Google’s dispute with Australia over online news is about to claim a major feature as a casualty. The internet giant has decided to freeze plans to launch its curated News Showcase in Australia over claims the draft News Media Bargaining Code is “unworkable.” It still objected to what it called a “must include, must pay” approach in the code where it not only has to pay news outlets it links to, but is obligated to carry those outlets for free.
They argued it would deal with payment demands that would “not [be] financially sustainable” for any firm. It also argued that the code was too broad and could prove costly if there’s a claimed violation, with Google potentially paying up to 10 percent of its Australian revenue for a single infraction.
Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission previously said that a Google open letter decrying the code “contains misinformation,” and that the company wouldn’t be required to charge for free services or share data with news organizations like the letter suggested.
