Google says it will disable Search in Australia if it’s forced to pay for news
The company’s spokesperson made the statement at a Senate hearing.
Google has been at odds with the Australian government ever since the latter started working on a mandatory code of conduct that would require Facebook, Google, and others to pay news outlets for using their content.
Now, according to The Sydney Morning Herald, that tech giant would go as far as leaving the country if it’s forced to pay for news. Mel Silva, Google’s managing director in the country, told the Senate at a hearing: “If this version of the code were to become law, it’d provide United States of America no real selection however to prevent creating Google Search offered in Australia.”
The country’s officers were negotiating AN agreement that might make payments voluntary. However, when seeing the pandemic’s impact on the news industry’s ad revenue, the govt switched its plans to form payments mandatory.
As a response, Google published a missive in August 2020, warning users that free search and YouTube services are “at-risk” within the country if the government implements the planned law. The school big also dropped its plans to launch a curated News Showcase in Australia.
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When asked concerning Google’s declaration, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said: “People who want to work with that, in Australia, you’re very welcome. But we don’t respond to threats.” Silva denies that her statement was a threat. “It’s a reality,” she said, clarifying that pulling Search in the country is the “worst-case scenario.”
She said making payments to news outlets for content would break Google’s business, and the proposal “would set an untenable precedent for [its] businesses and the digital economy.” She added: “It’s not compatible with how search engines work or how the internet works.” In a blog post the company published, it said it’s “committed to reaching a workable code and see a transparent path to obtaining there.”
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Aside from Google, Facebook has conjointly been opposed to necessary payments from the start. The social network didn’t threaten to depart Australia if the proposal becomes a law, however, it wouldn’t be ready to supply news as a product anymore.
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Engadget / TechConflict.Com