The Australian prime minister said he had a “constructive” meeting on Thursday with the head of Google after the tech giant threatened to remove its search engine from Australia over plans to make digital platforms pay for …
February 4, 2021 The Australian prime minister said he had a “constructive” meeting on Thursday with the head of Google after the tech giant threatened to remove its search engine from Australia over plans to make digital platforms pay for news. Prime Minister Scott Morrison also welcomed the support of Google rival Microsoft, which has touted Australia’s proposed laws that would make Google and Facebook pay as an example for the rest of the world. Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Alphabet Inc. and its subsidiary Google, initiated the online meeting with Morrison to discuss the draft laws that were introduced to Parliament in December. “I thought it was a constructive meeting,” Morrison said. “I think I’ve been able to send them the best possible signals that should give them a great encouragement to engage with the process.” Google regional director Mel Silva told a Senate hearing last month that the company would likely make its search engine unavailable in Australia if the so-called News Media Bargaining Code forced Google and Facebook to pay for Australian news.
