Don’t harm small publishers with laws that only benefit large publishers.
In September I wrote about the European Union’s proposed copyright rules. One controversial aspect of these rules is to force websites to pay to snippet content from another website. A prime example is Google News, which publishes the headline and a small snippet from articles.
Google just published a blog post about what it thinks the ramifications of such a rule will be. It concurs with what I wrote in September: such a move would mostly harm small publishers.
As a small publisher myself, I rely on Google News to help get my content in front of people who might otherwise not see it. Everyone sees the latest post from The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and other major publications. Smaller publishers don’t have this luxury.
Beyond just the immediate eyeballs, Google News also helps me get my stories picked up by larger publications, which in turn send more traffic to this site.
I understand why large publishers have concerns about Google News. It has become the starting point for many people seeking news. As I wrote previously:
Big publications might be frustrated that people treat Google News as their news destination rather than going directly to the news site’s homepage. But there are huge societal benefits to this. I get much more diverse viewpoints on Google News than I do on a news site, whether that’s MSNBC or Fox News.
At the same time, some people are frustrated with Google search’s featured snippets. These are the boxes that sometimes show in search results that pull out at least part of the information you’re seeking:
These are the holy grail for most website owners right now. I hear from people who say the click-throughs from these featured snippets are very high. At the same time, some people don’t like how a searcher might get the answer they seek without visiting the site. SEO thought leader Rand Fishkin has been particularly vocal about how websites should be able to opt-out of these snippets.
And that gets me to a proposed resolution. Rather than making snippets–whether in news or search results–something that sites need to get permission to use, let’s make an opt-out standard. Sites can already opt out of being included in search results. Let’s add a couple of other options in robots.txt for opting out of certain types of snippets.
Robert Monster says
I appreciate that Andrew raises this topic. The silence in response is deafening so will add a comment here.
In short, the EU is at it again — another attempt at censorship, this time controlling the narrative by hobbling smaller websites and independent publishers that draw attention to relevant content from across the web.
This is almost certainly not an economic issue as IP rights are adequately addressed through established law and existing judicial processes that take down and/or penalize content that is used without attribution or license.
GDPR, and the EU-sponsored global compact on unmitigated immigration should provide ample evidence that the EU is the test market for daft ideas that erode individual and national sovereignty.
FYI, here is a timely and good primer here on the immigration topic from the European perspective:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KA_SzIc1DA
It looks to me like another example of EU policy folly that is spreading far more quickly than the casual observer has been allowed to realize.
It is a good time to start paying attention because registries, registrars and domain investors have a surprisingly important role in spreading truth. Phenomenal content exists abundantly. Domains spread it INDEPENDENTLY!
Free Speech is truly under siege. I do hope that the domain industry realizes that their industry will be impacted greatly when independent publishers are unable to legally publish and/or monetize content.
shaitan says
so freedom of speech you want but freedom of movement you don’t want? fact is nation states are on the way out. capitalism demands freedom of movement of labour and that’s why nations are gradually opening up their borders.
shaitan says
The Europeans are just sore losers. They ignored the rise of the net and as a result they gave away their markets to American tech giants. OTOH the Chinese realized the importance of the net and fostered their own internet giants. The EU is now just lashing out like a child. If they want to protect their markets they should do it properly instead of enacting these half-measures.