Google will temporary remove content from EU publishers in test [Update: ‘Paused’ in France]

Ben Schoon | Nov 15 2024 - 7:19 am PT

Google is running a “small” test in portions of Europe which will see content from EU-based news publishers being removed from Google products including Search and News for a period of time.

In a post on The Keyword, Google details that it will be running a test in accordance with the European Copyright Directive (EUCD). The test is designed to help publishers in the EU determine the impact of Google products – Search, News, and Discover – drive traffic to publishers and impacts “the search experience” for Google’s users.

The test is being performed, Google says, as “regulators and publishers” have requested additional data regarding Google’s effect on news content.

Google describes the test as “small” and “time-limited,” and it will indeed have a fairly small impact. Google says that 1% of users in Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain will see the test. Content from websites based outside of the EU will not be affected.

Google explains:

As we comply with these laws, regulators and publishers have asked for additional data about the effect of news content in Search on peoples’ use of our products. To meet this request, we will be running a small, time-limited test in which we don’t show results from EU-based news publishers in Google News, Search, and Discover. This test will affect 1% of users in Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain. We will continue to show results from other websites, including news publishers based outside the EU. We intend to use this test to assess how results from EU news publishers impact the search experience for our users and traffic to publishers.

Update 11/15: In an update to its original blog post, Google says it will “paused” this test in France.

We are pausing the test in France for the time being.

The reason for this pause is an order from the Paris Commercial Court which claimed Google was breaking an existing deal with the French Competition Authority. Google was ordered to either end the test or pay €900,000 per day as the test continued to run as explained below (translated):

The Syndicat des Editeurs de la Presse Magazine (SEPM), after learning of Google’s plan to partially remove press content from the results pages for certain users in several European countries including France, today brought the matter before the Paris Commercial Court.

SEPM argued that Google’s plan is directly contrary to the commitments that the company made in 2022 to the Competition Authority, which include the following: “Google undertakes that the existence and outcome of the negotiations […] will not affect the indexing, ranking or presentation of protected content included by Google on its products and services.”

The Paris Commercial Court granted SEPM’s request by ordering the suspension of this project, subject to a penalty payment of up to €900,000 per day, pending the decision of the interim relief judge on the firm’s project.

It’s unclear if any changes will come from this test at this time, but it comes at a time where small publishers are increasingly feeling the effects of a changing Google Search.