Google's recent experiment in eight European countries aimed to evaluate the impact of removing EU-based news content on ad revenue. The results revealed that the absence of news articles had negligible effects on Google’s overall ad revenue and user engagement. This trial seems to have been strategically timed amidst ongoing negotiations related to the European Copyright Directive, suggesting Google's intent to undermine news publishers' bargaining power. By demonstrating that news content lacks substantial value, Google positions itself favorably in discussions about compensating news outlets for content snippets.
"During our negotiations to comply with the European Copyright Directive (EUCD), we've seen a number of inaccurate reports that vastly overestimate the value of news content to Google."
"Google's Economics Director Paul Liu noted that removing news content from one percent of users in various European countries saw no significant impact on ad revenue, confirming the company's stance on news content value."
Collection
[
|
...
]