Google funds a German think tank

INTERNET SEARCH OUTFIT Google seems to be spending money trying to get Germans on its side.

Dr Max Senges of Google's policy team in Germany said the search company is helping to fund a German think tank whose name in English is Internet & Society Co:llaboratory to look into the Internet and digital society.

Senges said that the idea of the think tank is to take an independent and innovative approach to debating "how the internet affects us all in our daily lives and how we can ensure it continues to be an engine of innovation and economic growth."

Google said its Co:llaboratory will be made up of independent Internet policy experts representing science, business, and civil society.

The outfit claims it will round up experts to bring a diverse range of viewpoints to the table and be responsible for both monitoring developments in the digital world and defining the key issues the group wants to debate.

Every quarter, they will make proposals for how developments in the digital world can be framed and used in the best possible way for society as a whole.

Obviously getting more informed Germans is a jolly good thing, particularly if they are thinking along the same lines as Google. After all, the think tank is being established in response to a more "vibrant attitude" to the world wide web. Earlier this year Google had some problems with the Hamburg authorities.

But surely that development and Google's sudden desire to fund a European think tank in Germany is merely a coincidence. µ

L'Inq
Google European Public Policy Blog