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Adding another chapter to the ongoing war between Australian Federal Government and the US tech giant duo Facebook and Google, Microsoft has jumped into the fray.
Microsoft has assured the Australian government that if Google pulls out its search engine off the country, it is ready to step in with its own Bing. Bing is Microsoft’s search engine, very popular among people who are more inclined towards technology.
It should be noted that both Google and Facebook have strongly pushed back on the anticipated media regulations that would make the US tech giants pay the local media of Australia for content that appears on Google and Facebook platforms.
The two tech firms are estimated to make for over 80% of online advertising expenditure in Australia, resulting in media outlets not getting their due which then leads to mass shutdowns and unemployment.
Also read: In a first, Australia to make Facebook, Google pay for news content
Adding to the threats thrown by Google against Australia, Facebook too has conveyed that it might prohibit Aussies from sharing news content on its platform if the regulations go ahead.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison, while addressing media recently in Canberra, shared that Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella has assured Morrison that the tech behemoth is all set to increase the presence of Bing, its search engine.
When it comes to the positioning, Bing’s presence on the second spot cannot be negated. In Australia too, it comes after Google which has a market capture of 94%.
Clarifying his stance, Morrison elaborated that the Federal government just wants the regulations of the digital world to be on the same side as they are in the real world.
It is noteworthy to mention that recently Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg stated that in order to negotiate the proposed legislation, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had asked to meet him along with communications minister Paul Fletcher. But Zuckerberg did not change his opinion about the regulations that Australia wants.
Do read: Scrap media laws imposing Google and Facebook to pay to local media outlets: US
Google facing similar pressure?
Meanwhile, as per some media reports, Google is experiencing similar kind of pressure from across the globe to pay for the news content they are providing to the search engine.
In December 2020, Google struck a deal with French newspaper makers which can prove to lay down a foundation when it comes to individual licensing agreements. As per these laws, the media companies will charge Google on the basis of the factors such as amount of content published and the online traffic it has drawn.
In case of Australia, the pushing point for Google is that it would launch an obligatory negotiation process to ascertain what should an online platform pay to a media organisation, if the two parties are not able to come on a unanimous decision.
Google’s earnings in Australia
As per the reports, in the year 2019, total revenue of $4.8 billion was secured by Google Australia. Out of this, $4.3 billion came from advertising. The tech giant declared a profit of $134 million.
Can Bing act as Google’s substitute?
While, Bing can get almost all the ‘search’ related jobs done, Google offers other services in addition to the search feature; to name a few - Gmail, Google Maps, and YouTube. Hence, the obscurity remains as to what would happen if Google pulls out of Australia as absence of these additional services will definitely have an impact.
