Google threatens to withdraw search engine in Australia; government hits back

Google and the government in Australia are locked in a war of words over a proposed legislation that will make tech giants pay for news content. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison lashed out at a Google official who said the tech giant would be forced to withdraw its search engine from Australia if the proposed code were to become law. ‘The principle of unrestricted linking between websites is fundamental to search and coupled with the unmanageable financial and operational risk, if this version of the code were to become law, it would give us no real choice but to stop making Google search available in Australia,’ Mel Silva, Managing Director for Google Australia and New Zealand said. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison quickly hit back, saying ‘we don't respond to threats’. Watch the full video for all the details.