| Australian regulators want Google to subsidize their news publications, and in several countries, it is already doing that through its News Showcase initiative. But, compensation is only one side of the issue: the Australian government seems fixated on diminishing the company's influence over its society and businesses, as evidenced by their News Media Bargaining Code targeting only two U.S. companies, Google and Facebook. The Code would have Google pay to link to publishers in the main search results, which could set an untenable precedent for search engines. In response, Google is threatening to withdraw its search engine from the Australian market. If Google follows through, it could severely impact traffic to business all over Australia. If it reneges and accepts the Code in its current form, not only will it signal to other industries and markets that it'll pay to link to content, it may also be opening the door for litigation from publishers. Even if the Australian government gets Google to kowtow, there's a possibility that only large publishers stand to benefit, as those businesses are likely to gain more due to their greater bargaining power and the higher volume of content they produce. However this showdown plays out, it'll tell the world how far Google can be pushed and possibly even what could happen to local economies without it. Read more here. | 
