The year is already shaping up to be another one to remember.
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Adding to the pile of things to be concerned about is whether Google's search engine will remain available for Australians by the year's end.
It's a prospect that might seem mundane on the surface but the search engine has become integral to many of our lives with the brand becoming its own verb.
It's a scenario that few want but while it remains a possibility, let's hypothesise.
Why is Google threatening to drop its search engine in Australia?
To cut a long and complex story unfairly short, it comes down to money.
The government is creating new laws to force Google and Facebook to come to the bargaining table with news media outlets over how much they should pay for hosting links and snippets of news stories.
Google has said it can't predict the cost if the proposed laws pass so its Australian managing director Mel Silva warned senators in January it would be forced to remove the search engine altogether from Australia.
But Dr Andrew Hughes, a marketing researcher at Australian National University, thinks it might be in the billions.
It's also about stopping a potential domino effect the Australian laws could create around the world. If Google lets Australia win, other countries could look to implement similar rules.
The million-dollar cut Google has to set aside for Australian news media outlets could very quickly avalanche into tens of billions.
"Google will lose money, but also relationships with customers, because people will drift off to other search engines," Dr Hughes said.
Will my Google Assistant be affected?
Google's threat to pull the plug on its popular search engine is uncharted territory so the implications are hard to predict.
The US tech company has also not shed any further light on just how far it's willing to go in order to stop the laws passing without amendments but it's said the search engine is the first item on the list.
Google is no longer just a search engine but a convenient, and free, tool for plenty of previously costly services.
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There's YouTube and Gmail, services many of us use regularly, but many small businesses rely on its suite of tools, including Google Sheets, Documents, Analytics and Hangouts.
The Canberra Times understands Google only has plans to pull the search engine, if laws pass, with Google Assistant, YouTube, Chrome browser and Gmail to remain unaffected.
How this will work in reality will be an area many eyes will be watching keenly.
Is the government really going to let this happen?
The government has said it does not intend to back down on its media bargaining code on the tech companies but it's possible the two parties will come to a middle ground.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke to Google chief executive Sundar Pichai on Thursday morning, in what he described as "constructive" talks.
But if those talks ultimately fail, another competitor has put its hand up to take Google's place.
Google will lose money, but also relationships with customers.
- Dr Andrew Hughes
Microsoft said in early February it was ramping up to increase its search engine offering, Bing, if Google was to come good on its promise, with global president Brad Smith confirming he's already spoken to Mr Morrison.
Bing, the second largest search provider, holds around 3 per cent of the market following Google's dominant 93 per cent.
Dr Hughes said it was good that the government was pulling in Google's reins but it was important not to let ego get in the way of good, fair legislation.
"It's getting high stakes," Dr Hughes said.
"I think the government should be very careful here and offer Google a period of time to transition across to any model or payment system.
"Try and sit down with them and work through the issue."