She reiterated that the Code requiring “payments simply for links and snippets just to news results in search” is their primary concern. It is not acceptable for Google.
“The free service we offer Australian users, and our business model, has been built on the ability to link freely between websites. This a key building block of the internet,” said Silva.
Moreover, Silva emphasized that the tech giant is willing to pay publishers for value without breaking Google Search through its new service called News Showcase. The service has a global budget of $1.3 billion over three years and pays publishers for their editorial judgment curating panels of news that would appear in Google services every day. The service also pays publishers to grant users access to stories on their paywall.
Prime Minister Morrison says Australia does not respond to threats
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison slammed Google for threatening to shut down its search engine in the country.
“Let me be clear. 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 and people who want to work with that in Australia, you’re very welcome. But we don’t respond to threats,” Morrison said in response to a question regarding the matter.
