Google has reported the results of an experiment that removed news content from search results for 1% of users in eight European markets over a period of 2.5 months. The tech giant claims that the test demonstrated that news content has no meaningful impact on its ad business, a finding that could shape its negotiations with European publishers over copyright payments.
The experiment comes against the backdrop of mounting regulatory pressure on Google to compensate news publishers for content used in serving ads. The push to make Google pay for news is particularly strong in Europe, where lawmakers have implemented copyright laws aimed at forcing tech platforms to share revenue with media organizations.
France has been at the forefront of this fight, imposing heavy fines on Google for failing to negotiate fairly with publishers. In 2021, the French competition authority fined the company more than half a billion dollars after determining that it had failed to comply with orders requiring fair negotiations over payments to media outlets.
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Despite eventually reaching licensing agreements with some publishers, Google’s experiment appears to be a strategic move to undercut the argument that news is valuable to its platform and should be compensated.
A Tactical Move Ahead of Payment Talks
By releasing the results of this study, Google is expected to use the findings as leverage in future negotiations with European publishers. The company argues that publishers “vastly overestimate” the value of their journalism to its business and claims that removing news from search did not negatively impact its advertising revenue. According to Google, the financial impact was so minimal that it “could not be statistically distinguished from zero, either overall or by country.”
However, media organizations and analysts are likely to challenge this claim, pointing out that Google’s methodology lacks transparency and that the company’s dominance in online search means that even minor shifts in how news appears in results can have major consequences for publishers.
Google’s argument that news is insignificant to its business also runs contrary to the position of regulators, who see news content as an integral part of the platform’s ability to engage users. This is why lawmakers have been pushing for revenue-sharing arrangements, arguing that tech giants profit from news content even if they do not directly place ads on articles.
Regulatory Scrutiny and EU’s Retaliation Against Big Tech
However, the experiment is unlikely to influence regulatory decisions in Europe. The European Union has taken an increasingly aggressive stance against American tech giants, particularly in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on European goods. The EU made it clear that it would target Big Tech in strict enforcement of its antitrust and copyright laws in retaliation for the tariffs imposed by Trump.
This geopolitical backdrop makes it unlikely that regulators will soften their stance on Google based on the results of this experiment. European lawmakers remain committed to enforcing copyright protections that require tech platforms to share revenues with publishers, and Google’s findings are unlikely to change their approach.
Furthermore, Google’s history of regulatory clashes in Europe suggests that any attempt to minimize the role of news in its business model could trigger further scrutiny. France’s competition authority has already shown that it is willing to take strong action against Google when it fails to comply with fair payment requirements, and Germany has also increased oversight of the company’s handling of news content.
Google had initially included users in France in the news ablation tests but abandoned this portion of the experiment after a French court warned it would be fined for breaking a prior agreement with the antitrust authority. Also, the company notably did not run the test in Germany.
The Risk of Further Antitrust Action
Google has already faced billions of dollars in fines from European regulators over various antitrust violations, including its dominance in online search and digital advertising. By downplaying the importance of news to its platform, the company risks further legal battles if regulators view this as an attempt to evade copyright obligations.
While the web search giant insists that its experiment shows news has little value to its advertising business, it is believed that news content helps drive user engagement on the platform, indirectly boosting ad revenue. Even if Google does not place ads directly on news articles, the presence of timely and relevant news in search results encourages users to stay on the platform longer, making them more likely to click on ads elsewhere.
Media organizations are expected to push back strongly against Google’s findings, warning that the tech giant’s dominance in search already puts publishers at a disadvantage. News outlets have long argued that Google benefits disproportionately from their content, and they will likely use this experiment to call for even stricter regulations.