In context: Australia could pass a law requiring search engine giants to pay Google – and other – news sites to link to their articles. If that happens, Google has told the Australian Senate in an unclear way that they will stop the search in Australia.
The problem is that news sites – which have struggled to adapt to their business model in an increasingly digital, online era – have not fared well in recent years, blaming people like Google and Facebook for lost advertising revenue.
That’s why the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has proposed a new framework where technology platforms – starting with Google and Facebook – pay news sites to link to their stories. Google and Facebook are expected to negotiate “in good faith” for an agreed fee.
Ars Technica explains: ‘You might think that Google will simply not link to Australian news sites anymore. But it was not allowed under the ACCC proposal. New non-discrimination rules require Google to treat websites the same, regardless of whether they pay to link to them. “
Google responded with an ultimatum on Friday. In the Australian Senate, Mel Silva of Google said the company would have ‘no real choice’ if to close the search in Australia if the framework were put in place, adding that the move ‘sets an unsustainable precedent for our business and the digital economy would create. ”
The situation has even drawn criticism from Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web. He agreed that Australia’s framework would set a damaging precedent, adding: ‘The ability to link freely – which means without restrictions on the content of the linked site and without fees – is fundamental to the operation of the web. ‘
This is not the first time Google has been in a situation like this. The company was recently embroiled in a similar controversy with French news sites – one that eventually ended with Google eventually agreeing to pay, although the details were sketchy at the time.
For now, it looks like Australian officials are ready to see how serious Google is about pulling searches out of Australia. “We are not responding to threats,” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday. “Australia sets our rules for things you can do in Australia.”
Your move, Google.