‘I think the threat is real’: Google considers pulling it’s services from Australia

Google could be on it’s way out of Australia.

The multinational company is threatening to pull it’s services as lawmakers consider a bill which would force it, along with Facebook, to pay for news content.

It follows a nine month review into the “bargaining power imbalances between Australian news media businesses and digital platforms, specifically Google and Facebook” by The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

The government’s proposed media bargaining code bill has wide ranging bipartisan support.

Director of Australia Institute’s Centre for Responsible Technology Peter Lewis says local news content makes up a big part of Google and Facebook’s value.

“It’s not the transaction of the click, it is the fact that the news content is being used as part of the package that keeps people using that site,” he told Tom Elliott on 3AW Drive.

“If Google didn’t have news sites on their engine or Facebook wasn’t sharing news, those networks are a lot less valuable.”

Click PLAY to hear the interview below