SINGAPORE – Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday he had a “helpful meeting” with Google chief Sundar Pichai after the tech giant threatened to pull its search engine from the country over a possible new law.
Basically, Australia is asking internet giants Facebook and Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet, to pay for news.
The government introduced a bill in the media in parliament in December. If adopted, the new media bargaining code would require the digital platforms to pay local media outlets and publishers to link the content in news feeds or search results. If the parties cannot reach an agreement, a panel set by the government will decide on the price.
“I thought it was a helpful meeting,” Morrison told reporters on Thursday, according to a press conference transcript posted by his office.
“I have been able to send them the best signals that should give them great confidence to be involved in the process and decide on the arrangements we would like to see with the various news media organizations in Australia,” he said.
Morrison said Google raised specific aspects of the media negotiating code on the call and that the talks looked at the company’s ability to continue to provide services in Australia.
“At the end of the day, they understand that Australia is setting rules for how these things work. And I was very clear about how I saw this play out,” Morrison said. , without further explanation.
Google did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.