Bulletins

Key Microsoft exec urges US to pursue controversial Australian tech measure

President Brad Smith called for the U.S. adoption of the proposed law that would mandate that tech companies pay publishers for content, one that Facebook and Google have threatened could lead them to block some services in Australia.

"We recognize that this is an opportunity to combine good business with a good cause," Smith told Axios. "We shouldn't be too quick to conclude that we can't innovate in the U.S. the way the Aussies are."

Microsoft previously suggested its Bing service could serve as a replacement for Google should the company follow through on its threat to curb use of its search engine in Australia if the law was enacted.

The measure, which is expected to pass, would be the first time Google and Facebook are forced by a federal government to pay publishers for the content that appears on their respective platforms.

Joe Williams

Joe Williams is a writer-at-large at Protocol. He previously covered enterprise software for Protocol, Bloomberg and Business Insider. Joe can be reached at JoeWilliams@Protocol.com. To share information confidentially, he can also be contacted on a non-work device via Signal (+1-309-265-6120) or JPW53189@protonmail.com.

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