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Google May Start Paying For News

By  |  February 14, 2020

Google may start paying news organizations for content, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Most of the publishers are outside the U.S., including France and other parts of Europe the Journal said.

“We want to help people find quality journalism—it’s important to informed democracy and helps support a sustainable news industry,” Google said in a statement. “We care deeply about this and are talking with partners and looking at more ways to expand our ongoing work with publishers, building on programs like our Google News Initiative.” 

The licensing deals would be a “watershed moment for publishers,” who have for years sought payments from Google, the Journal said. Talks are in the early stages and financial terms under consideration couldn’t be learned, the story said.

Last year, Facebook said it would start paying news organizations to license their  headlines and story summaries. Those licenses could generate millions of dollars a year in revenue for publishers, the Journal reported.