谷歌搜索因新闻付费威胁退出澳大利亚遭微软抨击

2021-2-7 14:42| 发布者: 刘海明| 查看: 19| 评论: 0|来自: FT中文网

摘要: 原文链接：https://www.sohu.com/a/448730087_120054137

谷歌因澳大利亚计划出台《新闻媒体议价法案》威胁要退出该国，微软则表示支持该法案，愿意免费帮助小企业转移至必应。

Photo credit: FTChinese

497个词，by Jamie Smyth in Sydney

Microsoft has moved to capitalise on Google’s threat to shut its search engine in Australia, throwing its weight behind efforts to make Big Tech pay for news content and offering to transfer small businesses to its rival service Bing at no cost.

微软(Microsoft)已开始利用谷歌(Google)威胁关闭在澳大利亚的搜索引擎服务的机会，公开支持要求大型科技公司为新闻内容付费的努力，并表示愿意免费帮小企业转移至必应(Bing)——谷歌的竞争对手服务。

The Seattle-based company on Wednesday slammed Google’s threat to exit Australia over the news media bargaining code and said it fully supported a draft law aimed at forcing technology groups to pay news providers for content.

在澳大利亚提出《新闻媒体和数字平台强制性议价法案》(News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code)之后，谷歌威胁要退出该国。总部位于西雅图的微软周三猛烈抨击了谷歌的这一做法，并表示它完全支持这项旨在迫使科技集团为使用新闻提供商的内容付费的法律草案。

Photo credit: Getty Images

“One thing is clear: while other tech companies may sometimes threaten to leave Australia, Microsoft will never make such a threat,” said Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, in a statement. “We are committed to supporting the country’s national security and economic success.”

微软总裁布拉德•史密斯(Brad Smith)在一份声明中说：“有一点是可以肯定的：虽然其他科技公司可能有时会威胁要离开澳大利亚，但微软永远不会做出这样的威胁。我们致力于支持该国的国家安全和经济成功。”

Canberra’s proposed news media bargaining code would introduce binding arbitration and non-discrimination clauses to protect publishers and force Google and Facebook to negotiate payments for carrying their content.

堪培拉方面提议的《新闻媒体议价法案》将引入具有约束力的仲裁和非歧视条款，以保护内容提供商，并迫使谷歌和Facebook就使用内容的费用与内容提供商进行谈判。

Photo credit: Getty Images

Google has a 94.5 per cent market share in search in Australia, while Microsoft’s Bing search engine holds 3.6 per cent, according to StatCounter, a web analytics company.

根据网络分析公司StatCounter的数据，谷歌在澳大利亚搜索市场占有94.5%的份额，而微软的必应搜索引擎占有3.6%的份额。

Microsoft’s decision to throw down the gauntlet will complicate Google’s aggressive lobbying campaign against the draft legislation, which it has called “unworkable” and “unreasonable”.

微软决定加入战局，将搅乱谷歌为反对这一法律草案所做的积极游说。谷歌称该法案“不可行”、“不合理”。

Mel Silva, Google Australia’s chief executive, said last month that if the code became law, Google would have “no real choice but to stop providing search in Australia”.

谷歌澳大利亚首席执行官梅尔•席尔瓦(Mel Silva)上月表示，如果该法案成为法律，谷歌将“别无选择，只能停止在澳大利亚提供搜索服务”。

Google has said the law would breach a fundamental principle of the internet by forcing it to pay to provide links to news businesses’ sites. It has warned that would set a damaging precedent and privilege one group of content providers — news media groups — over others.

谷歌表示，这项法律将迫使其为提供新闻企业网站的链接而付费，这将违反互联网的基本原则。它警告称这将树立一个具有破坏性的先例，并让一批内容提供商（也就是新闻媒体集团）相对于其他内容提供商享受优待。

Photo credit: Getty Images

“Withdrawal is our worst-case scenario if the code remains unworkable and the last thing we want to have happen,” said Google, reiterating it was willing to pay publishers for value.

谷歌表示：“如果该法案仍然不可行，那么退出将是我们在最糟糕情况下的选择，也是我们最不希望发生的事情。”该公司重申，它愿意根据内容的价值向内容提供商付费。

John Kettle, partner at McCullough Robertson, a law firm in Brisbane, said the media code was emblematic of the start of a “tech war” as sovereign countries moved to reassert control over trillion-dollar digital behemoths.

布里斯班McCullough Robertson律师事务所的合伙人约翰•凯特尔(John Kettle)表示，《新闻媒体议价法案》象征着“科技战争”的开始——各个主权国家开始重新确立对那些价值数万亿美元的数字巨头的控制权。

He said Google’s public threat to exit Australia was a mistake: “It simply points out to people that there are alternatives to its search engine and has provided rivals with an opportunity.”

他表示，谷歌公开威胁退出澳大利亚是错误的：“此举只是在告诉大家还有其他选择可替代它的搜索引擎，并为竞争对手提供了一个机会。”

Microsoft’s offer to fill any gap left by Google’s exit followed discussions last week between Scott Morrison, Australia’s prime minister, and Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s chief executive. Mr Morrison has so far shown no sign of bending to Google, telling media that Canberra “did not respond to threats”.

在微软表示愿意填补谷歌退出后留下的任何空缺之前，澳大利亚总理斯科特•莫里森(Scott Morrison)上周与微软首席执行官萨蒂亚•纳德拉(Satya Nadella)进行了磋商。截至目前，莫里森还没有向谷歌屈服的迹象，他告诉媒体，堪培拉方面“不理会威胁”。

Critics of Google and Facebook said the pair have only recently begun to agree deals with news providers, and that the code is necessary to ensure that dominant digital platforms negotiate in good faith.

批评谷歌和Facebook的人士表示，这两家公司最近才刚刚开始与新闻提供商达成协议，为了确保占据市场主导地位的数字平台能够真诚地进行谈判，该法案是必要的。

The push to make Big Tech pay for news also comes as Google, Facebook and other Silicon Valley companies face intensifying global scrutiny over their market dominance.

在推动大型科技企业为新闻付费之际，谷歌、Facebook和其他硅谷公司正因其市场主导地位在全球面临越来越严格的审查。

本文2月3日发布于FT中文网，英文原题为 Microsoft slams Google over threat to shut search engine in Australia

编辑：刘佳莹