Google today took aim at Microsoft, accusing it of supporting the authorities in forcing technology platforms to pay the media for news content in order to divert attention.
Google’s blog posting alleges that Microsoft is trying to divert attention from the hacking incident. The Hackers may have exploited a weakness in Microsoft’s software to launch a damaging attack on Microsoft’s Exchange email server.
In Australia and Europe, digital platforms are required to negotiate payment for news content, sparking a heated war of words between all parties involved.
Google and Facebook have resisted mandatory payments, while Microsoft has taken a more cooperative stance.
Microsoft has also lobbied other countries to follow Australia’s lead and require digital platforms to pay media organizations for publishing news content.
AFP previously reported that the Australian government targeted Google and Facebook because the Australian market competition regulator found that for every $100 spent on online advertising, $53 was earned by Google, $28 by Facebook, and the rest was divided between other online platforms. Therefore, in order to make the competitive environment more fair, the Australian authorities decided to legislate to require these online platforms to pay for the big names.
The U.S. company Microsoft’s search engine Bing may benefit from Australia’s legislation to expand market share, and therefore support this legislation.
Microsoft President Brad Smith said today that today’s news content is a part of the technology ecosystem, and everyone in this ecosystem has the opportunity and responsibility to help the news industry thrive.
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