Google threatened to make its search engine unavailable in Australia on Friday if the government continues plans to make tech giants pay for news content.
The mandatory code of conduct proposed by the government is designed to make Google and Facebook pay Australian media companies fairly for using the news content they get from news sites.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was quick to respond by saying that “we do not respond to threats”.
“Australia is setting its rules for the things that can be done in Australia,” added Morrison in comments to reporters in Brisbane. “This is happening in our Parliament. Our government is doing it. This is how things work here in Australia. “
Morrison spoke after Mel Silva, general manager of Google Australia and New Zealand, said in a virtual appearance before the Senate about the bill that the new rules would be unworkable.
“If this version of the code were to become law, we would have no choice but to no longer make Google searches available in Australia,” Silva told senators. “And that would be a bad thing not only for us, but also for the Australian population, the diversity of media and the small businesses that use our products every day.”
Silva said Google was willing to pay a wide and diverse group of news outlets for the added value, but not according to the proposed rules, including payments for links and snippets.
He said the code’s “biased arbitrage model” also posed unmanageable financial and operational risks for Google. The executive proposed a series of amendments to the bill. “We believe there is a viable path to follow,” said Silva.
As in many other countries, Google dominates internet searches in Australia. Silva told senators that about 95% of searches in the country are done through Google.