Google: We’ll block Australia in news row

GOOGLE threatened to block Australians from using its search service yesterday unless the government changed landmark legislation to force the internet giant to pay news outlets for their content.

Google Australia’s managing director Mel Silva warned that the code – a world first – would undermine the functioning of the internet. But prime minister Scott Morrison said he would not ‘respond to threats’ and warned Google: ‘We make the rules.’

In one of the most aggressive moves yet to check the power of US tech giants, the legable’. islation would force the companies to compensate Australian media outlets for publishing snippets of their content in search results. Failing to comply would result in fines of millions of dollars.

Miss Silva told senators in Canberra: ‘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.’ Facebook labelled the code ‘unworkThey are backed by the US government and figures including Tim Berners-Lee, British inventor of the World Wide Web.

Mr Morrison hit back after Miss Silva’s comments, saying: ‘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.’

He added that his government remained committed to passing the legislation.