A link to Google’s proposal for a workable news code on the company’s homepage.
David Gray | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Australia’s political opposition will support proposed legislation that will force Google and Alphabet’s Facebook to pay publishers and broadcasters for content, two sources said on Tuesday.
The bill, whose prospects are widely watched around the world, is dependent on the support of the opposition, as Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s ruling Liberal party does not have a majority in the country’s main house.
Lawmakers from the Australian center-left Labor Party endorsed the bill during a meeting in Canberra on Tuesday, saying the sources, who are not authorized to speak to the media about the matter, do not want to be identified.
The bill is expected to be tabled in parliament this week.
Google and Facebook have urged Australia to soften the legislation, with senior executives from both companies lining up with Morrison and treasurer Josh Frydenberg.
Google has called for a series of changes, especially with the fact that its new platform, Showcase, is covered by the legislation, rather than the results being generated.
Last month, Reuters said it had signed an agreement with Google to be the first global news provider of Google News Showcase. Reuters is owned by news and information provider Thomson Reuters Corp.
In January, Google and a lobbying group of French publishers agreed to a copying framework for the technology firm to pay news publishers online, a first for Europe.