Google is threatening to pull all investments and funds it poured into US news publications amid its dispute over another bill in California.
Sources familiar with the matter told Axios that Google warned nonprofit news outlets that future investments towards them could be "jeopardized" if a new pro-journalist bill in California passed.
The bill in question is the proposed tax changes that would charge large companies like Google a 7.25% tax fee for selling user information to advertisers.
The collected tax would then be directed to news publications operating in the state.
It is worth noting that Google has already paused news publication investments in California since last month in defiance of the earlier legislation.
Google claimed it would not reinstate both Google News Showcase and the $300 million-worth Google News Initiative to the state "until there's clarity on California's regulatory environment."
The tech giant earlier threatened to remove all California-based news publications on Google Search over a state law that would require the company to pay publishers for running ads alongside news articles.
Google: California Took the 'Wrong Approach' in Addressing News Publication Problems
Google accused the state government of taking the "wrong approach to supporting journalism." Instead, Google proposed the government support the Google News Initiative to provide better platforms for news publications.
It is worth noting that news publishers have already decried Google monopolizing profits from its News platform amid financial troubles in the industry as news publishers grapple to find alternative revenue sources.
The News/Media Alliance, a journalism trade group representing several publications in California, even accused the tech giant's move to "either be coercive or retaliatory."
The Alliance urged federal officials to open a formal investigation to block Google's looming departure from the state.
Tech Giants Skirt Around Compensations for Platform Ads
The dispute with California was not the first time Google threatened to remove news content from its platforms in response to laws requiring the company to compensate publishers for its pervasive ads.
The tech giant earlier said it would start blocking news content from Canada after passing its Online News Act demanding Google to pay C$127 million ($93.4 million) to news publishers annually.
Google later agreed to pay nearly $74 million per year to continue to host news content from Canada.
Other tech giants like Meta made similar statements to the law, opting to block out all Canadian news content on Facebook and Instagram rather than pay publishers.
Meta later closed down its entire News tab on Facebook, essentially ending all obligations in hosting news content.
Related Article : Google Agrees to Pay $74 Million Annually for News Content in Canada
