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Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said it was “inevitable” that Google and other tech users would eventually have to pay for the use of media content, in response to the internet giant’s threat. to shut down its search engine in the country if it is forced to pay local news publishers.
Google said Friday that a proposed law, which aims to compensate publishers for the value their stories generate for the company, is “inoperable,” in violation of the requirement. it pays media companies to display snippets of articles in search results.
As Google disregards months’ stance with the government, Frydenberg said Australia could be “a world leader” in pushing for the code or waiting for others to follow. by going through similar legislation.
“Digital giants seem to have done themselves a disservice last week when they openly and publicly threatened the people of Australia to pull out of Australia effectively with scrutiny. if the legislation goes ahead as it is now, ”said Frydenberg.
The threat is still Google ‘s most powerful as the digital giant is trying to stop the flow of regulatory activity around the world, but such a radical step would bring a fully developed market to competitors. At least 94% of online searches in Australia go through the Alphabet Inc. unit, according to the local competition regulator.
Google Sees deals within reach of world law to pay for news
Facebook Inc., the only other company targeted by the legislation, is also violating the law in Australia. The social media platform reiterated at Friday’s hearing that it is considering blocking Australians from sharing news on Facebook if the law is pushed through.
Frydenberg also accused the technical giants of moving the goalposts when it came to objecting to the code, after rejecting a final configuration model, to now go against its idea of paying for any clicks displayed under the search results.
“If the clicks for media content are so small of the total clicks searched, then eventually the independent arbitrators will find out that it should show the pay. For content – demonstrating the benefit to Google, to Facebook from having these media content on their sites, ”he said.
The legislation is designed to support local media industry, including Rupert Murdoch News Corp., which has been struggling to become more adaptable to the digital economy. Google’s tougher stance elicited complaints from lawyers at the hearing, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison saying on Friday that “we will not respond to threats.”
“It’s about control and power,” said Johan Lidberg, an associate professor at Monash University in Melbourne who specializes in media and journalism. “They are telling other regulators that they will have a fight in their hands if they do this. ”
Australian Search Risk from Google Gets Bad Results: Alex Webb
– Supported by Angus Whitley