Google’s EU News Experiment Sparks Backlash and Legal Challenges

Google faces backlash for testing the removal of EU news articles from search, prompting legal action in France and questions about compliance with EU law on paying for news reuse.

Google is under fire for testing the removal of news articles from search results in nine EU countries, aiming to measure the impact on traffic as part of its compliance with EU laws requiring platforms to pay publishers for news reuse.

The test involves 1% of users who won’t see content from EU-based publishers in Google Search or Google News. However, the move sparked controversy after news publishers discovered the experiment through a blog post rather than direct communication.

The plan quickly hit a roadblock in France, where the Paris Commercial Court ruled that Google was violating an existing agreement with the French Competition Authority. Faced with a fine of €900,000 per day, Google removed France from the test.

The situation highlights ongoing tensions over how much platforms like Google should pay for using news content, with the company navigating both legal challenges and mounting criticism from publishers. The experiment’s future in the remaining countries remains uncertain as debates over fair compensation for news previews continue.