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Google claims news is worthless to its ad business after test involving 1% ofsearch results in eight EU markets
Google conducted a test removing news from 1% of search results in eight EU markets for 2.5 months, claiming news has no value to its ad business. The results suggest publishers overestimate the worth of their journalism, which Google aims to use in negotiations with European publishers amid a backdrop of increased scrutiny and past antitrust fines.
Key points
- Google ran an experiment with 1% of users in eight EU markets, removing news from search results for 2.5 months.
- The test aimed to assess the value of news to Google’s ad revenue amid EU copyright law requiring payments to publishers.
- Results claimed that the value of news content was statistically indistinguishable from zero, contradicting publishers' beliefs about its worth.
- Google's findings could be used to negotiate lower payments with European news publishers.
- Google faces scrutiny from European competition authorities and has previously been fined over its copyright negotiations.
- Notably, Google avoided conducting tests in France and Germany due to legal concerns and prior agreements.
Why it matters
- 2025 IT trends show increasing regulation of big tech companies, especially concerning content and copyright issues.
- Similar tensions exist between tech giants and media publishers globally as the digital landscape evolves with new laws.
- The battle over news content and compensation highlights the ongoing challenges in monetizing journalism in a digital economy.
Google's experiment raises critical issues about the value of news in the digital advertising landscape, especially as it navigates tough regulations and seeks to reframe its relationship with news publishers ahead of potential negotiations.