The Australian government is launching a new code on Monday that will force tech giants like Google and Facebook to pay for content from media companies.

The news comes after heavy backlash from Google, which last month threatened to block its search engine in the region if the government went ahead with the legislation.

“The Bill will now be considered by the Parliament from the week commencing 15 February 2021,” said Australian treasurer Josh Frydenberg in a statement on the new code.

The News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code has been developed after “extensive analysis” from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), including almost three years of public consultation.

The code aims to address the bargaining power imbalance identified by the ACCC between digital platforms and news media companies in order to “support a diverse and sustainable Australian news media sector, including Australia’s public broadcasters.”

The treasurer said: “The Code creates a framework for the parties to reach commercial arrangements, so that news media business are fairly remunerated for the content they generate and which digital platforms benefit from.”

At a public hearing in January Google Australia’s managing director Mel Silva said: “Coupled with the unmanageable financial and operational risk 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.”

Silva said that in its current form the code is “unworkable” and that if it became law it would impact not just Google but small publishers, small businesses, and the 19 million Australians that use its service.

Earlier this month, Google launched its ‘news showcase’ in Australia, a licensing programme that pays publishers to curate content for story panels across Google services.

On Tuesday it was revealed that the European Union might follow in the footsteps of Australia by implementing similar payment rules.

MEPs working on the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA), told The Financial Times that these new laws could be amended to include features from the Australian code of conduct.

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