Google has recently removed several links to Californian news websites in reaction to the proposed legislation that required tech companies to pay the news outlets for their content on the big tech platform. The company informed about this action on their website by a blog post on Friday.

Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet has shown strong criticism of the California Journalism Prevention Act (CJPA). Google said, “It would favor media conglomerates and hedge funds—who’ve been lobbying for this bill—and could use funds from CJPA to continue to buy up local California newspapers, strip them of journalists, and create more ghost papers that operate with a skeleton crew to produce only low-cost, and often low-quality, content.”

The law behind Google’s action

The California Journalism Prevention Act (CJPA) was introduced in March 2023 and is still awaiting a hearing by the state’s Senate Judiciary Committee. After this Act is passed, digital platforms like Google and Meta will be required to pay “journalism usage fees” to eligible news outlets when they use their content with digital ads.

This bill intends to protect the earnings of journalism which according to people supporting the bill is being taken away by these big tech platforms. Lawmakers have argued that the tech giants make money by sharing content from small and local firms, but publishers don’t reap any of those benefits.

Senate President Pro Tempore, Mike McGuire said that Google is bullying Californian journalists and legislators so that the legislation is backtracked.
“This is a dangerous threat by Google that not only sets a terrible precedent here in America but puts public safety at risk for Californians who depend on the news to keep us informed of life-threatening emergencies and local public safety incidents. This is clearly an abuse of power and demonstrates extraordinary hubris. Every Californian should be asking themselves – who will they target next?

“These dominant digital ad companies are enriching their own platforms with local news content without adequately compensating the originators,” the bill’s co-author, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, wrote in a statement when the legislation was first introduced in March 2023. “It’s time they start paying market value for the journalism they are aggregating at no cost from local media.”

The president and CEO of California News, Charles F.Champion said, “Google is leveraging their monopoly power in internet search (90% of the market) to brazenly undermine our democracy. Google has employed these scare tactics before, in Australia and Canada.” She added, “The fact that one company can shut down the means by which 90% of the public find online content in order to achieve their own political and business ends shows just how much policymakers need to act and act now. Google is not above the law, and they should not be allowed to act as if they are.”

Statement of @CNPAservices President and CEO Charles F. Champion on Google Suppression of California News

“Google’s suppression today of California news demonstrates exactly why the California Legislature needs to pass legislation to rein in the tech colossus. News publishers…

— CA News Publishers Association (@CNPAservices) April 12, 2024

Google’s Response

Google claimed that they actually help people by publishing their work at no cost and also help them find an audience. The firm said that this bill will only help people who lobbied for the bill – media conglomerates and hedge funds.

“By helping people find news stories, we help publishers of all sizes grow their audiences at no cost to them. CJPA would up-end that model. It would favor media conglomerates and hedge funds—who’ve been lobbying for this bill—and could use funds from CJPA to continue to buy up local California newspapers, strip them of journalists, and create more  ghost papers,”

Google: “Ban to show impact of legislation”

The action by Google to remove Californian websites was just an act to show the effects of this CJPA law. Google has also stopped new deals and partnerships until there is clarity on the law.

“To prepare for possible CJPA implications, we are beginning a short-term test for a small percentage of California users. The testing process involves removing links to California news websites, potentially covered by CJPA, to measure the impact of the legislation on our product experience. Until there’s clarity on California’s regulatory environment, we’re also pausing further investments in the California news ecosystem”.