Google Shutting Down Some California Access To News Sites As A Test Of Proposed Legislation’s Effects

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On Friday, Google began removing California news sites from some people’s search results. The move is a test of what would happen if the state Legislature passed a new law requiring search engines to pay media companies for links to their content.

Google said in a blog post that it was using a “short-term test for a small percentage of users… to measure the impact of the legislation on our product experience.”

The company said it would also pause new investments in the California news industry, including its news agency partnership initiative and product licensing program.

“By helping people find news, we help publishers of all sizes grow their audiences, at no cost to them. (This bill) would upend that model,” Jaffer Zaidi, Google’s vice president for global information partnerships, wrote in the blog.

The bill in question would require tech companies like Google, Facebook and Microsoft to pay a certain percentage of their advertising revenue to media companies for linking to their content. A panel of three judges would determine those fees through an arbitration process.

California has lost more than 100 news outlets in the past decade, according to Buffy Wicks, a Democratic Assembly member and author of the bill. She hopes this adoption will end attrition in journalism.

“We are committed to continued negotiations with Google and all other stakeholders to secure a brighter future for California journalists and ensure the lights of democracy stay on.”

The state Assembly passed the bill last year with bipartisan support, despite fierce opposition and lobbying efforts from big tech companies. The California Senate will need to pass it later this year for it to become law.