Two journalism trade groups representing thousands of publishers filed a petition with California’s attorney general this week. rob bontathe U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission are set to investigate Google after the tech giant announced Friday that it would remove California news articles from its search platform for some users.
Google’s move comes in response to bills being considered in state legislatures that would require platforms like Google, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company Meta to pay news publishers for the content they link to. Thing.
In a letter sent Tuesday, the California News Publishers Association and the News/Media Alliance, major news industry advocacy groups that lobby on issues related to press freedom and government transparency, said in a letter sent Tuesday that Google It alleged that the company may have violated federal antitrust laws and tortious practices. Competition law.
“The important questions are: how many Californians will be affected, how are the Californians denied access to news selected, what publications are affected, and whether a forced news blackout “Google has not released any further details on how long this will last, or whether access will be blocked entirely,” or simply because of content Google specifically dislikes,” the letter said. . “Given these unknowns, Google’s unilateral decision to block Californians’ access to news websites could violate California law on a number of counts.”
Jaffer Zaidi, Google’s vice president of global news partnerships, said in a blog post last week that Google’s decision was in response to the California Journalism Protection Act, also known as Assembly Bill 886. The move further escalated the company’s opposition to the bill. Although it has not yet been passed into law, it has already sparked debate over who will benefit and whether restricting access to news content will undermine democracy.
Google issued an emailed statement Wednesday pushing back against the industry group.
“These baseless claims distract from the real issue with CJPA. This bill is unworkable and will harm small local publishers that benefit large out-of-state hedge funds. ” said Google spokesperson Brianna Duff. “We have long advocated for reasonable alternatives to CJPA that would strengthen support for California’s news ecosystem and help Californians access news. Although we have argued that this is not the right approach, we have taken responsible and transparent steps to prepare for the realization of the CJPA.”
AB 886 passed the California Assembly last year but stalled in the Senate. The committee currently sits in the Senate Judiciary Committee with no hearing scheduled.
Zaidi said the bill would impose a “link tax” and such a policy would be unfeasible for the company.
McClatchy, which owns the Sacramento Bee, Fresno Bee, Modesto Bee, San Luis Obispo Tribune and Merced Sunstar, supports AB 886. McClatchy Chief Administrative Officer Billy McConkie said in a statement last week that Google’s response was “typical of how major technology platforms have responded. They are reaping the benefits.” They would rather deny the public access to important information than simply pay fair market value for the content.”
The Bee has contacted Bonta’s office for comment.
When asked by a reporter Tuesday about Google’s move to remove news links to California publishers, Gov. Gavin Newsom responded: Let’s leave it at that. ”
