We don't respond to threats: Australian PM over Google's warning

Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday said that "We don't respond to threats," In response to Google threat, Morrison said,"Australia makes our rules for things you can do in Australia. That's done in our parliament. It's done by our government. And that's how things work here in Australia." The legislation is designed to support a local media industry, including Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., that has struggled to adapt to the digital economy. Google's tougher stance drew rebukes from lawmakers at the hearing. Senator Andrew Bragg accused the tech giant of trying to “blackmail” Australians and policymakers.

Earliar,Google had warned to disable its search function in Australia if the government proceeds with a media code that would force it and Facebook Inc to pay local media companies for sharing their content. Australia is on course to pass laws that would make the Big Tech giants negotiate payments with local publishers and broadcasters for content. If they can't strike a deal, a government-appointed arbitrator will decide the price. "The code's arbitration model with bias criteria presents unmanageable financial and operational risk for Google," Mel Silva, managing director for Australia and New Zealand, told a senate committee.

"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."Mel Silva said on Friday. Google's threat to limit its services in Australia came just hours after the internet giant reached a content-payment deal with some French news publishers. Australia announced the legislation last month after an investigation found Alphabet Inc-owned Google and social media giant Facebook held too much market power in the media industry, a situation it said posed a potential threat to a well-functioning democracy.

Google's testimony "is part of a pattern of threatening behaviour that is chilling for anyone who values our democracy," said Peter Lewis, director of the Australia Institute's Centre for Responsible Technology. The United States government this week asked Australia to scrap the proposed laws, which have broad political support, and suggested Australia should pursue a voluntary code instead.