Google is temporarily blocking links to local news outlets in California from appearing in search results in response to progress on a bill that would require tech companies to pay publications for links to shared articles. The change only applies to some users of Google in California, but it’s unclear how many people there are.
The California Journalism Protection Act (CJPA) would require large online platforms to pay “news royalties” for linking to news sites based in the Golden State. The bill passed the California Assembly in 2023.
Jaffer Zaidi, Google’s head of global news partnerships, explained in a blog post published on Friday that the company is trying to remove local news links for a “small number” of California users in preparation for the possible passage of the bill.
“We do not make these decisions lightly and want to be transparent with California publishers, legislators and our users,” he said. “To avoid an outcome in which all parties fail and California journalism is worse off, we urge lawmakers to do something different.”
The blog post said Google will also pause “further investments in the California news ecosystem” and remove California publications from its Google News showcase, a feature that pushes stories to users through a streamlined feed to drive traffic to publishers.
In May 2023, in response to California legislation, Meta said it would be forced to remove news content from Facebook and Instagram “rather than paying into a slush fund that primarily benefits large out-of-state media companies.” The company has not yet followed through on those statements and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The California bill is intended to support local journalism, which has been decimated in recent decades due in part to the rise of social media and other means of getting news online. But media equity advocates say the legislation is misguided and would benefit larger publishers rather than smaller outlets that would be more severely affected.
A study by Free Press Action, a media reform advocacy group, found that more than 80 percent of the websites that would benefit from reimbursements under the bill are owned by just 20 large companies. Because of this, major media companies lobbied hard against the legislation.
“This is a battle between Google and corporate media, and ultimately it’s Californians who are hurt,” said Mike Rispoli, senior director of the Free Press Initiative. “This illustrates the real challenge facing local news today, where the way the news is created and the way it is accessed is controlled by these large corporations looking out for themselves.”
The California bill is the latest challenge to Big Tech’s influence on news publishers. Facebook parent Meta and Google parent Alphabet have also fought similar legislation in Australia and Canada. The fight came to a head in Canada in 2023, when Meta shut down its news service in the country in the midst of a wildfire crisis. Canada’s blockade of news links continues.
Meta also continues to scale back its news services in Australia after the country passed a bill in 2021 forcing social media companies to pay publishers for content shared on their platforms. In March, it announced it would stop paying local publishers for content, intensifying its battle with local lawmakers.
Illinois is considering similar legislation. The Press Protection Act, introduced in February 2024, will require social media companies to pay fees based on the number of times they link to news media works each month.
