Tech giant Google has threatened to disable its search engine in Australia if the company is forced to pay local publishers for news. The incident has escalated Google’s months-long standoff with the Australian government.
The law proposed by the Australian government intends to charge compensation from publishers for the amount their stories generate for the company. Mel Silva, managing director for Australia and New Zealand, said during a parliamentary hearing on Friday that the law is “unworkable.” Silva specifically opposed the requirement of Google paying media organizations for reflecting snippets of articles in search results.
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This has come as Google’s most potent threat until now as the tech giant moves forward to curb the regulatory actions being taken worldwide. Notably, about 94% of the online searches done in Australia go through the Alphabet Inc. unit, as per the local competition regulator.
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday said, “We don’t respond to threats”. He added, “Australia makes our rules for things you can do in Australia. That’s done in our parliament. It’s done by our government. And that’s how things work here in Australia.”
Significant to note, Facebook Inc., which is the only other company to be affected by the legislation, also opposes the law, Bloomberg reports. Facebook reiterated at Friday’s hearing that it is considering barring Australians from sharing news on Facebook if the law is passed.