The tone is rising between Google and Australia. A bill to force the payment of a media pass as Mountain View threatens to expel its search engine from the country. On the edge.
Bill to save Australian media
Currently, Google And Facebook Distribute newspaper articles for free on their sites and keep all the advertising revenue generated by them to themselves. The system is unbearable for the Australian media, which is facing an unprecedented crisis, and for their government, which seeks to rectify the situation by establishing a new legal framework.
Thus, last July, the country put forward New code of conduct forcing Google and Facebook media to pay. If you want to accept it, Both giants will be forced to share the proceeds from newspaper articles, Otherwise they will be subject to severe financial penalties. Also, they should Share upcoming changes in their instructions Content distribution in user flows.
No news Google responded quickly with an open letter Addressed directly to Australian citizens. In it, Mountain View Giant noted that this behavior would give the norm Unjustified benefit to the media Compared to other companies, he will present Risk of protecting personal data Users, and it Tarnishes the quality of some of its services, Its search engine or Web light. The company ended up with a commitment “Do everything to change this plan”.
Google doesn’t ask it that way
Promise something, cause something. Mel Silva, Vice President of Google Australia and New Zealand, announced before the Australian Senate Economic Council: “If this version of the code becomes law, there will be no choice but to suspend Google search in Australia. After reviewing the law in detail, we concluded that with such financial and operational risks, we do not see how we can continue to provide a service in Australia. ”.
In addition, Google believes that this is a code of conduct “Creating a sustainable role model for both our company and the digital economy” That’s it “Not compatible with search engine functionality”. A view shared by renowned computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee. Asked at the hearing, he said he was the creator of the World Wide Web (WWW) “This law risks violating the basic principle of the web by requiring money to create links between certain online content.”.
In the face of these reports, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison responded quickly “Do not bow to threats”, Before adding: “Australia makes rules about what can be done in Australia. Our parliament decides. This is how things work in Australia. ”. The message deserves to be clear: The Australian government does not want to bow to threats From the Mountain View Company.
If the situation appears to be unresolved, Mel Silva hopes to make more changes Before making his threats: “There is a clear path to creating a small code. If we make small corrections, we can work.”. Is Australia ready to accept and accept concessions in these ways? Hard to say.
Waiting, In France, things are going much better After a long month of conflict, An agreement has finally been reached between Google and the press publisher With regard to the rights of neighbors. In short, this means The The French media should soon be paid by Mountain View.