Ukrainians in challenging times

In February 2022, Vira taught Ukrainian language and literature at a local school and lived with her family in Kyiv. When the war started, Vira and her family had to leave their home in search of safety - first elsewhere in Ukraine, and then in Spain. Vira’s story is not unique - more than 7 million displaced people have left Ukraine since February 2022, according to the UNHCR.

Throughout the war, we’ve been committed to doing all we can to help. Through Google.org and our employees, we have committed over $40 million in cash donations, plus $5 million of in-kind support for humanitarian relief efforts, and three Google.org Fellowships. Across all our platforms, our teams have been working around the clock to support those affected, provide trustworthy information and promote cybersecurity.

Helping global refugees access critical information faster

For a person who has fled their home, access to information can be as important as water, food, medicine or shelter. It can save lives and livelihoods. But finding authoritative information and trusted services can be challenging and time-consuming.

Back in the summer of 2015, when thousands of refugees poured into the Greek islands in hope of refuge in Western Europe, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Mercy Corps worked alongside Google engineers to provide new arrivals with a trustworthy source of critical information. The team realised that those who flee their homes in times of need often bought a smartphone with them as one of few personal items – so they created the Signpost Project: a global technology platform that aims to provide critical information services to people affected by crisis and conflict.

When the war in Ukraine started, the IRC partnered with the United for Ukraine Association to build out unitedforukraine.org, an information website and civil society effort. The latest instance of The Signpost Project, unitedforukraine.org spans a network of 400 legal experts and psychological support professionals from more than 30 countries, and provides displaced people with critical information and support to find housing, legal aid and psychological help.

To support this work, Google provided the IRC with a $1.5 million grant along with a team of 15 Google.org Fellows to work full time and pro-bono for six months on the project.

In the six months since the war in Ukraine started, United for Ukraine has reached more than 210,000 unique visitors and helped 10,000 people access free temporary housing in collaboration with airbnb.org. Among those 10,000 people is Vira. Having secured a job in Torrevieja, Spain, Vira urgently needed accommodation, but didn’t know anyone local or have a way to rent an apartment. She reached out to United for Ukraine, who immediately offered her three temporary housing options to choose from. Vira chose a cosy apartment two minutes walk from her new job.

Image shows Sundar meeting with three NGO representatives at the Google Campus in Warsaw

Sundar Pichai meeting with NGOs supporting refugees at the Google Campus in Warsaw

Offering Google Career Certificates to Ukrainian people & businesses

As time passes, we see that the needs of those impacted by the war are changing – with more focus on education, upskilling and employment opportunities. To support Ukrainians whose jobs and livelihoods have been affected by the ongoing war, today we are launching Google Career Certificates in Ukraine. Google Career Certificates provide training focused on job-ready skills, and are designed to create a path to in-demand jobs in high paying sectors. By launching them in Ukrainian, we hope to support at-risk Ukrainians to develop practical skills, find new jobs and grow their businesses.

To reach those who have lost, or are at risk of losing, their jobs because of the war in Ukraine, Google.org has provided INCO – a global organisation that provides training and support – with more than €3 million in grant funding. This funding will enable INCO, in partnership with local NGO partners Prometheus, PRJCTR and VUM, to provide up to 5,000 people in Ukraine with access to Google Career Certificates at no cost, along with wrap-around support such as socio-psychological and work-readiness assistance.

In addition, to support small and medium Ukrainian businesses at this difficult time, Google is partnering with the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs to offer Google Career Certificates to 1,000 Ukrainian small and medium-sized organizations. We hope this will fuel future opportunities by allowing people to grow their skills, careers and businesses.

As Ukraine embarks upon the biggest recovery challenge in recent history, technology must help everyone, regardless of their location, age or education level. We hope that with these new efforts and the support of our public sector partners, even more people will be able to fuel this recovery.

Making our tools and technology as helpful as possible

Earlier this year, we were honoured to receive the first ever “Peace Prize” award introduced by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for our work to support those affected. Throughout the war, we’ve been trying to make our tools and technology as helpful as possible, including by:

  • Providing trusted news and information
    Across Google platforms, we’re elevating trusted news sources in response to searches about the war, including in Russia. Our breaking news and top news shelves on our YouTube homepage have been viewed more than 40 million times in Ukraine.
  • Protecting users from harmful disinformation
    Earlier this year, we committed an additional $10 million to fight misinformation, and since the war started, we’ve removed 9,000 channels and 70,000 videos on YouTube for violating our content policies – including those pertaining to misinformation, hate speech and graphic violence.
  • Protecting cybersecurity in Ukraine and globally
    We’ve increased account security protections for people in the region, and our Advanced Protection Programme – the highest form of account security we offer – is protecting hundreds of high-risk users on the ground in Ukraine against a wide variety of online threats. Project Shield, our free website protection service, is defending the sites of over 200 news and humanitarian organisations in Ukraine from online attacks. On top of this, Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) has been closely monitoring cyber security activity in Eastern Europe, providing regular updates and sharing information to help others detect and respond to activity.
  • Providing humanitarian assistance and supporting the region more broadly
    As part of our $45 million in cash donations and in-kind support from Google.org and Googlers, in Poland we’ve committed $10 million to local organisations helping refugees, and using Google’s spaces and resources to support those affected. In Ukraine, we’ve worked closely with the government to send rapid air raid alerts to Android mobile phones in endangered areas, and feature information on shelter and aid points in Search and Maps for local users. We also recently donated 43,000 Chromebooks to Ukrainian teachers to help them connect with their students – wherever they are now based.

We will continue to do all we can to help those impacted by the war in Ukraine, and to make sure our tools, technology and resources are as helpful as they can be during this time. We join the international community in expressing sincere hope for a return to a peaceful and sovereign Ukraine.