Ahead of upcoming Australian legislation that would require payment for linking, Google signed a three-year partnership with News Corp that will bring publications from three countries into News Showcase.
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Google has a $1 billion plan to pay publishers for content that appears in a cross-service “News Showcase” product. This is the company’s preferred route to support journalism, and comes as it’s locked in a dispute with Australia over an upcoming requirement to essentially “pay for links.” Google News Showcase was just surprisingly announced for Australia.
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For the past year, the Australian government has been readying legislation that forces tech companies to pay local publishers for content that appears in Search and News. If the new law passes, Google today said it would have to pull Search from Australia.
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Over the past several months, the Australian government has been preparing legislation to force Google (and Facebook) to pay local publishers for content that appears in Search and News. The tech companies have come out against this proposal, and Google today is directly appealing to its Australian users in an open letter.
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Back in April, Australia set out to force Google (and Facebook) to pay local publishers for content that appears in products like Search and News. An AU$600 million to $1 billion yearly payment has recently been suggested, with Google Australia today offering a rebuttal and explaining how its business works.
Google today announced that Chromebooks will be more widely available in Australia. The company worked with manufacturers to bring more Chrome OS devices Down Under and make them easier to purchase at retailers.
International availability for Google’s hardware is still limited and involves a slow process even after three years. The latest launch is for the Home Max, with Google’s premium Assistant smart speaker coming to Australia on August 9th.
Australia is one of the few countries that Google typically includes in the first wave of product and service launches. With a new Melbourne location, the company has opened its second office to compliment its headquarters in Sydney.