Australian legislation obliges Google and Facebook to pay for news content
The law initially includes "Newsfeed", "Facebook" and "Google".
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Yesterday, a senior Australian government official said that the government will introduce important legislation next week that requires the two companies, Google and Facebook, owned by Alphabet, to pay publishers and radio and television stations for content.
The legislation, which Google says will be "unenforceable", will make Australia the first country to ask Google and Facebook to pay for news content.
The legislation enjoys wide follow-up in various countries of the world.
The US companies said they tried to persuade Australia to relax the legislation, as top executives from the two companies held talks with Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Last week, Google launched a platform in Australia that provides news that the company has paid for, and has struck content deals with publishers, in an effort to show that the proposed legislation is unnecessary.
Google had threatened to shut down its search engine in Australia if the government enforced the law.
Mel Silva, managing director of Google's operations in Australia, stated that the law is impractical, and that the company is unable to face financial risks.
"Leaving the Australian market is the only rational option," she added.
The law forces tech companies to pay news platforms for their content or face fines of up to 10 million Australian dollars (7.7 million US dollars).
Initially, this law will include: "Newsfeed", "Facebook", and the search engine "Google".
The legislation would make Australia the first country to require Google and Facebook to pay for news content.
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