Google has made a bold claim about the value of news to its advertising business, stating that it is essentially worthless. The tech giant arrived at this conclusion after conducting an experiment where it removed news from search results for 1% of users in eight European markets for 2.5 months. According to Google, the results show that the actual value of news to its ad business "could not be statistically distinguished from zero, either overall or by country."

The experiment was conducted to assess the value of news in the context of European copyright law, which requires Google to pay news publishers for reusing snippets of their content. Google's findings are likely to be used as leverage in payment negotiations with European publishers, but the company may be walking a thin line. Google has faced significant antitrust fines in France in recent years, including a fine of over half a billion dollars for its approach to copyright negotiations with publishers.

Germany's competition authority has also increased scrutiny of Google's behavior around news, forcing the company to make changes. Any attempts by Google to downplay the value of news to avoid paying publishers may lead to further regulatory issues. In fact, Google initially included users in France in the experiment but abandoned this portion after a French court warned it would be fined for breaking a prior agreement with the antitrust authority. Notably, Google did not run the test in Germany, suggesting that it is aware of the regulatory scrutiny it faces in the country.

The experiment's results may not be as clear-cut as Google claims. While the company argues that publishers "vastly overestimate" the value of their journalism to its business, regulators may not agree. The fact that Google is willing to pay publishers at all suggests that news has some value to its ad business. Furthermore, the experiment's design and methodology have not been made public, raising questions about the validity of Google's claims.

The implications of Google's experiment and its claims about the value of news are significant. If regulators do not buy into Google's argument, the company may face further fines and penalties. Moreover, the experiment highlights the ongoing tensions between tech giants and news publishers over the value of content. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, the relationship between these two groups will be crucial in shaping the future of online news and information.

In conclusion, Google's experiment and its claims about the value of news are likely to be a key point of contention in the ongoing debate over online content and copyright law. While the company may try to use its findings as leverage in payment negotiations, regulators and publishers are unlikely to accept its argument without scrutiny. As the situation unfolds, it will be important to watch how Google's actions are received by regulators and the broader tech industry.