Bing in Australia
Reuters reported that Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday that Microsoft Corp is certain that even if Google pulls its search over required payment to media outlets, its search product Bing can effectively fill the gap in Australia.
Google Will Withdraw Its Key Services, News Laws Are Unwelcomed:
Such types of discussions are going on because a few laws have been introduced in Australia that would force internet giant Google and Facebook Inc to pay domestic media outlets whose content links drive traffic to their platform.
However, the Big Tech firms said that these laws are unworkable and if these laws will be forced on them then they would withdraw their key services from Australia. These services include Google’s search engine which is the most used search engine and owns 94% of the country’s search market.
Microsoft CEO And Morrison’s Discussion:
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had a discussion with Morrison regarding the new laws and according to Morrison, the company is ready to grow the presence of its search engine Bing.
After listening to Morrison’s words it can be said that Microsoft is pretty confident and is even ready to replace the Google search engine by their bing.
Morrison also added that they just want the rules in the digital world to be similar to the rules that exist in the real world.
A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed that discussion took place, but they declined to pass any comment regarding the laws as their company was not directly involved in the law.
The spokeswomen pointed out that they recognize the importance of a vibrant media sector and journalism in a democracy, and also that they are aware of all ups and downs that the media had to face due to changing business models and consumer preferences.
A Google representative was not immediately available so no comments were heard from their side, says Reuters.
Mark Zuckerberg Requested A Meeting Over The Law
A day before, Australian treasurer Josh Frydenberg said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had requested a meeting over the law, and that they talked on the concerned matter, but he assured that he would not back down on the change.