Google–California Deal Falls Short Where a Data Tax Would Succeed
Columnist Andrew Leahey says Google and California’s deal to commit funding to journalism and AI shows the need for longer-term solutions and comprehensive taxation of tech giants.
Google’s agreement with California to commit over $172.5 million to journalism and artificial intelligence is an ad-hoc way to sidestep tax and regulatory policies in favor of voluntary, tax-deductible contributions to nonprofits.
To safeguard the future of journalism, lawmakers should avoid short-term agreements, “link tax” saber rattling, and corporate payouts in favor of broader taxation of companies such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google. A tax on user data used for advertising purposes and third-party data used for AI model training, along with revenue allocation to targeted initiatives, could provide ongoing support—rather than temporary infusions of capital—for journalism. Such a strategy would better align tax policy with the outsize role tech companies play in California.
California also committed $70 million to journalism initiatives as part of the deal that supplanted more complex regulatory and “link tax” legislation—proposals that Google opposed.
