Google says it will stop linking to New Zealand news if a law passes forcing it to pay for content

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Google said Friday it will stop linking to New Zealand news content and will reverse its support of local media outlets if the government passes a law forcing tech companies to pay for articles displayed on their platforms.

The vow to sever Google traffic to New Zealand news sites — made in a blog post by the search giant on Friday — echoes strategies the firm deployed as Australia and Canada prepared to enact similar laws in recent years.

It followed a surprise announcement by New Zealand’s government in July that lawmakers would advance a bill forcing tech platforms to strike deals for sharing revenue generated from news content with the media outlets producing it.

The government, led by center-right National, had opposed the law in 2023 when introduced by the previous administration.

But the loss of more than 200 newsroom jobs earlier this year — in a national media industry that totaled 1,600 reporters at the 2018 census and has likely shrunk since — prompted the current government to reconsider forcing tech companies to pay publishers for displaying content.

The law aims to stanch the flow offshore of advertising revenue derived from New Zealand news products.

Google New Zealand Country Director Caroline Rainsford wrote Friday that the firm would change its involvement in the country’s media landscape if it passed.

“Specifically, we’d be forced to stop linking to news content on Google Search, Google News, or Discover surfaces in New Zealand and discontinue our current commercial agreements and ecosystem support with New Zealand news publishers,” she wrote.

Google’s licensing program in New Zealand contributed “millions of dollars per year to almost 50 local publications,” she added.

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