Australia Pitches Partnership With India, Other Nations Against Internet Giants Like Facebook And Google

During his latest conversation with Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, Australian PM Scott Morrison took up a discussion on the nation's latest media policy against technology giants and proposed a partnership with India on the subject, reports Economic Times.

Australian Government has been engaged in parleys with technology behemoths like Facebook and Google to legally make them pay local news outlets for using their content. For the same, the nation has pioneered a legislative code titled News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code Bill 2020.

Other than India, Australia has also taken up the matter with Canada, with PM Morrison and his Finance Minister both engaging with their Canadian counterparts on the issue. As per the report, Australia will try to further extend partnership on the issue with other countries as well.

Interestingly, as the Australian Government has maintained its stance against the internet giants, Facebook on 19 February blocked several Australian entities and individuals on its platform. Responding to the same, PM Morrison called the move 'arrogant' and 'disappointing' and pushed that Facebook must revoke the move.

Meanwhile, it should also be noted that while Google had earlier threatened to pull its search engine offerings from Australia, the company has now softened its stance and brokered several deals with large media companies like Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.