Microsoft offers to plug any internet gaps

Daniel McCulloch
Greens leader Adam Bandt has suggested establishing a publicly owned search engine.
Greens leader Adam Bandt has suggested establishing a publicly owned search engine. Credit: AAP



Microsoft president Brad Smith said the company fully supported the Morrison government's proposed code.

"The code reasonably attempts to address the bargaining power imbalance between digital platforms and Australian news businesses," he said in a statement on Wednesday.



He said Microsoft would invest in its Bing search engine to make it "comparable to competitors" and allow small businesses to easily switch their advertising to the platform without transfer costs.

"We believe that the current legislative proposal represents a fundamental step towards a more level playing field and a fairer digital ecosystem for consumers, business, and society," Mr Smith said.


"We appreciate what Australia has long meant for Microsoft's growth as a company, and we are committed to supporting the country's national security and economic success."



"The internet is now part of everyday life, it's an essential service. You can't get by without accessing the internet," he told ABC radio.

"Everyone in this country now should have a right to be able to search the internet, own their own data rather than hand it over to a corporation or to the government, and know that what they're finding on the internet isn't what Google wants them to see, but what is actually there."



"At the moment Google has enormous market power and they're using it to threaten the Australian parliament and the Australian public," he said.

"If they do make good on their threat, given how dominant Google is in this sphere, it's time to seriously consider what a replacement would be."
