Google vs. Australia: 5 questions and answers
Australia wants Google to pay for displaying local media content. In return, the tech giant has threatened to disable its search engine in the country. Could this confrontation set a precedent?
The row between Google and Australia could foreshadow similar problems in Europe
What s happening in Australia?
Australia has proposed a bill that would oblige Google and Facebook to pay license fees to Australian media companies for sharing their journalistic content. Noncompliance would incur millions in fines. In response, Google has threatened to block Australian users from accessing its search engine should the bill become law.
Google vs. Australia: 5 questions and answers
What s happening in Australia?
Search engine giants face calls for level playing field
Replay Video UP NEXT
Australia has proposed a bill that would oblige Google and Facebook to pay license fees to Australian media companies for sharing their journalistic content. Noncompliance would incur millions in fines. In response, Google has threatened to block Australian users from accessing its search engine should the bill become law.
Mel Silva, managing director of Google Australia and New Zealand, told an Australian senate committee her company had no other choice but to block access to Google s search engine in Australia should the bill be adopted in its current form. Even though, she said, this was the last thing Google wanted.