WASHINGTON: Google announced new steps to help struggling news organizations Monday 鈥� including an end to a longstanding 鈥渇irst click free鈥� policy to generate fresh revenues for publishers hurt by the shift from print to digital.
The moves come amid mounting criticism that online platforms are siphoning off the majority of revenues as more readers turn to digital platforms for news.
鈥淚 truly believe that Google and news publishers actually share a common cause,鈥� said Google Vice President Philipp Schindler.
鈥淥ur users truly value high quality journalism.鈥�
Google announced a series of measures, the most significant of which would be to replace the decade-old policy of requiring news organizations to provide one article discovered in a news search without subscribing 鈥� a standard known as 鈥渇irst click free.鈥�
This will be replaced by a 鈥渇lexible sampling鈥� model that will allow publishers to require a subscription if they choose at any time.
鈥淲e realize that one size does not fit all,鈥� said Richard Gingras, Google鈥檚 vice president for news.
This will allow news organizations to decide whether to show articles at no cost or to implement a 鈥減aywall鈥� for some or all content.
Gingras said the new policy, effective Monday, will be in place worldwide. He said it was not clear how many publishers would start implementing an immediate paywall as a result.
鈥淭he reaction to our efforts has been positive,鈥� he told a conference call announcing the new policy.
鈥淭his is not a silver bullet to the subscription market. It is a very competitive market for information. And people buy subscriptions when they have a perception of value.鈥�
Google said it is recommending a 鈥渕etering鈥� system allowing 10 free articles per month as the best way to encourage subscriptions.
The California tech giant also said it would work with publishers to make subscriptions easier, including allowing readers to pay with their Google or Android account to avoid a cumbersome registration process.
鈥淲e think we can get it down to one click, that would be superb,鈥� Gingras said.
He explained people are becoming more accustomed to paying for news, but that a 鈥渟ometimes painful process of signing up for a subscription can be a turn off. That鈥檚 not great for users or for news publishers who see subscriptions as an increasingly important source of revenue.鈥�
Google would share data with the news organizations to enable them to keep up the customer relationship, he added.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not looking to own the customer,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e will provide the name of user, the e-mail and if necessary the address.鈥�
Gingras said Google is also exploring ways 鈥渢o use machine learning to help publishers recognize potential subscribers,鈥� employing the Internet giant鈥檚 technology to help news organizations.
He added that Google was not implementing the changes to generate revenues for itself, but that some financial details had not been worked out.
Google does not intend to take a slice of subscription revenues, he noted.
鈥淥ur intent is to be as generous as possible,鈥� he said.
Research firm eMarketer estimates that Google and Facebook will take in 63 percent of digital advertising revenues in 2017 鈥� making it harder for news organizations to compete online.
Facebook is widely believed to be working on a similar effort to help news organizations drive more subscriptions.
Google created a 鈥淒igital News Initiative鈥� in Europe in 2015 which provides funding for innovative journalism projects.