Google threatens to pull search engine in Australia in stand-off with government
Tech giant opposes proposed law requiring it to pay local publishers for news
Fri, Jan 22, 2021, 07:33
Updated: Fri, Jan 22, 2021, 07:35
Managing director of Google Australia and New Zealand, Mel Silva, told a parliamentary hearing the proposed legislation is unworkable. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP Image via AP
Google has threatened to disable its search engine in Australia if it is forced to pay local publishers for news in a dramatic escalation of a months-long stand-off with the government.
A proposed law, intended to compensate publishers for the value their stories generate for the company, is “unworkable”, Google’s managing director for Australia and New Zealand, Mel Silva, told a parliamentary hearing on Friday. She specifically opposed the requirement that Google pay media companies for displaying snippets of articles in search results.