Google flexes muscle on local news

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2024-10-12 20:30:04

Google has warned it could stop promoting local news in searches and scrap its current deals with local media if the government goes ahead with legislation compelling it to pay for news. What could this mean for journalism here?

In its submission on the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill, Google said it was "so unworkable ... we would have to reassess the manner in which (Google) operates in New Zealand".

Google does around $1 billion worth of business here and returns most of the revenue to the United States. It is unlikely that it would pull out of New Zealand altogether or scrap lucrative services.

Google said it wanted to discuss "better ways to support sustainable, quality public interest journalism" further with the government.

But last week, Google went very public with its opposition - and issued a more direct warning which sent shivers through the media.

"We'd be forced to stop linking to news content on Google Search, Google News, or Discover surfaces in New Zealand - and discontinue our current commercial agreements and ecosystem support with New Zealand news publishers," Google's New Zealand country director Caroline Rainsford said in a statement on Google's own site.