SYDNEY (Reuters) – Google is reviving plans to launch its own news website in Australia within weeks, according to a local media group hired to provide articles for the campaign, as the search giant is fighting proposed laws around the world regarding content payments.
The launch of the News Showcase product as early as next month is Google’s latest in a high-profile campaign against Australian government’s planned legislation to force the company to pay local news providers for content that appear in their search engine.
Misha Ketchell, editor of the academic news The Conversation, said on Wednesday that Google spoke to him “to resume talks about launching a News Showcase product as soon as possible in February. We are working with them on this. “
Google had announced plans to launch a News Showcase in Australia in June last year, signing contracts with six small local outlets, including The Conversation, for content. He subsequently delayed publication, citing regulatory terms, when the Australian competition regulator published a draft copy of the proposed media negotiation code.
The decision to push ahead with the announcement revealed a demonstration that Google seemed to be willing to run their own content contracts, denying the need for government-authorized legislation.
A spokesman from Alphabet Inc, which owned Google in Australia, declined to comment on Wednesday. Two other local publishers confirmed that they had content details for the new site, not to mention recent discussions.
Google Australia Chief Executive Mel Silva told a parliamentary hearing last week that the company would pull its famous Australian search engine if the laws, the first of its kind in the world, were passed. forward.
Under the proposed laws, Google and social media Facebook Inc are required to negotiate binding commercial contracts with Australian outlets whose content is driving traffic to their platforms. If they can’t make a deal, the government will appoint a conciliator to make it for them.
Google has argued that the legislation, which is currently the subject of parliamentary scrutiny but is set to go to law soon, is unworkable.
“If Google can show that it can be highly ambitious by some publishers, its goal is to show that a commercial settlement can be made without some form of legislative intervention,” said Derek Wilding, senior. professor at the Sydney University of Technology Center for media transition.
“The question is whether these arrangements are appropriate for all publishers. The kind of arrangements that Google can suggest will suit some publishers, but others do not. ”
Reciting with Byron Kaye; edited by Jane Wardell