Skip to Main Content
PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.

Google Threatens to Disable Search in Australia

If Google is forced to pay media companies for news, Google Search will be turned off in Australia.

January 22, 2021
(Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash)

Can you imagine loading up Google's search page and there's nothing there? Or how about the Google Search bar disappearing from the home screen on Android devices? In Australia, it may just happen in the very near future.

As Reuters reports, Google is threatening to disable its search service in Australia if forced to pay media companies for news. The Australian government is on course to pass a new law that would result in companies such as Google and Facebook having to negotiate with publishers and broadcasts before their content could be included in search results or news feeds. Faced with having to pay for news or not including the relevant results, Google is opting for no results at all if this goes ahead.

"Coupled with the unmanageable financial and operational risk 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," said Melanie Silva, Managing Director and VP, Google Australia & New Zealand.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison views such talk as a threat and said, "People who want to work with that in Australia, you’re very welcome. But we don’t respond to threats." Peter Lewis, director of the Australia Institute’s Centre for Responsible Technology, commented that Google's testimony "is part of a pattern of threatening behaviour that is chilling for anyone who values our democracy."

Google's threat could backfire spectacularly for the company if the law is passed and Google Search ceases to work in Australia. There are a number of other search services available and ready to take its place (Bing and DuckDuckGo are two prime examples), and users would ultimately adapt. The knock-on effect could be other countries becoming emboldened to follow the Australian government in passing new, similar laws.

Meanwhile, as CNN reports, yesterday Google agreed to pay news publications in France for use of their content. Google will now negotiate licensing agreements with individual publishers and compensate them based on a set of criteria.

Get Our Best Stories!

Sign up for What's New Now to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every morning.

This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.


Thanks for signing up!

Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!

Sign up for other newsletters

TRENDING

About Matthew Humphries

Senior Editor

I started working at PCMag in November 2016, covering all areas of technology and video game news. Before that I spent nearly 15 years working at Geek.com as a writer and editor. I also spent the first six years after leaving university as a professional game designer working with Disney, Games Workshop, 20th Century Fox, and Vivendi.

Read Matthew's full bio

Read the latest from Matthew Humphries