CANBERRA (Reuters) – Australia will introduce historic legislation next week to force Alphabet’s Google and Facebook to pay publishers and broadcasters for content, a senior government official said on Friday.
The legislation, which Google says will be “unviable”, will make Australia the first country to require Facebook and Google to pay for news content.
“The bill will now be considered by parliament from the week beginning February 15, 2021,” said treasurer Josh Frydenberg in an e-mailed statement.
Legislation is being followed closely around the world.
With bipartisan support, it could be sanctioned this month, despite Google’s doubts, which say the law will force it to withdraw its search function.
The software giant Microsoft Corp said it was confident that its search engine Bing could fill the gap in Australia if Google withdraws.
Lucinda Longcroft, director of government affairs and public policy at Google in Australia and New Zealand, said the company had proposed amendments to a Senate inquiry, but they were rejected.
However, the company still hoped to discuss the law with members of parliament.
“We look forward to engaging with lawmakers through the parliamentary process to address our concerns and obtain code that works for everyone – publishers, digital platforms and Australian companies and users,” said Longcroft in an e-mailed statement.
Facebook did not immediately respond to requests for comment when contacted by Reuters.
US social media and search giants have pushed Australia to soften the legislation, with executives from both companies talking to Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Frydenberg.
Google last week launched a platform in Australia offering news it paid for, closing its own content deals with publishers in an effort to show that the proposed legislation is unnecessary.
Last month, Reuters said it signed an agreement with Google to be the first global news provider on the Google News Showcase. Reuters is owned by the news and information provider Thomson Reuters Corp.
Google and a lobby group of French publishers also agreed in January to a copyright structure for the technology company to pay news publishers for online content, a breakthrough in Europe.
Colin Packham reporting; Editing by Stephen Coates, Robert Birsel