In a tit-for-tat
move, tech giant Google on Friday warned Australia of discontinuing search engine services in the country until the government alters proposed
legislation that compels big tech companies like Google and Facebook to pay
Australian news outlets for their content.

Mel Silva, Australia’s Managing Director for Google informed a senate committee in Canberra that the company would have to resort to ‘the worst-case scenario’ if the
current draft media laws went ahead unchanged.

“If this version of the code were to become
law, it would give us no real choice but to stop making Google Search available
in Australia,” Silva added.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison sharply responded to Google’s move saying that his country doesn’t respond to threats.

“Australia
makes our rules for things you can do in Australia. That’s done in our
parliament. People who want to work with that in
Australia, you’re very welcome, but we don’t respond to threats.” said Morrison

Australia, in July 2020, unveiled a draft law to force Google and Facebook to pay news media for their content in a ‘world-leading’ initiative, taken to prompt a confrontation with the digital giants.

The media laws would impose a mandatory code of conduct on digital forums which would allow media outlets by Australian media companies to exercise cost for displaying their news content in Google Search and on Facebook and would govern relations between the struggling news industry and the tech firms.

The laws were tabled in Australian parliament in December and are currently before a Senate committee.

However, Canberra’s newly introduced media initiatives had been closely observed around the globe, as news media worldwide suffer in an increasingly digital economy where advertising revenue is overwhelmingly captured by big tech firms while Australian media stands in full support with the legislation.