Editor’s Notice: Delivered to the California Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.
Good afternoon, Chair Umberg, Members of the Committee, and Assemblymember Wicks. Thanks for the chance to be right here at the moment.
My identify is Jaffer Zaidi, and I’m Google’s World Vice President of Information Partnerships.
Since 1998, our mission has been to make the world’s info universally accessible and helpful. In service of that mission, each day, Search continues to ship billions of visits to writer web sites, and that features information publishers of all sizes.
At this time, we’re additionally one of many largest supporters of journalism on the planet. That features paid licensing applications by our Information Showcase product, and the Google Information Initiative, which gives instruments, coaching, and funding applications particularly centered on native, under-represented, and community-based publications. It’s by these applications that we’re proud to assist over 200 information organizations in California.
To be clear, the act of surfacing hyperlinks to information content material will not be commercially profitable for Google — as we hardly ever present any promoting in opposition to information searches. We make these investments as a result of connecting our customers to info and information concerning the world round them is core to our mission. And that’s why we share the objective of strengthening native journalism in California.
Nonetheless, whereas properly intentioned, we strongly consider that the California Journalism Preservation Act takes the fallacious strategy, and will definitely have damaging penalties.
- First, it’s constructed upon the flawed premise that platforms someway applicable information content material and revenue from it with out compensating information companies. That isn’t the way in which that Search works. All web site house owners — together with information organizations and publishers — determine whether or not we’re in a position to hyperlink to their web site, and what (if something) could be proven along with that.
- The invoice would additionally break the foundational rules of the open web, forcing platforms to pay publishers for sending helpful free visitors to them, which they select to obtain. It then compels platforms to indicate that content material — a profoundly unconstitutional and problematic notion.
- As many others have identified, the invoice would additionally closely fund pursuits that run counter to supporting precise native journalism right here in California. That features out-of-state personal fairness companies and hedge funds with histories of stripping newsrooms for elements, in addition to world and nationwide conglomerate publishers.
- It additionally has no means of blocking misinformation-oriented actors from accessing funding.
- In the meantime, it places the complete burden of assist on one or two firms — whereas shielding many massive platforms who additionally hyperlink to California information publishers.
- Frameworks like this have led some platforms to take away hyperlinks to information publishers altogether in different markets, delivering a devastating blow to smaller publishers particularly.
There must be a greater path.
We’ve got shared our personal proposal that may meaningfully improve our contributions, delivered by focused applications to make sure assist for actually California-based journalism. It additionally calls on a broad vary of stakeholders to contribute — which ought to be a prerequisite for any answer. We hope this could function the premise for a workable path ahead, and stay dedicated to working in direction of that.
I’d like to shut by expressing my deep appreciation to Chair Umberg, Assemblymember Wicks, Senator Glazer and all of you on your efforts to work with and hearken to stakeholders.
Thanks on your time, and I stay up for your questions.
