Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Google ‘more positive’ about its future in Australia
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Google is now more positive about its future in Australia, in a sign the brinkmanship may be easing over proposed media compensation laws.
Mr Morrison confirmed he held “constructive” talks with global Google chief Sundar Pichai on Thursday morning, following the company’s threat to shut down search in Australia if the laws were implemented.
“I have been able to send them the best possible signals that should give them a great encouragement to engage with the process, and conclude the arrangements we’d like to see them conclude with the various news organisations,” Mr Morrison said on Thursday.
“I think we have been able to get that into a much more positive space about their ability to continue to provide services here in Australia,” Mr Morrison said.
Mr Morrison did not say whether Google had withdrawn its threat, but indicated he had made clear the government would not waver from its plan to legislate the news media bargaining code.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai held talks with Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday after Microsoft declared it was prepared to fill any void in Australia’s search engine market.Credit:AP
“At the end of the day, they understand that Australia sets the rules for how these things operate. And I was very clear about how I saw this playing out.”
The code will force Google and Facebook into binding commercial agreements to pay Australian news providers for the ability to display news content in newsfeeds and search results, or face fines of up to 10 per cent of annual revenues.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Communications Minister Paul Fletcher also partook in the call on Thursday.
The day before the conversation, rival Microsoft declared it “fully” supported the code, and pledged to invest in its search engine Bing to fill the void in the event Google exited the market.
Microsoft president Brad Smith said on Wednesday he and global chief executive, Satya Nadella, had met with Mr Morrison last week to inform him the company was prepared to sign up to the legislation and compensate publishers.
“We are comfortable with a model that, frankly, reduces the revenue that is coming to the search service and increases the revenue that is going to news publishers,” Mr Smith told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
The Morrison government has been locked in a battle of brinkmanship with the platforms since unveiling the code on December 8. A final vote on the code is expected early this year after a Senate committee examining the laws delivers its report on February 12.
Both Google and Facebook say the code is “unworkable” in its current form. Google has threatened to turn off its search engine in Australia if the proposed code becomes law, while Facebook has said it would be forced to remove news articles from its main app.
Australia’s largest media companies such as Nine Entertainment Co, owner of this masthead, and News Corp are urging the government to pass the laws.
Mr Frydenberg also revealed this week that he had been contacted by Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg to discuss concerns about the code.
“Mark Zuckerberg did not convince me to back down,” Mr Frydenberg told the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday.
Google has been contacted for comment.
Lisa Visentin is a federal political reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, covering education and communications.