What to know:

  • Google launches a limited test removing EU news publishers’ content from Search, News, and Discover platforms.
  • The test affects 1% of users across nine EU countries including France, Italy, Spain, and others.
  • Users will still see news results from non-EU publishers, and normal service will resume after the test ends.

In a strategic move that’s raising eyebrows across the digital landscape, Google has initiated a small-scale experiment to assess the impact of removing news content from European Union publishers. This test will affect a mere one percent of users in nine EU countries, including Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain.

Google frames this as a response to requests from regulators and publishers who seek data about how news content influences search experiences. During this limited trial, affected users won’t see news results from EU-based publishers in Google Search, Google News, or their personalized Discover feeds.

While Google maintains that users will still have access to news content from non-EU publishers, this move appears as more than just a simple test. The timing is particularly notable, given Google’s history of similar actions in other regions, including recent confrontations in Canada over the Online News Act and disputes in California regarding the Journalism Preservation Act.

The test serves a dual purpose – it will show EU publishers how much traffic they might lose without Google’s platform while simultaneously demonstrating to Google how much its users value news content. Though Google hasn’t specified an end date for this experiment, they’ve assured that news results will return to normal once the test concludes.

This trial won’t affect Google’s existing payment arrangements under the European Copyright Directive, which currently includes deals with over 4,000 publishers in the EU. However, it sends a clear message about Google’s approach to negotiations over news content compensation, suggesting that the company isn’t afraid to flex its muscles when faced with regulatory pressures.