"Google's mistake" affects Morocco's digital sovereignty
Yesterday, Wednesday, an “error” in the currency conversion tool of the “Google” search engine sparked widespread controversy among Moroccan social media activists, after the engine showed, at about six thirty in the evening, that the exchange rate had reached 18.53 dirhams against the euro and 17.53 dirhams. 18 dirhams against the US dollar.
 |
| Marsad: "Google's mistake" affects Morocco's digital sovereignty and investor confidence |
Although this price was linked exclusively to the “Google” tool, this data prompted many to question what they described as the supposed “collapse” of the national currency, while others rushed to publish real prices from various national and international sources, before the aforementioned tool worked. The male corrected the error after about an hour.
Bank Al-Maghrib did now no longer take lengthy to disclaim what changed into circulated, and affirm that the reference alternate charge for January 18, 2023 settled at approximately eleven dirhams towards one euro, and that “Bank Al-Maghrib’s internet site is the best dependable supply for inquiries approximately forex costs towards the Moroccan dirham, similarly to Bloomberg and refinitiv webweb sites for the duration of the hole hours of the Moroccan alternate market.
The Moroccan Observatory for Digital Sovereignty entered the line of this incident, as it worked to publish a communication in Arabic and English, calling on Google to clarify its position on this incident, which “affects the digital sovereignty of Morocco while ensuring that it will not be repeated, especially since Morocco is one of the most attractive destinations.” investments due to the stability it enjoys at various levels”, surprising the company's failure to provide technical clarifications and justifications that accompanied this technical failure.
Mustafa Mallawi, head of the Moroccan Observatory for Digital Sovereignty, said: “This incident has a great impact on the level of investor confidence in Morocco and its economic system, and weakens the incentive for those wishing to invest in Morocco in the future.”
Mallawi added, in a statement, that the circumstance of this incident contributed to the reactions that social media platforms knew, “because we live at a time when we are witnessing the collapse of the currencies of countries such as Lebanon, Egypt and others, which makes the general public express their fear.”
The head of the Moroccan Observatory for Digital Sovereignty pointed out that “these giant companies enjoy absolute power and have the influence of states, as they make amendments to their programs without consulting with any party whose strategic interests could be harmed.”