Google to limit news access

 
By Claudine Beaumont

The First Click Free initiative will ensure content remains discoverable but allows companies to implement paywalls, says Google It means that content providers, such as newspaper publishers, will be able to restrict how many stories people are able to read online for free.

The move comes just weeks after Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of News Corporation, which owns newspapers such as the Sun and the Wall Street Journal, announced plans to start charging readers for accessing online content. Another newspaper publisher, Johnston Press, has also said it would start charging for some of its online content, including local newspapers such as the Yorkshire Post and The Scotsman.

Microsoft to pay websites to remove content from Google Under the new Google initiative, publishers can join a special program, known as First Click Free, which allows Google to index content on the publisher's website but prevents users from reading other articles on that site without first registering or signing up to a subscription package.

Josh Cohen, a senior business manager at Google, said it meant that publishers could ensure their content was "discoverable" while still being able to maintain their own paywalls.

"The user's first click to the content is free, but when a user clicks on additional links on the site, the publisher can show a payment or registration request," wrote Mr Cohen on a blog post. "First Click Free is a great way for publishers to promote their content and for users to check out a news source before deciding whether to pay.

"Previously, each click from a user would be treated as free. Now, we've updated the program so that publishers can limit users to no more than five pages per day without registering or subscribing."

The changes mean that Google users could start seeing registration pages appear when they click on the same First Click Free member website for a sixth time in a single day.

"We're going to keep talking with publishers to refine these methods," wrote Mr Cohen. "After all, whether you're offering your content for free or selling it, it's crucial that people find it. Google can help with that."

Google's role as a news aggregator has been widely criticised in recent months. Robert Thompson, managing editor of the Wall Street Journal, described websites such as Google as "parasites" and "tech tapeworms in the intestines of the internet", while Rupert Murdoch said search engines "steal our stories".

Mr Murdoch said newspapers needed to do "a better job of persuading consumers that high quality, reliable news and information does not come free".

But Arianna Huffington, editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post, said that newspaper publishers were in "digital denial" and needed to "stop whining".

“The written news industry is currently in a state of flux, with dwindling revenues threatening long-established publishers," said Patrick Charnley, a solicitor with law firm Eversheds.

"The emerging business model is ill-defined at present, but limiting Google's free dissemination of news is a vital step towards any attempt to erect pay walls".