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Google Threatens Australia…
…And Australia responds in kind!
The feud between the Tech Giant and the rich nation of Australia sounds more like a bar fight with the former threatening to pull out of the country and the latter sagaciously retorting that they don't take threats kindly. The feud is over Australia’s proposed law to modify arbitration for deals between Big Tech and news publishers. Tech companies like Google and Facebook say this would leave them powerless against news companies. Of course, the news companies support the law.
Google Australia’s Mel Silva said in a parliamentary hearing — “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,…And that would be a bad outcome not only for us, but also for the Australian people, media diversity, and the small businesses who use our products every day.” — WSJ
To this, Australia’s PM responded — ‘Australia makes our rules for things you can do in Australia. People who want to work with that in Australia, you’re very welcome. But we don’t respond to threats.’ — WSJ
Facebook has aired similar concerns like Google. This showdown shows that governments are likely getting fed up with big tech’s monopolistic ways. It’d be interesting to see what happens in the end and how it impacts the future…
