Technology by Finn McHugh  Big tech s threats to punish Australians for proposed media reforms show its sobering power but are unlikely to be carried out, a senate inquiry has heard. Treasury and Communications Department officials will front the inquiry on Monday, as it sits for the second and final day. The federal government has stood firm in its push to force social media giants to pay for news content, despite an angry backlash from Facebook and Google. Google threatened to remove its search engine from Australia users at the inquiry last month, but described the outcome as a worst case scenario .