The relationship between Google and the Federal Government of Australia has gone sour, due to a proposed legislation, which would force Google to pay the Australian news media, for a right to link to their content.

Google’s managing director for Google Australia, Mel Silva, gave a red signal to the Australian Senate, by stating, that if such legislation is passed, then Google will be forced to withdraw its Search services from the country.

In response to a senate inquiry, Silva stressed:

“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,”

She highlighted the fact that the current version of the legislative code is “unworkable”, and withdrawal from Australia could be the last resort for the company.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which is a consumer-rights organization, has developed a code of conduct or a mechanism, with which the tech companies like Facebook and Google, would be required to share some portion of the revenue, which is generated due to the work of news outlets.

Silva explained this further in a YouTube video, and stressed this code impacts the business model of Google significantly, and is not practical in its current form. Moreover, she added that this code could set a very dangerous precedent for Google and the digital economy in general.

The Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, in reply to this has stated that, 

“we don't respond to threats”.

Lets see how this story develops, maybe some concerns of Google will be addressed by the Australian Government and changes might be made to the code, or the Australian Government would pass the legislation in its current form. 

This is a very interesting situation, where a tech giant is going head to head with a country. This is exactly why many watchdogs (consumer-organizations) throughout the world want these tech giants to be divided into small businesses, rather remain like a giant conglomerate.