MICROSOFT BOOSTS BING: Tech giant urges US to “copy” Australia

Microsoft is looking to boost its search engine Bing as an alternative to Google as Australia weighs a proposal that would require tech giants to pay publishers for news.

Google and Facebook have pushed back on the proposal, but Microsoft has embraced it and said Bing could step up to take Google’s place if Google follows through with its threat to pull its service from Australia if the proposal is enacted into law.

Now, Microsoft is looking to influence the U.S. to adopt a similar policy.

“The United States should not object to a creative Australian proposal that strengthens democracy by requiring tech companies to support a free press. It should copy it instead,” Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a blog post Thursday.