Australian govt rebukes Google for blocking local content

Canberra, The Australian government on Friday urged Google to focus on paying for more Australian content instead of blocking it.
This step by the Australian government came about after media reports said Google was not showing Australian news websites in searches. This was confirmed by Google which stated that it was blocking the sites for a small number of users, BBC reported.
Google further added that this was an experiment that was being carried out to determine the value of its service to Australian news outlets.
Google, Facebook and other tech companies are fighting a legal battle with the Australian government which plans to make them pay for news content.
The big tech firms have been resisting legislation which will force them to negotiate with Australian news outlets over payment for the content which appears on their platforms.
If the parties are unable to reach an agreement, a government-appointed arbitrator will decide for them.
The law is currently being debated by Australia’s Senate, and is expected to be voted on early this year.
Google and Facebook have called the rules unfair and suggested they would force them to limit their offerings in the country.
The bill also covers Australia’s two public broadcasters ABC and SBS, and requires Google and Facebook to share user data of news stories with their publishers.
Google argues that its search services would be worse off under the change.
It has launched an extensive advertising campaign in Australia, showing how the laws could be damaging.