Google has launched a “small, time-limited test” in eight countries to determine the impact of removing news outlets from European Union countries from its search results.
The “AB test” concerns Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
According to Google, about one percent of users in these countries will not see EU news stories in Google News, Search, and Discover for an unknown period of time.
The remaining 99% will see no change in search results related to news publishers.
The idea of the test is to provide regulators and publishers with data on how viewing news content in search feeds affects users’ habits, Google said.
The test was also intended for France, but it was blocked by a court order at the request of the French Union of Magazine Editors (SEPM).
The union argued that this contradicts Google’s obligations to the French antitrust authority not to influence the index, ranking or presentation of protected content.
According to the union’s statement, the Paris court ordered a suspension of the test or a fine of up to €900,000 per day pending a judge’s decision.
“We are reviewing the court’s decision and are suspending the launch of the test in France for the time being,” a Google spokesperson told Euronews Next.
“We are very surprised by the position of SEPM, given that they requested this economic data in writing,” the company representative added.
Google added that the audit was conducted as part of its compliance with the European Copyright Directive (EUCD) and the EU news publisher licensing program.
