Hard to take Google s blackmail seriously without a proposal on the table22/01/2021|2min
Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg says it is hard to take Google’s “blackmail” seriously when the proposal of Google Showcase which has been put forward isn’t available in Australia.
Speaking at the Senate Economics Legislation Committee he said, “I struggle to reconcile how your proposal is a serious one when you haven’t even put the proposal on the table, no one can see Showcase.”
“So how can we take your blackmail and your threats seriously?”
Google Australia Managing Director Melanie Silva insisted Google is committed to launching Google Showcase in Australia as a solution to problems the code is seeking to resolve.
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Greens Senator grills Google boss over hell of a threat to remove search function22/01/2021|5min
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young grilled Google boss Melanie Silva for threatening to shut down Google search in Australia in a bid to avoid paying for news content.
Google Australia Managing Director Melanie Silva told a Senate committee hearing on Friday the company would leave the Australian market if the proposed news media bargaining code goes ahead.
The code seeks to force digital giants to pay media outlets for news content on their platforms or face fines of up to $10 million.
“You’ve come here this morning and told us that only 1.25 of search result are news, and yet if this legislation passes, you’ll shut down news for everybody, for everything across the country,” Ms Hanson-Young said.