Australia has proposed a law that would require Google and Facebook to start paying publishers for the their content. Today, Google and Facebook profit off of others content without compensation. Sounds a lot like stealing if you ask us.
Australia has apparently had enough. Google and Facebook are predictably objecting to Australia’s proposal and threatening to pull out of the country, but not Microsoft. Microsoft thinks the U.S. should adopt Australia’s proposal.
Microsoft probably isn’t being benevolent here since their Bing search engine has a lot to gain if Google pulls out of Australia. Nevertheless, having a big company on the side of content creators, many of whom are small, can be helpful.
Bloomberg has more
Microsoft Corp. said the U.S. should adopt its own version of a proposed Australian law that would force Google and Facebook Inc. to pay publishers for the value their stories generate on the internet giants’ digital platforms. “The United States should not object to a creative
Australian proposal that strengthens democracy by requiring tech
companies to support a free press,” Microsoft President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith wrote in a blog post Thursday. “It should copy it instead.”Alphabet Inc.’s Google has been fighting the law and has even threatened to shut its search engine in Australia. Smith and Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella reached out to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to say they would be happy for the company’s Bing search engine to stay in the country, take market share and pay the fees. Facebook has said it’s considering stopping Australians from sharing news stories on their accounts.
The full article is available here.
