Google has reached a first-of-its-kind agreement with California to provide millions of dollars to support local journalism jobs, but critics argue the deal primarily benefits the tech giant. The deal, negotiated privately and announced recently, involves directing significant funds from both public and private sources to sustain local news organizations. By abandoning a bill that would have compelled tech companies to financially support news outlets they benefit from, California missed out on an opportunity to secure more substantial funding and ongoing payments to publishers for sharing news content.
According to industry experts, tech companies like Google are adept at sidestepping regulations through such agreements. Google emphasized that the deal will aid journalism and the artificial intelligence sector in California. The decline of the newspaper industry in the U.S., marked by collapsing traditional business models and dwindling advertising revenues in the digital age, has led news organizations to increasingly depend on platforms like Google and Facebook to disseminate their content.
The agreement between California and Google will allocate $250 million to fund journalism initiatives and an AI research program over five years. A significant portion of the funding will come from Google, with additional contributions from the state budget. This deal stands in contrast to a proposed bill by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, which aimed to impose a “link tax” requiring tech companies to compensate media outlets for linking to their content.
Despite some journalism groups supporting the agreement, journalists and labor unions have voiced opposition, citing concerns about being excluded from the negotiations and the relatively small amount of funding compared to what Google provides in other regions. The deal also includes funding for AI tools, raising suspicions among critics about potential ulterior motives to replace journalists in the future.
The agreement is set to take effect next year, with an initial $100 million earmarked to launch the initiatives. While California Governor Gavin Newsom has indicated support for including journalism funding in the state budget, objections from other Democratic leaders could impact the plan going forward.