The innovation that turned Google and Facebook into money-making behemoths wasn’t search or social networking. It was selling advertising space alongside content they got for free.
Now, as regulatory investigations in the United States, Europe and beyond raise the prospect of breaking up the Silicon Valley companies, they’re tweaking that formula. The two firms are striking deals to start paying one important source of that content: news organizations. Not only does this help bring them in line with new copyright laws, it also gives them the chance to regain the media industry’s trust.
Later this month, Facebook will launch its news tab (which has been available in the United States since 2019) in the U.K., with names such as the Guardian, the Economist and the Independent. Meanwhile, Google has started rolling out its latest news offering, the Google News Showcase, which is already live in Germany with 20 publications, including the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Der Spiegel and Die Zeit. Next up it’s going to the U.K., France, Belgium and Australia.
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