Google Stops Use of California News Website Links Over Pending Changes in Legislation

• Google has started removing the links of California-based news websites from search results as a part of its tussle with major news publishers in the country.
• The announcement comes in response to concerns over proposed state legislation requiring the company to pay fees to news sources for using their materials.

Google has decided to remove links to California-based news websites in response to a proposed state law requiring major tech companies to pay news outlets for displaying their content through search engines. The announcement was made on April 13th through Google’s blog post.

According to the post, Google’s changes will affect only a few users in California during the initial test stage, allowing the tech giant to gauge the law’s impact on customers once it comes into effect. California legislators, however, called Google’s move an ‘abuse of power’ that could put public safety at risk.

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The bill, The California Journalism Preservation Act, was introduced in March 2023 and is set to be heard by Califonia’s Senate Judiciary Committee. The law would make it mandatory for digital platforms to pay a fee to news outlets when using their content besides digital advertisements.

The bill can significantly impact tech companies, as an increasing number of readers have shifted to social media and online platforms for their news needs, leading to fears of the consumer base shifting away from new websites to aggregator alternatives, which leads to financial losses for small-scale publishers. Google is already negotiating with the Canadian and Australian governments to avoid the effects of similar bills.

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