Google to exclude EU publishers from news results in 'test'
Google will be running a "small, time-limited test" excluding results from EU-based news publishers. The trial will only affect 1% of users in nine EU countries - Belgium, Denmark, Croatia, France, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain. It will help the company assess how results from EU news publishers affect the search experience of users and traffic to publishers.
What would be its impact?
The test will impact search results on Google News and the personalized Discover feed. Users participating in this trial will continue to see results from other websites, including non-EU news publications. Google has not given a specific timeframe for when normal service would resume but promises that news results would return as usual once the test ends.
Google's test and publisher payments
Google has clarified that this experiment won't impact the publisher payments it makes under the European Copyright Directive (EUCD). Under this directive, Google has signed agreements with more than 4,000 EU publishers. The company's history has shown a pattern of using potential withdrawal of its visibility as a bargaining chip in similar situations, which has sometimes resulted in concessions. If this small test in the EU is any indication, Google might be gearing up for even more drastic actions ahead.
Past actions and regulatory responses
In 2021, Google threatened to pull its entire search engine out of Australia over a proposed law that would require tech companies to share royalties with news publishers. However, after the bill was passed and enacted, Google struck deals with Australian media companies to license content. Last year, in response to Bill C-18 (Online News Act), Google removed news links in Canada. Following months of talks, Google announced that Canada addressed its concerns, providing a path for exemption.
