PHOTO: Adobe Google has threatened to pull its search engine out of Australia. The threat came as the Australian parliament started pushing through new legislation called the Media Bargaining Code that could change the way Mountain View, Calif.-based Google and other tech companies that depend on digital advertising do business. The principle is straightforward enough. If passed in its current form, it will force Facebook and Google to pay Australian news businesses for content linked to, or featured on their platforms. Digital Platform Power Imbalances It is not the first such attempt to regulate the way content is used by both companies â there have been similar cases in Europe. In this case it goes back to last April when the Australian government asked the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (the ACCC) to develop a mandatory code of conduct to address bargaining power imbalances between Australian news media businesses and digital platforms, specifically Google and Facebook.