Tech giant Google has warned the Australian Government on Friday, that it would shut down its search engine in the country. The warning is in response to a new law which compels Google to pay media companies for showing their content. Moreover, the Australian Prime Minister has also responded to the warning.
The Reason Behind The Warning
The Australian Government is looking forward to pass a bill regarding media payment. The bill, if passed, would make Google, Facebook, and other social media companies to pay the Australian media providers like News Corp, ABC, and SBS for their content. It includes news, snippets, articles and other forms. Not only Google but Facebook and other companies are also against the law.
Apart from shutting down its search engine, Google has also threatened that Australians will have a downgraded experience with Google and Youtube. Knowing that more than 90 per cent of the population relies on Google services, the impact could be huge. Moreover, Google adds that it would withdraw its free services as well, meaning that you will have to pay for those Google services in Australia.
Mel Silva, Managing Director of Google in Australia and New Zealand, has said herself that the law would force them to stop their services and Google Search facility in Australia. She added that it would be bad for the people and companies located there.
The Government’s Stance
The Government of Australia seems to be unfazed by the threats. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has publicly said that they do not respond to threats. He clarifies that Australia makes the rules for the things that can be done in the country. The decision is made by the government and the parliament, and that is how thing work there.
In the end, Morrison says that whoever wants to work with this in the country, they are welcome.
Google’s Experiment
Google is hiding some news sites from its Australian users, apparently preparing for the worst. In the trial, Google changes its search algorithm for a tiny fraction of its users, hiding the links of some news websites from its results.
While it has not been disclosed which news websites were a part of this, for some users, reaching the ABC website using Google search engine was not possible for the past few days. Looking at this, Google seems to be serious about what it intends to do.
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