Google has temporarily blocked links from local news outlets in California from appearing in search results.
The move is a response to the advancement of a bill that would require technology firms to pay publications for links shared within articles.
Jaffer Zaidi, Google’s head of global news partnerships, said in a blog post the company is experimenting with removing local news links for a “small percentage” of California users in preparation for the bill potentially going through.
“We don’t take these decisions lightly and want to be transparent with California publishers, lawmakers and our users,” Zaidi said in the post.
“To avoid an outcome where all parties lose and the California news industry is left worse off, we urge lawmakers to take a different approach,” he added.
Google has also pledge to suspend “further investments” in the California news “ecosystem,” which will block California publications from its Google News Showcase.
The feature pushes stories to users in a streamlined feed to boost publishers’ traffic.
The change applies only to some people using Google in California, but it isn’t clear how many.
A California Journalism Preservation Act would require large online platforms to pay what is being called a “journalism usage fee” for linking to news sites based in the state.
The bill cleared the California assembly in 2023. It would need to pass in the state’s senate before Governor Gavin Newsom can sign it into law.
In May 2023, in response to the California legislation, Meta said it would be forced to remove news content from Facebook and Instagram “rather than pay into a slush fund that primarily benefits big, out-of-state media companies.”
The California bill is meant to support local journalism, but some media experts say it will benefit larger publishers over smaller outlets.
