Microsoft's Bing ready to step in if Google pulls search from Australia, minister says

Paul Fletcher plays down Google threat and says government will not back down on news media code

Microsoft's Bing is ready to swoop if Google makes good on its threat to remove search from Australia when the mandatory news code becomes law, the government has revealed.

The communications minister, Paul Fletcher, said Google dominated in Australia with a market share of 93% but there were other players, including Microsoft and DuckDuckGo, that were talking to the government about replacing it.