Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Dueling messages from Google, Australian regulators

 

Google today posted an open letter to Australians in which the company claims “the way Aussies search every day on Google is at risk from new regulation.”

The letter deals with the proposed News Media Bargaining Code. The search engine giant says the proposed code would force Google to provide Australians with a worse Google Search and YouTube, could lead to users’ data being handed over to big news businesses and would put free services Australians use at risk.

The letter contains misinformation, said the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, the regulatory agency that released the draft news media bargaining code, in its response to Google’s letter.

Google will not be required to charge Australians for the use of its free services such as Google Search and YouTube, the response said. Google may choose to charge, the response said.

Google will not be required to share any additional user data with Australian news businesses, the response said. Google may choose to share additional data, the letter said.

The draft code will allow Australian news businesses to negotiate for fair payment for journalists’ work that is included on Google services, according to the ACCC.

News and Tech

 

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