Microsoft urges U.S. to copy Australia’s media bargaining code

• Microsoft president Brad Smith has suggested the United States “copy” Australia’s proposed media bargaining code
• He said the laws were necessary to strengthen democracy, and that Microsoft would be “willing to live by these rules if the government designates us”
• Google has threatened to remove its search engine from Australia should the laws go ahead as they are
• Prime Minister Scott Morrison previously spoke with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who said the software company is ready to grow the presence of Bing
• Many major organisations, including Facebook and the U.S. Government, have argued that the legislation discriminates against Silicon Valley tech giants and breaches the Australia-U.S. Free Trade Agreement

Microsoft president Brad Smith has suggested the United States “copy” Australia’s proposed media bargaining code.

In a blog post yesterday, he said the laws designed to level the playing field between tech giants and news organisations were necessary to strengthen democracy, and that Microsoft would be “willing to live by these rules if the government designates us.”

“The United States should not object to a creative Australian proposal that strengthens democracy by requiring tech companies to support a free press. It should copy it instead,” Smith wrote.

Google has threatened to remove its search engine from Australia should the laws go ahead as they are but appears to have rolled back its all-or-nothing approach after Microsoft’s involvement.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison previously spoke with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who said the software company is ready to grow the presence of Bing, its own search service.

While Bing holds roughly 20 per cent of the market in the U.S. and between 10 and 15 per cent in Canada and the U.K., it holds less than five per cent in Australia and is a distant second to Google.

But Microsoft’s public backing of Australia’s measures puts it head-on with a number of powerful organisations, including the U.S. Government, who claim that the legislation discriminates against Silicon Valley tech giants and breaches the Australia-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.

Smith said “Australians deserve credit” for addressing the power imbalance, and criticised Google’s preference for “a more traditional process that involves multiple submissions by lawyers.”

“But a slow and legalistic process clearly would benefit those with deep pockets rather than the smaller parties that need the help,” he continued.

Smith then called on the Biden administration to take action, arguing that “as the United States takes stock of the events on January 6, it’s time to widen the aperture.”