Yesterday, we reported that Google had agreed to start paying publishers in France for using snippets of their articles in their search. This is actually a pretty huge deal and one that other countries such as Australia is trying to pursue as well, but it seems that Google isn’t so keen on that.So much so that Google has stated if the Australian government were to move forward with their new code that would force companies like Google and Facebook to pay publishers for using their content, they would actually block the search function of Google in Australia.
According to Mel Silva, the managing director for Google in Australia and New Zealand, “Coupled with the unmanageable financial and operational risk if this version of the Code were to become law, it would give us no real choice but to stop making Google Search available in Australia.”
Unsurprisingly, Australia’s government did not take too kindly to the “threat” that Google implied. Speaking to reports, Australia’s Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, was quoted as saying, “People who want to work with that in Australia, you’re very welcome. But we don’t respond to threats.” It remains to be seen how this plays out and which side will fold first, or if they will come to some kind of compromise, but if Google were to go through with their threat, it could have huge implications.
Filed in . Read more about Google and Legal. Source: reuters