Google is running a “test” that will skip results from EU-based news publishers. The company says the limited-time test will only affect a small portion of users in nine EU countries and will help “evaluate how results from EU news publishers impact our users' search experience and traffic.” to the editors.” But given the fragile state of the media (and the history of the media company <a target="_blank" data-i13n="elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:1;pos:1" class="link " href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/22/tech/google-threatens-australia-search-news-intl-hnk/index.html” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:threatening;elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:1;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas”>threatening withdraw their services in the face of news regulations; It's tempting to see him as the equivalent of a mob boss conducting a “little test” to see how the corner laundromat is doing without his protection.
Google describe the experiment (through The edge) as a “little time-limited test” to skip EU results from search, Google News, and Discover's personalized feed. It will only affect one percent of users in Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Poland and Spain. Those users will continue to see results from other websites, including non-EU news publications.
The company says the news results will return as usual once the test concludes. (He didn't mention a specific time period.) Google emphasizes that the experiment will not affect publisher payments it makes under the European Copyright Directive (EUCD), under which the company has signed agreements with more than 4,000 EU publishers.
Google has a history of using the potential removal of its visibility as a negotiating instrument in similar situations. In some cases, the tactic has helped him win concessions.
Last year, Google removed its Canadian news links in response to Bill C-18 (Online News Act), which required technology companies to negotiate compensation with online publishers for linked content. After months of negotiations, Google said Canada had addressed its concerns and given it a path to an exemption. Canada said it granted one to Google last month, and the company agree pay $100 million annually to news organizations.
In April of this year, Google briefly removed links to California news outlets in response to the proposed California Journalism Preservation Act (CJPA), which would require Google to pay news publishers in exchange for continuing to link to their sites. web. Although the fate of the bill is still up in the air, Google reached a deal with state lawmakers this summer, committing tens of millions of dollars to a fund that supports local news.
In 2021, the company <a target="_blank" data-i13n="cpos:11;pos:1" href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/22/tech/google-threatens-australia-search-news-intl-hnk/index.html” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:threatened to remove its entire search engine from Australia;cpos:11;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas” class=”link “>threatened to remove its entire search engine from Australia in response to a then-proposed law requiring technology companies to share royalties with news publishers. The then Prime Minister of the nation stood his ground. “Let me be clear. “Australia sets our rules for things you can do in Australia,” Scott Morrison said. After the bill was passed and signed into law, Google struck deals with Australian media companies to license content.
Google says it hopes the data analysis tools it provides to publishers will help them use the EU test to “understand traffic patterns.”
