Google has announced that it will start removing links to California news websites from search results for certain Californians in response to the California Journalism Preservation Act. This bill requires online ad companies to pay a fee for connecting state residents to news sources. Jaffer Zaidi, Google’s vice president of global news partnership, criticized the bill in a blog post, describing it as the “wrong approach to supporting journalism” and warning that it would create business uncertainty that no company could accept.
This move by Google is just the latest in a series of changes in how large internet platforms deal with news. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has already started to step back from the news business. In September, Meta announced that it would be “deprecating” its Facebook news tab in several European countries, including the U.K., France, and Germany. This decision was part of a broader effort by Meta to align its investments with the products and services that users value the most.
The California Journalism Preservation Act and Google’s response to it have caused concern among online publishers who rely on platforms like Google and Facebook for traffic. Publications that depend on advertising revenue are especially vulnerable to these changes. Google’s decision to pause investments in the California news ecosystem, including new partnerships through Google News Showcase, has added to the uncertainty facing online publishers.
Supporters of the California bill argue that it will help news publishers receive a fair share of the advertising profits that tech giants like Apple, Google, and Meta generate. However, critics in the journalism industry fear that the bill will favor larger newsrooms over smaller ones in terms of compensation. Google has a history of opposing similar media payment measures in other countries, but it has eventually complied with the regulations.
Overall, the California Journalism Preservation Act and Google’s response to it represent a significant shift in how news is distributed and monetized online. The outcome of this battle between tech companies and news publishers will have lasting effects on the journalism industry in California and beyond.
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