Google tests to remove European publishers from News, Discover and Search

As Google continues to work on its relationships with publishers, news readers, and regulators, it has launched a new test: deleting news stories from EU-based publications from Search. The test will show publishers how much traffic they would lose without Google.

In a recent blog post, Google stated that the test will be conducted in accordance with the European Copyright Directive (EUCD). The test intends to collect more information about Google's impact on news articles, as requested by "regulators and publishers."

The company describes the experiment as a "small, time-limited test" in which Google would omit results from EU-based news publishers from Google News, Search, and Discover. While the idea is to investigate how removing news from results affects traffic and search experience, not all users will be able to see it. This test will effect one percent of users in Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain.

The company will continue to display results from websites and news publishers outside the EU and will return results from EU-based news publishers once the test is completed.

While this experiment may appear insignificant, I believe it could be a warning. Once the test is completed, EU news publishers will be able to plainly assess how much traffic they would lose without Google. At the same time, Google may discover how much its users genuinely care about news. Not long ago, Facebook pursued a same approach, eventually removing the News page and ceasing payments to authors.

Over the years, Google has actively opposed rules requiring the corporation to compensate authors for their material. In 2021, Google even threatened to withdraw its search engine from Australia due to a proposed bill requiring digital companies to split royalties with news publishers.

Last year, Google deleted its news links from Canada following the introduction of Bill C-18 (the web News Act), which compelled tech companies to negotiate fees with web publishers for linked content. After several months of discussions, Google announced that Canada had addressed its concerns and established a pathway for the corporation to obtain an exception.

Recently, Google removed links to California news outlets in reaction to the state's Journalism Preservation Act. So, if this little test in the EU is any indicator, Google could be planning more bigger steps in the future.