Between November 2024 and January 2025, Google conducted a full-scale study in 8 European countries: 1% of the search engine's users were deprived of results related to press articles - in other words, excerpts, previews, rich links, and even simply results from press sites recognized as eligible for related rights.
Can Google do without the press?
Article 15 of the European Copyright Directive, adopted in 2019, introduces a related right for press publishers. This law notably requires platforms, such as Google News or Discover, to negotiate licenses for the display of excerpts of news content, beyond simple links or short words.
At the end of the experiment, more than 13,000 press domains were excluded for the affected users, in Italy, Spain, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Denmark, and Croatia. France, which was supposed to be part of the panel, was ultimately excluded following a court ruling. The goal was to measure whether the absence of press content affects the use of Google services and its advertising revenue, the crux of the matter.
The results of the study were compiled, and it appears that the removal of these links did not lead to a significant drop in traffic or advertising for Google. In Search, no drop in revenue was measured; it amounted to 2% in Discover, and there was no statistically significant impact on the rest of Google's online services. In terms of usage, the drop was limited to less than 1%.
Such results reinforce Google's position in the negotiations on related rights: the search engine would have no problem depriving itself of links from the online press, while the online press has a vital need to appear in Google's search results. This does not mean, of course, that this content has no value for users or for society at large.
The web giant nevertheless reassures by reiterating its support for "the information ecosystem in its digital transformation, as part of our commitment to a vibrant and healthy content ecosystem." He will continue to "collaborate with publishers to help them reach their audiences in a world where "Technologies are evolving rapidly," but it has an additional lever to influence the debates.
Source: Google
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