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In mid-November of last year, Google initiated a limited experiment affecting approximately one percent of search results in Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain. The aim was to assess the impact of modifying search result displays by temporarily removing news content provided by European publishers from services such as Google News. This allowed Google to observe how the absence of such content might influence overall traffic. In a recent statement, Google asserted that this removal had no significant effect on its advertising business.
This initiative was undertaken in response to the EU Copyright Directive (EUCD), which obligates Google to compensate European publishers for the use of their content in search results and related services. To comply, Google has entered into licensing agreements with over 4,000 European publishing entities.
According to Google’s findings, the adjustment—limited to about one percent of search results in the test regions—resulted in no notable change in advertising revenue, with overall usage declining by only around 0.8%. These results suggest that the exclusion of local news content does not inflict substantial harm on Google’s business.
Google now intends to present the outcomes of this experiment to EU regulators, arguing that the presence or absence of local news in its search results has little bearing on its advertising income. Instead, the company contends that removing such content primarily diminishes the visibility and discoverability of local journalism.
However, Google’s approach has not been universally accepted. Following the disclosure of test details, the Paris Commercial Court ordered Google to cease the experiment within France. Citing an existing agreement with the French Competition Authority, the court warned that noncompliance could result in a daily penalty of €900,000 (approximately $950,000). Consequently, Google promptly removed France from the list of participating regions.
Similarly, mounting pressure from German authorities led Google to refrain from conducting the experiment within Germany.
