Virtually every regular Irreal reader knows that I’m not a Google fan. Along with Meta, they’ve done everything they can to hijack the free and open Web and turn it into a proprietary money machine. I can’t remember taking their side on anything for many years.
Today, though, I stand with them in a looming fight against what I consider an outrageous extortion attempt on the part of the news media. Those of you of, um, a mature age will remember when the press thought its job was to confront government and question their every move. Now, though, they’re just like every other big organization and look to government to give them a leg up against their competitors.
The latest example is the pending California Journalism Preservation Act (CJPA). It basically says that Google and others will have to pay news media for the privilege of linking to their stories. Think about that for a moment. It’s a tax on saying, “Hey look over there. That’s interesting.”
In essence, though, it’s simply a shakedown. We know this because all large sites invest heavily in SEO: they want those links. The links drive traffic to their sites, increase readership. and drive engagement. The dying media, though, long ago abandoned their traditional role and no longer have any idea of how to leverage those links to their advantage. Instead, they simply demand unearned payment. The whole thing reminds me of the fable of the stolen smell.
Google, of course, is not amused. In an obvious warning to California media, they are testing removing links to some California media “to measure the impact of the legislation on our product experience”. Testing, blah, blah, blah. The intent is obvious. It’s to ask the question, “how would you like it if those links disappeared?”
It costs media nothing to have Google link to their stories. Indeed, it helps them. Google’s behavior has been so egregious that it’s easy to take the side of the newspapers but that’s a mistake. If the media were really concerned about links somehow stealing their content they would try to stop even small sites like Irreal from linking to them. They would, in fact, implement a paywall like The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. They don’t do that, of course, because they know nobody would pay for it. Easier to just demand tribute from Google.
Google has done this before but they’ve always caved in the end. I hope they stand firm this time. If they don’t, they can look forward to many more such demands.