Super strong Google… ‘Australian service will stop if news usage fee is forced

It said on the 22nd that it will stop searching services in Australia unless Google stops a bill that requires platform operators to negotiate usage fees.

Since July of last year, the Australian government has been pushing ahead with the’News Media Negotiation Act’, which requires technology platforms such as Google and Facebook to negotiate news content usage fees with Australian media outlets. It is the first law to be tried in the world.

The bill made it mandatory for Google and Facebook to pay usage fees to local newspapers and broadcasters for articles that appear in search results or in news feeds, and set the amount through negotiation. If the two sides fail to negotiate, an arbitrator appointed by the Australian government will decide.

Google rebelled against the bill and made a strong push that it would suspend some services in Australia.

Google’s general manager of Australia and New Zealand, Mel Silva, pleaded that the law was “impracticable.” He said in the Australian Senate that day, “if the bill goes into effect, Google will face unmanageable threats to its finances and operations.”

But Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said lawmakers would not succumb to Google’s “threat.” He said the government would continue to push the bill this year. The bill has widespread support from the list.

Prime Minister Morrison said, “I will be clear. The Australian government can make the rules it wants in Australia,” he said. “If you want to work together in Australia, you are welcome, but Australia will not respond to the threat.

One Australian legislator said that Google’s ultimatum was “blackmail” and “big corporations harass democracy.”

Google is an unrivaled #1 search engine without competitors in Australia, and is considered a service equivalent to essential resources.

The Australian government insisted that as much as Google benefits from consumers who want to consume the news, it should pay’reasonable’ fees to the media that produce the news.

He also argued that strong local media outlets should support it financially because it is the core of democracy.

Print media in Australia have seen a 75% decline in advertising revenue since 2005. Many Australian news outlets have recently shut down or cut jobs.

According to the Australian government, the share of Google search services in Australia is 12.5%.

Silva’s general manager said the bill to pay usage fees would “set a precedent for Google’s business and digital economy.”

He also argued that this was incompatible with the free flow of information or “how the Internet works.”

“We haven’t found a way to continue to provide services in Australia, taking into account the financial and operational risks,” he said.

Facebook protested last year, saying that it will prevent Australian users from sharing news content on Facebook when the law goes into effect.

Facebook reiterated the same stance that day, and Simon Milner, head of Facebook’s Asia-Pacific Policy, said in the Senate that “there could potentially be worse outcomes.”

He also said that Facebook had little commercial benefit from having news content on its platform.

Both Facebook and Google argued that media companies are rather benefiting from the influx of websites through the platform.

Google claims it is supporting the media community, taking as an example the Google News partnership program that supports journalism around the world.

BBC North American Technical Correspondent

It is a very rare threat.

Google dominates nearly 90% of the search engine market. Almost all revenue comes from advertising.

The threat of such Google’s withdrawal from a country suggests a degree of concern.

Of course, Australia isn’t Google’s biggest market, but Google’s executives fear the precedent the new law will bring.

Local news outlets in Australia have struggled during the pandemic, but Google has made huge profits.

This fact can’t seem good. Australian politicians will increasingly start to mention this.

Google said it wants to support local journalism.

However, it is clear that they believe that if the Australian precedent is repeated elsewhere, their business models will be radically damaged.