Microsoft backs Australian law requiring Google to pay for news links

Google has touted itself as an advocate for the open internet as it battles an Australian proposal to force Google and Facebook to pay Australian news agencies to link their articles. Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, argued that the ability to link to content without paying is “fundamental to the way the web works.”

Google has warned that if the proposal becomes law, the company could exit the Australian search market altogether.

But Microsoft, one of Google’s main search competitors, is not mobilizing to defend the principle of the free link. “Although Microsoft is not subject to the legislation currently pending, we would be prepared to abide by those rules,” Microsoft said of the Australian proposal in a statement to Reuters.

The new Australian rules would initially apply to only two companies: Google and Facebook. According to regulators, these two companies occupy such a dominant position in the Australian market – in research and social media, respectively – that news agencies are unable to negotiate with them on an equal footing. Google controls 94% of the Australian search market, according to Reuters.

To correct the alleged power imbalance between these tech giants and the Australian media, the proposal would force them into an arbitration process to determine how much to pay news sites to link to their articles. By the rules, tech giants will certainly have to pay Something-nor will they be allowed to stop linking to news sites in order to avoid paying. These rules would apply not only to Google News, but also to regular search results, which also frequently include news.

In the past, Google has used hardball tactics to push back these types of proposals. In 2014, Google shut down Google News in Spain to avoid having to pay to access Spanish news sites. But this tactic has become less effective over time. France recently passed its own “link tax” law which requires sites like Google to obtain permission to use “snippets” of news articles in search results, called “neighboring rights” “in French law. French competition regulators have said Google cannot simply stop showing snippets from French news sites in search results, as that would discriminate against those sites.

So last month, Google agreed to pay French news sites to host their content in a new product called Google Showcase. Although Google insists it is not a paid deal, the deal “will also cover publishers’ neighboring rights.” In other words, the deal gave Google a license to link to French news sites in search results.

Microsoft’s decision to break ranks with Google further undermines Google’s negotiating position. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he spoke with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella last week. If Google leaves the Australian market, Microsoft will be ready to take over with Bing, Morrison said on Monday.

“Microsoft, in its statement, said it would offer small businesses a chance to transfer advertising business to Bing at no cost and that it would invest more in the product to ensure it is competitive,” reports Reuters.